Elections
California’s lieutenant governor race pits Fiona Ma against Gloria Romero
PN Team • 4 weeks ago
California voters will choose a new lieutenant governor on Nov. 3, as term limits bar both Gov. Gavin Newsom and incumbent Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis from seeking the office again. The race pits Democrat Fiona Ma, the current state treasurer and a former assemblymember and San Francisco supervisor, against Republican Gloria Romero, a former Democratic state Senate majority leader who switched parties in 2024 over disagreements including public safety and COVID mandates.
Ma, backed by the California Democratic Party and major labor and equality groups, says she would focus on affordability through housing production, streamlined business permitting, and more affordable higher education. Romero, endorsed by the California Republican Party, has pledged to cut government "bureaucracy and waste," halve the number of state commissions, and fight antisemitism on college campuses. The position carries duties including chairing the State Lands Commission, serving on university system boards, presiding over the state Senate, and acting as governor when the chief executive is out of state.
Sources:
Sentiment
- Democratic Party (United States) Ma is identified as a Democrat, a neutral factual party affiliation mention.
- Republican Party (United States) Romero is identified as the Republican candidate, a neutral factual party affiliation mention.
- California California is the factual setting of the election described.
- Eleni Kounalakis Mentioned factually as the incumbent barred by term limits from seeking reelection.
- Gavin Newsom Newsom is mentioned only factually as being term-limited, with no evaluative content.