- sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)CA Secretary of State — Statement of Vote, June 2, 2026 primary (certified 2026-07-10)
- edsource.org (opens in a new tab)EdSource — 2026 Superintendent of Public Instruction race coverage
- calmatters.org (opens in a new tab)CalMatters — 2026 primary voter guide and statewide race coverage
- 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
Superintendent of Public Instruction
This person leads the California Department of Education. The office is nonpartisan.
California's top schools official is a nonpartisan job on paper. This year's runoff is anything but quiet. Chino Valley school board president Sonja Shaw advances to November 3. So does San Diego school board president Richard Barrera. They represent nearly opposite visions for public schools.
The Superintendent serves four years running the Department of Education and is the state's loudest voice on schools — but doesn't set most policy; the Legislature and State Board of Education do.
So weigh values and coalition: Shaw would be a sharp break on parental-rights and gender-policy fights; Barrera is the teachers-union-aligned continuity candidate. No one has won this office in 44 years without the California Teachers Association, which is spending heavily against Shaw.
Sonja Shaw
Sonja Shaw is president of the Chino Valley Unified school board. They led its parental notification policy. The Attorney General sued them over it. They still led the statewide primary field. They run on accountability, academics, and parents' rights.
Richard Barrera
Richard Barrera is president of the San Diego Unified school board. They are also a career labor organizer. They run on school funding. They also defend state policies that protect LGBTQ+ students. Both the teachers union and the charter schools association back Barrera. That is unusual.
Financial info
- Small donors
- Individuals
- PACs & committees
- Businesses & other orgs
- Self-funding
Sonja Shaw
Primary — $460,565
- Small donors$32,3687%
- Individuals$352,15580%
- PACs & committees$15,3003%
- Businesses & other orgs$39,9799%
November — $58,285
- Individuals$58,285100%
Richard Barrera
Primary — $333,428
- Small donors$3,9741%
- Individuals$210,07465%
- PACs & committees$81,30025%
- Businesses & other orgs$6,5002%
- Self-funding$20,0006%
November — $58,725
- Individuals$38,62566%
- PACs & committees$19,60033%
- Businesses & other orgs$5001%
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.