California governor hopefuls solicit donations for Kamala Harris — and themselves

SACRAMENTO, California — California gubernatorial campaigns for state Sen. Toni Atkins and former Controller Betty Yee on Monday sought donations that would be split between themselves and Vice President Kamala Harris, an uncommon attempt to simultaneously fundraise for state and federal races through one texting campaign.

Both 2026 contenders have endorsed Harris to replace President Joe Biden since he withdrew from the race on Sunday, as has virtually every prominent California Democrat from Rep. Nancy Pelosi to Gov. Gavin Newsom . The statewide candidates’ messages to prospective donors punctuate the party’s coalescence around Harris while also stressing Atkins’ and Yee’s anti-Trump bona fides.

“I was thrilled to support Kamala’s campaign for President back in 2020, and I am honored to endorse Kamala Harris once again to be the next President of the United States,” Atkins’ text said. “No one is more qualified to take on Donald Trump and win in November.”

Atkins went on to ask for donations that would be divided evenly between her campaign and Harris’, through a link to a page on ActBlue — the Democratic fundraising network. Yee’s fundraising text provided a similar ActBlue link .

“I know we have the right person to stand up for our rights and protections,” Yee’s text said. “Now more than ever, it is crucial that our party and country swiftly unite to defeat Donald Trump.”

It’s not uncommon for statewide Democrats to drum up funding for their party’s presidential ticket. Newsom has used his fundraising apparatus and donor lists to pull in cash for Biden, and he sent a plea on Monday for donations that would be split between three out-of-state congressional candidates and Harris. Seemingly more unusual is the approach taken by Atkins and Yee: giving party faithful the chance to donate to a state and federal candidate with only one credit card payment. In contrast, other campaigns for governor have focused on solo fundraising pitches in recent days.

Atkins’ campaign provided a list to POLITICO of a dozen candidates who’ve sent split donation requests to benefit themselves and Harris over the last two days, though only one was by a state-level candidate. The rest sought donations for congressional candidates, political action committees or local Democratic parties, some of which could benefit state and local candidates.

"California Democrats are fired up for VP Harris, and I'm leaning in to fundraise and build support for her to beat Donald Trump," Yee said in a statement to POLITICO. "There is so much at stake."

The approach could be an attempt at breaking through a crowded field to replace Newsom, which lacks a clear frontrunner . And though the current governor’s final term won’t end for more than two years, campaigns have been underway for over a year. Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis entered the race first in April of 2023, and quickly secured a fundraising edge thanks to her early candidacy, connections to deep-pocketed donors and familial wealth.

That has seemingly put pressure on challengers to announce their candidacies early; state school Superintendent Tony Thurmond has already jumped in . So too has Yee , a former state controller, and Atkins, who led the state Senate and Assembly. California Attorney General Rob Bonta is expected to run and POLITICO has reported that U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra is mulling a campaign for the position.