2026 California State Board of Equalization election
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2026 California State Board of Equalization elections will be taking place on November 3, 2026, to elect all four seats of the State Board of Equalization, with the non-partisan blanket primary election taking place on June 2, 2026.
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November 3, 2026
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All 4 seats on the California State Board of Equalization | |||||||||||||||||||
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Overview
| District | Incumbent | Party | Elected | Party | ||
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| 1st | Ted Gaines (term-limited) | Republican | ||||
| 2nd | Sally Lieber | Democratic | ||||
| 3rd | Tony Vazquez (term-limited) | Democratic | ||||
| 4th | Mike Schaefer (term-limited) | Democratic | ||||
District 1
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November 3, 2026
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The incumbent is Republican Ted Gaines, who was re-elected in 2022 with 55.5% of the vote. He is term-limited and ineligible to run for re-election, instead running for the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors.[1]. District 1 encompasses much of inland California, stretching from Modoc County and Sisiyou County on the Oregon border to Southern California to include a portion of San Bernardino County.
Candidates
Declared
- Dusty Beach (Republican), retired correctional officer[2]
- Nelson Esparza (Democratic), Fresno city councilmember[3][4]
- Shannon Grove (Republican), state senator from the 12th district[5][4]
- Nader F. Shahatit (Republican), tax consultant[4]
- Donald E. Williamson (Democratic), former San Bernardino County Assessor (1994–2006)[2]
Endorsements
- US Representatives
- Doug LaMalfa, CA-01 (2013-2026) (deceased)[5]
- State officials
- Ted Gaines, incumbent Board of Equalization member[5]
- Newspapers
- US Representatives
- Jim Costa, CA-20 (2005-2013), CA-16 (2013-2023), CA-21 (2023-present)[7]
- Adam Gray, CA-13 (2025-present)[7]
- State legislators
- Esmeralda Soria, state assemblymember from the 27th district (2022-present)[7]
- Labor unions
- Political parties
- California Democratic Party[9]
- Democratic Party of Sacramento County[10]
- Organizations
- California Young Democrats[11]
Results
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Republican | Dusty Beach | |||
| Democratic | Nelson Esparza | |||
| Republican | Shannon Grove | |||
| Republican | Nader Shahatit | |||
| Democratic | Donald Williamson | |||
| Total votes | 100.0 | |||
District 2
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November 3, 2026
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The incumbent is Democrat Sally Lieber, who was elected in 2022 with 69.8% of the vote and is eligible to run for a second term. District 2 encompasses a majority of coastal California, stretching from Del Norte County on the Oregon border to Ventura County, near Los Angeles County.
Candidates
Declared
- Sally Lieber (Democratic), incumbent member of the Board of Equalization[12][4]
- J. Brett Marymee (Republican), small business owner[2]
- Mark McComas (Republican)[2]
- John Pimentel (Democratic), trustee for the San Mateo County Community College District[4]
- Bill Shireman (Republican), founder of Future500[13][4]
- John Zaruka (Republican)[2]
Endorsements
- Labor unions
- Political parties
- California Democratic Party[9]
- California Working Families Party[15]
- San Francisco Democratic Party[16]
- Organizations
- California Young Democrats[11]
- East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club[17]
- Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club[18]
- Planned Parenthood[19]
Results
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Sally Lieber (incumbent) | |||
| Republican | J. Brett Marymee | |||
| Republican | Mark McComas | |||
| Democratic | John Pimentel | |||
| Republican | Bill Shireman | |||
| Republican | John Zaruka | |||
| Total votes | 100.0 | |||
District 3
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November 3, 2026
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The incumbent is Democrat Tony Vazquez, who was re-elected in 2022 with 70.4% of the vote. He is term-limited and ineligible to run for re-election, instead running for state treasurer.[22] District 3 encompasses the entirety of Los Angeles County.
Candidates
Declared
- Carlo Basail (Republican)[2]
- Rudy Bermudez (Democratic), former state assemblyman (2002–2006)[2]
- Mike Gipson (Democratic), state assemblymember from the 65th district (2014-present)[23][4]
- Stephan Hohil (Republican)[2]
- Zhijing Liu (Democratic)[2]
- Marie Manvel (No party preference)[2]
- Rey Portela (Republican)[2]
- Baru Alejandro Sanchez (Democratic)[2]
- Samuel P. Sukaton (Democratic), labor organizer[2]
- Yvonne Yiu (Democratic), former Monterey Park city councilmember (2020-2024), candidate for SD-25 in 2024, and candidate for state controller in 2022[4]
Declined
- Ben Allen (Democratic), state senator from the 24th district[12] (running for insurance commissioner)
Endorsements
- Organizations
- Reform California[20]
- Statewide officials
- Malia Cohen, California State Controller (2023-present)[23]
- Tony Vazquez, incumbent California State Board of Equalization member (2019-present)[23]
- State legislators
- Robert Rivas, Speaker of the California State Assembly (2023-present) and state assemblymember from the 29th district (2018-present)[23]
- Labor unions
- Political parties
- Organizations
- California Working Families Party[15]
- Our Revolution[24]
Results
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Republican | Carlo Basail | |||
| Democratic | Rudy Bermudez | |||
| Democratic | Mike Gipson | |||
| Republican | Stephan Hohil | |||
| Democratic | Zhinjing Liu | |||
| No party preference | Marie Manvel | |||
| Republican | Rey Portela | |||
| Democratic | Baru Sanchez | |||
| Democratic | Samuel Sukaton | |||
| Democratic | Yvonne Yiu | |||
| Total votes | 100.0 | |||
District 4
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November 3, 2026
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The incumbent is Democrat Mike Schaefer, who was re-elected in 2022 with 58.8% of the vote. He is term-limited and ineligible to run for re-election, instead running for congress. District 4 is in Southern California and encompasses a portion of Greater Los Angeles, including a portion of San Bernardino County and the entirety of Orange County, Riverside County, San Diego County, and Imperial County.
Candidates
Declared
- Martin Arias (Democratic), taxpayer advocate in San Diego County accessor office[2]
- Denis Bilodeau (Republican), Orange city councilmember and Orange County Water District board member[25][4]
- Gardner Osborne (Libertarian)[2]
- Cody Petterson (Democratic), member of the San Diego Unified School District Board of Education[26]
- Tom Umberg (Democratic), state senator from the 34th district[25][27][4]
Declined
- Chris Duncan (Democratic), former San Clemente city councilmember (running for state senate)[28]
Endorsements
- Labor unions
- Political party organizations
- California Young Democrats[11]
- San Diego County Democratic Party (co-endorsement)[29]
- Organizations
- Reform California[20]
- Politicial party organizations
- Imperial County Republican Central Committee[30]
- California Republican Party[31]
- Republican Party of Orange County[32]
- Political party organizations
- San Diego County Democratic Party (co-endorsement)[29]
- Political party organizations
Results
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Martin Arias | |||
| Republican | Denis Bilodeau | |||
| Libertarian | Gardner C. Osborne | |||
| Democratic | Cody Petterson | |||
| Democratic | Tom Umberg | |||
| Total votes | 100.0 | |||