California Governor’s Race Shifts as Harris, Kounalakis Say They’re Not Running

KQED's Forum

KQED

Politics, News, News Commentary

4.6 • 656 Ratings

🗓️ 12 August 2025

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What’s happened since former Vice President Kamala Harris said she’s not running to replace Gavin Newsom as California’s next governor? Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis, who received early funding and an unofficial endorsement from Nancy Pelosi, said on Friday that she’s not running either. The announcement has again scrambled the political calculations of California’s gubernatorial hopefuls. We’ll talk with KQED’s politics team about early campaign rumblings, funding and top issues likely to define the California governor’s race. And we’ll hear from you: what kind of governor do you think California needs right now? Guests: Guy Marzorati, correspondent, KQED's California Politics and Government Desk Scott Shafer, senior editor and co-host of Political Breakdown, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:36.6	... From KQVD in San Francisco, I'm Mina Kim.
0:51.3	Coming up on forum, another shakeup happened in the California governor's race Friday
0:55.5	when Lieutenant Governor, Eleni Kuna Lachas, said she was dropping her bid to succeed Gavin Newsom.
1:01.8	The announcement is again scrambling the political calculations of those seeking the state's
1:06.8	highest office after former vice president, Kamala Harris also said she's not running for governor.
1:13.5	We'll talk with KQED's politics team about the shifting campaigns and the top issues likely to
1:19.0	define the governor's race. What kind of leader do you think California needs? Listeners,
1:24.3	join us.
1:37.3	Welcome to Forum. I'm Mina Kim.
	...

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