Rob Bonta makes decision on potential run for governor
Attorney General Rob Bonta said he would run for reelection in November, ending further speculation that he would enter the race to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Bonta said in a statement Sunday that he had an “outpouring of encouragement” from friends, family and supporters who had wanted him to enter the governor’s race. Instead, he will now run for another four-year term as California’s top attorney.
“But my resolve is firm: our fight against corporate greed and vicious attacks from Washington requires a leader with battle-tested experience in the courtroom,” he said.
Bonta has filed an average of one lawsuit a week against the White House since President Donald Trump returned to Washington last year and tried to hamstring or block federal funds for blue states. On Friday, Bonta won a temporary victory after a court ordered the administration to temporarily reinstate $10 billion in child care and family assistance funds to California and four other Democratic-led states.
“Watching this dystopian horror come to life has reaffirmed something I feel in every fiber of my being: in this moment, my place is here — shielding Californians from the most brazen attacks on our rights and our families,” Bonta said.
The Attorney General had previously been trying to shore up support among organized labor for a potential run as Democratic strategists cast around for a candidate with star power as polls show most voters remain undecided.
State Democratic lawmakers Jesse Gabriel and Dave Cortese told The Bee that they were interested in running for Attorney General if Bonta pivoted to the governor’s race.
Previously, Bonta had said he would not run for governor, but revisited that decision last fall. At the same time, he gave changing explanations for his ties to the owners of an Oakland trash hauler who are currently under federal indictment for bribery.
In November, KCRA reported that Bonta spent nearly $500,000 of campaign funds to represent himself in a FBI case charging recalled Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao with bribery.
Federal officials also charged Andy and David Duong with allegedly offering money in exchange for Thao steering contracts to the Duongs’ company, Evolutionary Homes. Bonta returned $150,000 in campaign donations from the Duongs, who claimed to be close to Bonta and his wife, Assemblymember Mia Bonta, D-Oakland.
Bonta has denied having a close relationship with the Duongs, who posted photos of them online socializing together. The Fair Political Practices Commission said earlier this month that Bonta’s use of campaign funds to pay his legal bills was legally permissible.
On the Democratic side, the field includes Rep. Eric Swalwell; former Rep. Katie Porter; former State Controller Betty Yee; former legislator Ian Calderon; former Attorney General Xavier Becerra; San Francisco billionaire Tom Steyer; former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa; and State Superintendent Tony Thurmond.
Last week, Bonta appeared to be leaning against running as he spoke to reporters after Newsom’s State of the State address on the Assembly floor.
“I love my job. I think it’s super important. We’re super grateful,” he said. “I think things are only escalating, not deescalating, when it comes to what this Trump administration is doing with respect to what we’re doing in Venezuela, the Russian oil tanker, our TANF funds just getting turned off.”
Bonta first came to Sacramento in 2012 as an assemblyman representing Alameda, a seat now held by his wife.
Newsom tapped him as Attorney General in 2021 after Becerra left to join former President Joe Biden’s Cabinet as Health and Human Services Secretary.
This story was originally published January 12, 2026 at 9:24 AM.
