California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis has publicly launched a new independent political committee to mobilize California’s “pro-choice” voters and help defeat Donald Trump and regain Democratic control of the House of Representatives.
Californians for Choice, which as a super PAC is authorized to raise unlimited sums from donors for independent expenditures in races, plans to recruit volunteers across the state to make calls and knock on doors in key contests of Congress, according to a committee statement.
The PAC will focus on defeating Reps. John Duarte (R-Modesto), Mike Garcia (R-Santa Clarita), David Valadao (R-Hanford) and Ken Calvert (R-Corona) and replacing them with Democrats, as well as on maintaining Democratic control of Irvine Rep. Katie Porter’s seat, where Democratic state Sen. Dave Min is competing against Republican Scott Baugh. Instead of running for office, Porter made a bid for the U.S. Senate but lost in the March primary.
The PAC launched with a 30-second statewide ad featuring Kounalakis, who speaks directly to the camera in jeans and a blazer while headlines about abortion restrictions blare in the background. plan.
“I’m building an army to fight back, defend choice, and defend women,” Kounalakis says in the ad.
Californians for Choice made an initial ad buy of just over seven figures in digital and television, according to David Beltran, a strategist working with the PAC.
The powerful state politician and former U.S. ambassador to Hungary has already been running in the 2026 gubernatorial race for more than a year, and the publicity will undoubtedly help improve her name recognition and restore its image as a leader in matters of abortion rights.
With Newsom ruled out in 2026, the race to replace him has already been crowded for more than a year, with California Supt. of Public Education Tony Thurmond, Senator Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) and former State Comptroller Betty Yee among those who have already thrown their hat in the ring. State Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta has also said he is considering a run for governor, but has not officially joined the race.
Kounalakis is the daughter of self-made Sacramento real estate mogul Angelo Tsakopoulos; she and her family have spent lavishly on their political priorities in the past, including Kounalakis’s lieutenant governor’s race.
Kounalakis was first elected lieutenant governor in 2018 and re-elected in 2022. The position is a relatively unknown position that often serves as a launching pad for the governor’s mansion. Newsom and former Gov. Gray Davis previously served as lieutenant governor.
The paperwork needed to create the Californians for Choice PAC was filed with the Federal Election Commission in mid-April, according to FEC records.
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