As Atkins’ rally ended, Thurmond rolled out a new union endorsement, while earlier this week, Kounalakis announced that she had received the backing of another 16 of Atkins’ legislative colleagues. The daughter of a wealthy real estate developer, Kounalakis has a substantial financial advantage in the race and reported raising more than $3.7 million by the end of last year.
Atkins seemed to nod to that in her remarks today, which laid out her journey from a poor upbringing in rural West Virginia to become the first woman who has led both houses of the California Legislature, where she has carried bills making it easier to build housing and protecting abortion rights.
“You shouldn’t have to be a millionaire to make it in California,” she said. “You should only have to have a dream and people who care enough to help you reach it. Let’s achieve that dream together.”
Expect to hear a lot more about the history that could be made by this slate of candidates. Atkins, Kounalakis or Yee would be the first woman governor in California history. Atkins would also be the first openly LGBTQ+ person to lead the state, while Thurmond would be the first Black person and Bonta or Yee would be the first Asian American.
