California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis announced on Monday that she is running for governor, setting an early marker for what is likely to be a vigorous campaign in 2026 to replace the resigned governor. Gavin Newsom.

The Democrat claimed in her announcement that she is well qualified for the position because of the combination of her experience in government, two terms in her current office, and her service as U.S. ambassador to Hungary during the Obama administration, as well as in the private sector. where she ran a Sacramento development company founded by her father.

As the proud daughter of an immigrant who came to California with nothing, my family owes everything to this state where I am running for governor to ensure that all Californians have the opportunities we have had, Kounalakis said in a statement .

Her family is wealthy and has spent lavishly on their political priorities, including Kounalaki’s lieutenant governor race and Phil Angelide’s failed gubernatorial run in 2006.

The 57-year-old’s announcement that she is opening a gubernatorial campaign committee will allow her to raise $72,800 per donor, reflecting Newsom’s decision to run in the 2018 gubernatorial race three years early. The pair are being advised by the same political advisors.

The race to lead the world’s fifth-largest economy is expected to draw many contenders from a

large swimming pool in a state where a large number live

of ambitious Democratic politicians looking for their next spot.

If successful, Kounalakis would be the first woman elected to lead the state. Senator Dianne Feinstein and former Hewlett-Packard chief Meg Whitman are among the women who unsuccessfully ran for the post.

We’ve never had a female governor of the state of California. If I’m not trying to organize a campaign to be the first, who will? Kounakis told The Times in 2022.

The post of lieutenant governor is considered largely ceremonial, but two of the state’s last four governors have held the post Newsom and former Gov. Gray Davis. Kounalakis highlighted her work in the job against tuition hikes and other policies likely to be popular with the state’s liberal voters.

I fought hard to keep the doors of opportunity open to everyone by making college more accessible, the Trump administration’s attempts to expand offshore drilling, fought for new laws to protect women from sexual assault, and the access to reproductive choice expanded.