Former LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Announces Another Run for California Governor

Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced on Tuesday that he would be officially running for Governor in 2026.

A graduate of UCLA and the People’s College of Law, Villaraigosa was early on a leader of MEChA, a Chicano political action group. However, following controversies over race, Villaraigosa left the group while still in college. After graduating and failing to pass the state bar multiple times, Villaraigosa became a field representative and organizer for the United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) union. He subsequently followed this up with stints as the leader of the L.A. chapter of the ACLU and being president of the American Federation of Governmental Employees (AFGE) union.

His political career began in the 90s where, following a Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Board appointment, he was elected to the California state Assembly in 1994. He subsequently rose through the ranks fast, becoming Majority Leader in 1996 and Speaker in 1998. However he declined to run in the 2000 race, instead focusing on running for Mayor. However, he was defeated by the incumbent Mayor James Hahn in 2001, forcing Villaraigosa to instead run for City Council in 2003. He won, serving one term before trying his hand at becoming Mayor again. The second time around proved successful, and he was elected into the office in 2005, winning on a platform fronted by education reform. He was also reelected in 2009.

Villaraigosa had what many considered to have a lukewarm time as Los Angeles Mayor. A proponent of public transportation, he called on the expansion of the L.A. Metro, even managing to convince the city to repeal it’s ban on subway tunneling. He was also known for vastly expanding the LAPD to help combat crime in the city. However, his crime record also had controversy, as he had shown misleading statistics in his 2009 claim that crime was down to levels not seen since the 1950’s.

Another controversy was raising the city’s trash pickup fees by 200% in 2006 in order to pay for more police, with later studies finding that only 1/3rd of the new tax dollars actually went towards hiring more officers and the rest going into general city funds. More well known where his two ethics violation investigations in 2007 and 2010, with the latter scandal including accepting tens of thousands of dollars worth of free entertainment and sporting event tickets. Following leaving office in 2013, his main legacy has largely been seen as running on a platform of education, but ultimately doing little to improve it in the city after 8 years in office.

Since leaving the office, Villaraigosa has been a consultant for Herbalife as well as remaining active in politics. However, he has not held elective office since 2013, and has not received an appointment since 2012, when he was chosen as the Democratic National Convention Chairman. He has run in several elections since then, but has not been successful. This included an abortive 2016 Senate run and a 2018 Gubernatorial run where he came in 3rd place, losing to then Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom and Republican businessman John Cox. For much of 2023 and 2024, he has hinted at another major effort with a possible 2026 Gubernatorial run.

This led to Villaraigosa announcing on Tuesday that he would be entering the 2026 Gubernatorial election.

A second run for Governor

In a video announcement, Villaraigosa said that “I believe we need a problem solver to lead our state. That’s why I’m running for governor. I know we can do big things for California because I’ve done them before. California is the state where anything is possible with hard work and determination. But our future depends on our willingness to face our biggest challenges. I’m a problem solver, and with your support, that’s exactly what I’ll do as your next governor.

“I know we can do big things for California because I’ve done them before. As Governor, I’ll balance the state budget, make sure our neighborhoods are safe and our kids have great schools. I’ll bring down costs for small businesses and middle-class families.”

Villaraigosa is now part of one of the most crowded big-name Gubernatorial races in years.  Following Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis announcing her run in April 2023, State Superintendent Tony Thurmond, Senator Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), and Former State Controller Betty Yee have also entered the race as it is the first Gubernatorial election since 2018 with no incumbent in the race. Attorney General Rob Bonta, Congresswoman Katie Porter (D-CA), 2022 L.A. Mayoral candidate Rick Caruso, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have also been mentioned as possible candidates. In addition, Republicans will also likely add in a major candidate that will only further split the crowded primary in early 2026.

Villaraigosa enters as the only candidate who had previously run for Governor, but enters less of a head start than all the other candidates before him, including early favorite Kounalakis. Also of concern is losing a major race yet again, as 2018 had him losing in the primary to a Republican for the first time in his career.

“Villaraigosa is coming in as a major Hispanic candidate,”  said gubernatorial pollster Guillermo Williams to the Globe on Tuesday. “Look at the major candidates so far, and they are from all over. Race, gender, geography, experience, age. Voters are really going to have to look at the issues for them. The GOP really needs to get out a candidate with at least some appeal, and they can easily slice through that and get their person in for November. And that is just going to worry all the candidates even more.”

“As for Villaraigosa, he has a decent shot. But he hasn’t held office in over a decade, so experience is out there. Oh, and not to mention him losing big in 2018. That scar is still there. And he also has all those controversies still lingering from his time as Mayor. He has SoCal support and Hispanic support, as well as limited state support thanks to his brief national presence in 2012. But in a race like this, it won’t be enough. I really can’t wait for when we get to start doing polls for the race, because the results are going to be very split.”

Other candidates are expected to announce runs for Governor in 2026 soon.