By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

State Senate Pro Tempore Toni Atkins’s campaign for governor in 2026 announced last week that Assemblymember Akilah Weber (D-San Diego) is a supporter.

Weber endorsed Atkins’s candidacy along with the members of the San Diego Democratic Legislative Delegation. That delegation includes California State Senators Catherine Blakespear (D-Encinitas) and Steve Padilla (D-Chula Vista), and California Assemblymembers Tasha Boerner (D-Encinitas), Brian Maienschein (D-San Diego), Chris Ward (F-San Diego), and David Alvarez (D-Chula Vista).

As a member of the LGBTQ Legislative Caucus, Atkins, 61, has been at the forefront progressive change in the state as a Democratic leader overseeing the State Senate. Her career began on the San Diego City Council where she served for eight years. In 2010, she was elected to the State Assembly and became the first LGBTQ speaker of the chamber.

In January, Atkins endorsed Weber’s candidacy for California State Senate.

“Dr. Akilah weber has devoted her career to helping people in their most vulnerable moments and her experiences – as both a doctor and policymaker – make her uniquely qualified to lead,” wrote Atkins in her statement endorsing Weber.

Other well-known state leaders who have announced their candidacies for California Governor in 2026 include former State Treasurer and California Democratic Party Vice Chair Betty Yee, California Lieutenant Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, and California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond.

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