- sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)CA Secretary of State — Statement of Vote, June 2, 2026 primary (certified 2026-07-10)
- calmatters.org (opens in a new tab)CalMatters — 2026 primary voter guide and statewide race coverage
- laist.com (opens in a new tab)LAist — June 2026 primary voter guides
- oag.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)CA Attorney General press release — lawsuit over LA County jail conditions (Sept 8, 2025)
- sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)Cal-Access raw data export — California Secretary of State
Last updated August 30, 2026.
State of California
Attorney General
This person is the state's top lawyer and chief law enforcement officer.
The Attorney General is California's top lawyer and chief law enforcement officer. Incumbent Rob Bonta took about 55% of the statewide vote. His November 3 opponent is Michael Gates. Gates is the former Huntington Beach city attorney. He has spent years suing the state that Bonta defends. It is the sharpest contrast of views on the statewide ballot.
The AG runs the state Department of Justice for four years: picking the state's legal fights, representing California in court, and overseeing law-enforcement standards statewide.
Bonta's office has sued the Trump administration 54 times since January 2025; Gates built his career suing Sacramento over housing mandates, sanctuary policy, and election rules. Your vote here is less about lawyering skill than about which set of lawsuits you want filed in California's name.
Rob Bonta
Rob Bonta is a Democrat and has been Attorney General since 2021. He is a former East Bay Assemblymember. His office reports winning 35 preliminary injunctions against federal actions. He has also sued LA County over jail conditions. He runs on continuing that approach.
Michael E. Gates
Michael E. Gates is a Republican and a deputy U.S. attorney. They spent a decade as Huntington Beach City Attorney. They made their name suing the state. They also defended the first local voter ID law in California. Electing Gates would change the office's approach entirely.
Financial info
- Small donors
- Individuals
- PACs & committees
- Businesses & other orgs
- Self-funding
Rob Bonta
Primary — $2,802,406
- Small donors$268,47410%
- Individuals$1,516,49354%
- PACs & committees$743,10027%
- Businesses & other orgs$257,8509%
November — $61,368
- Individuals$49,36880%
- Businesses & other orgs$12,00020%
Michael E. Gates
Primary — $1,262,318
- Small donors$106,0849%
- Individuals$1,018,86182%
- PACs & committees$69,8006%
- Businesses & other orgs$50,2764%
- Self-funding$100<1%
November — $122,145
- Individuals$116,49495%
- PACs & committees$350<1%
- Businesses & other orgs$5,3014%
1Figures are CA Form 460 filings through June 30, 2026 by committees controlled by each candidate, and can include transfers from a candidate's earlier committees. Semi-annual reports covering January–June 2026 were due July 31, 2026, so some totals lag a period behind. Per the California Secretary of State's Cal-Access raw data export, retrieved 2026-09-21.
2Total is itemized (Schedule A) contributions and self-funding loans dated after the June 2, 2026 primary, through June 30, 2026 — small-dollar unitemized (under $100) contributions aren't independently dated in Cal-Access's raw export, so they aren't reflected here and this may undercount true small-donor activity since the primary. This also doesn't include money reported only on 24-hour late-contribution reports (Form 497) that haven't yet appeared in a periodic Form 460 filing. Per the California Secretary of State's Cal-Access raw data export, retrieved 2026-08-30.