Tracking Early Fundraising in the 2026 Governor’s Race

With the 2026 primary less than a year away, now is an opportune time to examine the financial landscape of the gubernatorial campaign.

This information is sourced from The Ballot Book’s recently launched campaign finance platform, which tracks elections, donations, contributions, independent expenditures, and other campaign finance data for all statewide and legislative offices in California.

As of June 16, a total of 64 individuals have submitted the necessary paperwork to officially express interest in running for Governor. However, it’s important to note that some of these candidates filed their paperwork years ago — Kamala Harris being a notable example — while others may have filed without any serious intent to run. For that reason, the number of declared candidates is less meaningful than the number of candidates who have actually raised money for their campaigns.

To identify viable candidates, we can look at those who have filed a Form 460 — the disclosure form summarizing contributions and expenditures, which must be filed at least annually. We can also examine candidates who have reported any individual contribution exceeding $5,000, as those must be disclosed within 24 hours of receipt.

Subscribers to The Ballot Book can access the platform to view the Governor’s race and see all declared candidates who have raised money above a certain threshold. All images in this post are screenshots taken directly from the platform.

Keep in mind that the available numbers only reflect fundraising through the end of 2024, which was the last formal filing deadline. For candidates who entered the race after that, we can still gain insight into their fundraising activity through the required 24-hour disclosures of any contributions over $5,000. The table also captures funds raised in 2025 for candidates who have already filed at least one Form 460 this year.

From this list, it appears that Steve Hilton has the most early momentum — though a portion of this was fueled by large personal contributions to his own campaign.

Meanwhile, Eleni Kounalakis has raised the most money overall — nearly $6 million — but her slower fundraising in the early part of 2025 could suggest she has already tapped much of her donor base’s low-hanging fruit. Or it may simply be a temporary lull. In 2018, after all, more than half of the $11 million her committee raised for Lieutenant Governor was self-funded.

The current reporting period ends on June 30, 2025, and the next round of reports is due by the end of July. At that point, we’ll have a clearer picture of where the candidates stand — not just in terms of the total money raised (since smaller contributions under $5,000 remain invisible until the 460 filing), but also how that money is being spent — and what it’s being spent on.