Candidate for California governor banks more than $9 million in campaign war chest

Andrew Sheeler
·2 min read

Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!

KOUNALAKIS’ WAR CHEST EXCEEDS $9 MILLION

More than two years out from the 2026 California gubernatorial election, candidate and Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis’ campaign announced that has more than $9 million on hand.

That includes a haul of $1.4 million in the first six months of 2024, according to her campaign.

Since announcing her bid, Kounalakis has raised nearly $5.4 million — that’s in addition to the $4.4 million she had stashed in her lieutenant governor campaign committee.

While it’s still early days, Kounalakis has racked up endorsements from politicians as varied as former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former California Sen. Barbara Boxer, and sitting Reps. Doris Matsui, Mike Thompson and Jared Huffman.

This show of force comes as the California governor’s race field continues to grow.

Former Senate President pro Tem Toni Atkins, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and former State Controller Betty Yee all are running on the Democratic side, with Attorney General Rob Bonta, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa all rumored to be considering a run.

On the Republican side, there is an effort underway to draft Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco to run on the GOP ticket.

Sitting Gov. Gavin Newsom himself term limits out of office in 2026.

ANTI-RFK JR BILLBOARD GOES UP IN HOLLYWOOD

Fresh off of a Vanity Fair piece alleging independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was a sexual predator, the Democratic National Committee has arranged for a billboard to go up in Hollywood showcasing the allegations and RFK Jr.’s non-denial..

He said “I am not a church boy” in an interview.

The billboard went up Wednesday and stayed up all day.

DNC spokesman Matt Corridoni released a statement saying, “The shocking details uncovered in the Vanity Fair story about RFK Jr. are damning, but it’s even more damning that RFK Jr. isn’t denying them. The only thing we know for sure about RFK Jr. is that he has a closet full of skeletons.”

According to a Public Policy Institute of California survey published in June, President Joe Biden leads former President Donald Trump, 55-31 in California. While the PPIC didn’t poll for RFK Jr. specifically, “someone else” scored 13% of likely voters.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Of course, yes.”

- California Gov. Gavin Newsom, reiterating that he would not seek the presidency against Vice President Kamala Harris should President Joe Biden decline to seek reelection, during a press conference.

Best of The Bee:

  • California Democrats couldn’t kill ballot measure changing Prop. 47. What’s their new strategy? Via Lindsey Holden.

  • If Democrats decide to replace President Joe Biden as nominee, how would it happen? Via David Lightman.

  • Will California Democrats in close House races be affected by pressure on Joe Biden’s candidacy? Via Gillian Brassil.

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • Trump Explains Why He Told Crowd They Won’t Have To Vote, And Makes It Sound Worse

    The former president also expanded on his plans to dodge the next debate: “Everybody knows who I am.”

  • Hillary Clinton Gives Trump And His GOP Cronies Some Brutally Honest Election Advice

    The former secretary of state mocked Republicans with some unsolicited advice.

  • Trump Forces Out Project 2025 Mastermind

    The Trump campaign forced the architect of the ultraconservative Project 2025 manifesto out of his job on Tuesday as it sought political cover from a controversy dogging Republicans, the Daily Beast can report exclusively.Trump campaign manager Chris LaCivita “put the screws” to mastermind Paul Dans in an effort to force him out and shut down the right-wing shop behind Proejct 2025, a sprawling blueprint that sought to overhaul the federal government and implement an array of far-right policies

  • Trump Makes A Fuss About Fox News Reporting On Kamala Harris' Rallies

    The twice-impeached former president has been bashing his Democratic rival for the White House with a rampage on his Truth Social platform.

  • Republican Arizona mayor backs Harris over Trump, evoking McCain

    The GOP mayor of Mesa, Ariz. — Phoenix’s largest suburb — endorsed Vice President Harris on Monday, saying only the vice president can “put country over party” in the November election. Mesa Mayor John Giles wrote in an op-ed for The Arizona Republic that Republicans should reject former President Trump at the ballot box. “Our…

  • NC Gov. Cooper opted out of Harris VP vetting, in part over worry about GOP lieutenant: AP sources

    WASHINGTON (AP) — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper opted not to be a candidate in Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate search in part due to concerns that his Republican lieutenant governor would try to assume control if he left the state to campaign as part of the Democratic ticket, according to three people familiar with the matter.

  • No, this clip doesn't show bullet hitting Trump's ear | Fact check

    The flipped footage in the post shows Trump's left ear, which didn't appear injured in the attempt on his life. It was his right ear that was hurt.

  • Whoopi Goldberg Tells ‘The View’ Why She ‘Pities’ J.D. Vance

    The View moderator Whoopi Goldberg is genuinely worried about J.D. Vance. “This poor guy,” she said on Tuesday. “I feel so bad for him.”Goldberg was responding to the recent unearthed footage of J.D. Vance admitting privately that Kamala Harris’ entry into the 2024 election was a “political sucker punch” for the Trump campaign.“Remember how Mr. T used to pity the fool? Well, I pity this man,” Goldberg added. “I pity him, because he’s had a very bumpy roll-out so far, and here he is, once again s

  • Elon Musk Drew Winces From Billionaires’ Gathering With Trump Pitch

    Elon Musk reportedly urged a group of fellow billionaires and top political strategists in February to tell their friends to vote for Donald Trump in the 2024 election because he believes the GOP candidate will stop illegal immigration.Some in the crowd at an oceanfront mansion in Palm Beach owned by activist investor Nelson Peltz shook their heads and winced after Musk’s backing of Trump, according to The Washington Post.The X owner, who went public with his Trump endorsement after his assassin

  • Vice President Kamala Harris tells Trump to 'say it to my face!' at Atlanta rally

    Before VP Kamala Harris took the stage at her campaign event in Atlanta on Tuesday, the atmosphere felt more like a party than a political rally.

  • Maxwell Frost Has Picture-Perfect Response To Trump's Election Claim On Fox News

    Donald Trump said that if he retakes the presidency, he'll leave the White House like he did "last time," without mentioning the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.

  • Black Journalists’ Association Says Yes to Trump but Snubs Harris

    The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) declined a request by Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign to appear at this year’s convention, a source familiar with the plans told The Daily Beast.The news, first reported by theGrio, came hours after Karen Attiah, a co-chair of this year’s NABJ convention, stepped down after the organization announced Donald Trump would appear for a moderated conversation at the Chicago event. The Trump conversation, focused on “the most pressing issues

  • Graham pressed on Trump pushing election cheating rhetoric. Hear his response

    Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) joins CNN’s Pamela Brown to give his reaction to former President Donald Trump telling a crowd of Minnesota voters that if he loses the state, it will be because of cheating from Democrats.

  • JD Vance’s close college friend shares revealing emails

    Sofia Nelson, a Yale Law School friend of JD Vance, revealed years of emails the two previously exchanged. Nelson told CNN’s Erin Burnett that the Republican vice presidential nominee has changed his views on “literally every imaginable issue.”

  • New poll shows Florida abortion amendment winning, outperforming Democrats

    Florida’s ballot initiative to protect abortion is winning and has more support among voters than either Vice President Harris or Democratic Senate candidate Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, a new poll shows. According to the poll from University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Lab (PORL), 69 percent of respondents said they would vote for Amendment 4, which…

  • Biden Fires Parting Shot at Supreme Court: ‘Not Above Law’

    Joe Biden may have removed his name from the 2024 presidential campaign, but he is determined to leave Donald Trump something to remember him with.Biden is calling for sweeping reforms in the Supreme Court to ensure that no president is above the law. To preserve his legacy, he sees it as imperative to shackle Trump, whom he sees as a threat to democracy.The president wants to transform the Supreme Court to make it less rigid and more answerable—and while any lasting changes are unlikely to pass

  • MAGA Rep. Ryan Zinke Floats New Trump Assassination Conspiracy

    Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT), the former Trump administration secretary of the interior who resigned amid scandals over taxpayer-funded travel and potential conflicts of interest, wondered Monday whether the assassination attempt on Donald Trump was part of a larger “plot” that may have involved high-level government officials.While investigators have not linked the shooter to any such scheme, Zinke said on Fox Business Network that lapses by the Secret Service beget such conspiratorial questions.“Her

  • Lara Trump Likens Kamala Harris to a Designer ‘Trash Bag’

    It seems like Donald Trump’s love of trash talking his opponents has spread to other members of his family.Last week, Trump described Kamala Harris as “real garbage.”Now the GOP presidential candidate’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump has compared the Democratic White House hopeful to a designer “trash bag.”Read more at The Daily Beast.Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now.Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched rep

  • Canadians flagged at border for house-sitting say U.K. company misled them

    Some Canadians who tried to house-sit abroad say they were flagged and turned away at the U.S. border and now fear their ability to travel freely has been jeopardized after border agents classified their house-sitting plans as work.Several house-sitters told CBC News they feel misled by U.K.-based company Trusted Housesitters, which some said has been "irresponsible" in "downplaying" the risks involved when taking on an international house-sitting opportunity.Meanwhile, the company maintains hou

  • Jon Stewart Roasts the GOP’s ‘Flailing’ Attempts to Attack Kamala Harris

    A reinvigorated Jon Stewart celebrated the political developments of the last week on The Daily Show Monday night, while delighting in conservatives’ inability to land a blow on vice president Kamala Harris.“In the span of a week, Democrats have gone from the despair of a certain Trump presidency to the joy of a statistical tie,” Stewart said during his monologue, “Which, right now, feels like victory.”He also jokingly offered his sympathies to Donald Trump and his supporters.Read more at The Da