What’s at stake in this race

As the state’s chief banker, the treasurer manages and invests unspent taxpayer money and oversees the state’s borrowing and debts. Though much of the work is technical, the official can make policy waves by launching new financial initiatives or influencing where the state invests its extra cash.

Top polling candidates appear in alphabetical order followed by more names you will see on your ballot.

Anna M. Caballero

Party: Democratic
Occupation: California state senator

A longtime politician from Salinas, Caballero served as the city’s mayor, assemblymember and state senator before moving east to Fresno after the state’s electoral map was redrawn in 2021. Along the way she’s developed a legislative reputation as a leader on agriculture and housing policy, the latter of which she bolstered during her stint as the state’s top housing official under then-Gov. Jerry Brown. A relative moderate in the Democratic caucus, she has occasionally bucked her party’s progressive wing on environmental regulation and criminal justice issues. In this campaign, she has vowed to simplify the application process for affordable housing subsidies and steer state resources away from federal immigration activities.

Key endorsements

• California Conference of Carpenters
• California Latino Legislative Caucus
• California Young Democrats

Jennifer Hawks

Party: Republican
Occupation: Retired businesswoman

Hawks doesn’t have experience in elected office, a fact she touts proudly. Instead, the longtime Silicon Valley retiree most recently served on the executive team at Sacred Heart Schools, an Atherton Catholic school favored by the Bay Area’s venture capitalist elite. Hawks is also a local Republican Party activist. Both her career background and her politics make her an outlier for a job that has been exclusively held by Democratic career politicians going on three decades. Hawks said that gives her the skills and independence to provide a check on the rest of the state.

Key endorsements

• California Republican Party
• California Republican Assembly
• Reform California

Eleni Kounalakis

Party: Democratic
Occupation: Lieutenant Governor of California

With two terms as lieutenant governor under her belt, Kounalakis has plenty of experience on state boards — a big feature of the treasurer post. On both the UC Board of Regents and the Board of Trustees for the California State University system, she has regularly voted down proposed tuition hikes. Kounalakis comes to politics by way of fundraising. The daughter of Sacramento developer Angelo Tsakopolous, Kounalakis was a big spender in Democratic Party politics in the early 2000s, which helped land her an ambassadorship to Hungary under President Barack Obama. Kounalakis originally ran for governor, but dropped her bid late last year.

Key endorsements

• California Labor Federation
• Teamsters California
• National Union of Healthcare Workers

Related links

• Kounalakis becomes latest Democrat to drop run for governor
• California’s lieutenant governor leases offices to the state. What if she’s elected governor?

Tony Vazquez

Party: Democratic
Occupation: Member, State Board of Equalization

A former councilmember from Santa Monica, where he served as the city’s first Latino mayor, Vazquez is now coming off of eight years on California’s Board of Equalization. That’s a frequent jumping off point for would-be treasurers (current Treasurer Fiona Ma made the same hop), even if the elected tax commissioner job is light on responsibility. In his current campaign, Vazquez has stressed his Latino roots and his connection to storied California labor leader Dolores Huerta.

Key endorsements

• Stonewall Democrats

More candidates

David Serpa
Party: Republican
Occupation: Businessman/ Author/ Father

Glenn Turner
Party: Green
Occupation: No Ballot Designation

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