Democrat Ian Calderon, former majority leader of the California Assembly, has entered the crowded race to succeed outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2026.
Calderon, 39, of Whittier, comes from one of California’s most powerful political families that has endured a dark chapter in recent years.
The family man said he was seeking the governor’s seat to represent the new, younger generation.
“California is not doing enough for us,” Calderon said in a social media video announcing his candidacy on Sept. 23. “My generation pays bills on our phones. We send money to each other on Venmo, and we save in bitcoin. But the people running our government, they’re trying to use yesterday’s ideas to solve today’s problems, and it isn’t working.”
His wife, Elise, said California is not a dream for their generation.
“For too many families, the California dream has become a story we tell, not a reality we live,” she said in the video.
Calderon served from 2012 to 2020 in the state Assembly and in 2016 became the youngest majority leader in state history at 30, representing portions of the San Gabriel Valley and parts of Los Angeles County.
In 2020, he told constituents he was leaving office to spend more time with his wife and two children.
“For the last five years, I’ve been raising my kids, building a business, and living in the real world, watching everyday life in our state get harder for families like mine,” he said on Sept. 23. “Child-care costs are out of control, paychecks aren’t keeping up with cost of living. Gas prices are the highest in the nation. And now, buying a home is out of reach.”
Calderon added he thought the state’s problems weren’t going to be solved by listening to Democrats and Republicans fight in Washington, D.C.
“I’m a Democrat but I don’t take marching orders from anyone, and I certainly don’t always agree with my party,” he said. “I’m a Democrat who believes in working families, small businesses, and common sense solutions—not the political extremes holding California back.”
Calderon is the son of former Democratic Assembly and Senate leader Charles Calderon. Ian Calderon’s stepmother, Lisa Calderon, was elected to his former seat and continues to serve in the Assembly.
Then-state Sen. Ron Calderon (D-Montebello) discusses the FBI raid on his Capitol office in Sacramento on June 10, 2013. The scandal rocked the state Senate and tarnished his family’s political dynasty. (Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo)
Two of Ian Calderon’s uncles—former Democratic Assemblyman Tom Calderon and former Sen. Ron Calderon, also a Democrat—pleaded guilty to money laundering in 2016. The two brothers were indicted in 2014 by a federal grand jury.
Ron Calderon faced 24 counts related to allegedly accepting $150,000 in bribes and kickbacks. The charges included fraud, bribery, and money laundering. Tom Calderon was accused of laundering his brother’s cash through his political consulting firm and a nonprofit he led, Californians for Diversity.
Federal prosecutors said the brothers used their positions of power to enrich themselves.
Tom Calderon was sentenced to one year and one day in prison after he admitted to agreeing to conceal bribe payments during the federal investigation. Ron Calderon was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison.
Since leaving Sacramento, Ian Calderon founded his own political consulting firm, Majority Advisors, which he runs.
Calderon is competing with several other high-profile Democrats in the governor’s race, along with some well-known Republicans who have gained steam this year.
A recent poll revealed Democrat candidate Katie Porter of Irvine led the pack. Republican Chad Bianco, the sheriff of Riverside County, took second place, followed by commentator Steve Hilton, a Republican from Palo Alto.
Other strong candidates include state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, former Controller Betty Yee, former state Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
