California's AG Rob Bonta steps away from Governor's race

California Attorney General Rob Bonta would support Kamala Harris if shee runs for governor.

California's Attorney General Rob Bonta has decided to pull his name from the growing list of candidates vying for the next governor.

Bonta, who is the first Filipino Amrican AG for California, has been attorney general since 2021 and been deemed a strong candidate for governor since Gov. Gavin Newsom terms out in 2026.

Bonta on Wednesday expressed support for the possible gubernatorial campaign of former Vice President Kamala Harris, according to a Politico report.

"I would support her if she ran, I’ve always supported her in everything she’s done, She would be field-clearing,” he told Politico.

Bonta noted he was considering running for governor last year, but changed his mind after Donald Trump defeated Harris for President, reports Politico. At the time, he was polling second among Democrats likely to become California's governor.

Former Vice President Harris, now residing in Los Angeles, has not formally announced what her future plans are: whether to run for governor of her home state or make another run for President in 2028.

“I am staying in the fight,” she repeated during a phone call interview with Politico. But she did not elaborate, thus keeping her options open.

Some high-profile Californians have already declared their candidacy or considering a run for the state's top post. Besides Harris, they include: former Congressmember Katie Porter, Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmon, former State Controller Betty Yee and state Sen. Toni Atkins.

Despite dropping out of the Governor's race, Bonta's profile continues to rise since Trump took office Jan. 20 and has embraced his role as a outspoken protector of the civil rights of minorities and immigrants and defender of the US Constitution. In the almost three weeks since the inauguration, he has put himself in the frontline of the resistence against Trump. Bonta has filed and joined lawsuits against a number of Trump's executive order alowing other Democratic leaders such as Newsom to develop a more measured relationship with the unpredictable Trump.

Most recently, on Monday, Feb. 10, Bonta joined with 22 other Attorneys General filed a legal challenge against Trump's attempt to freeze up to $3 trillion in federal funding, including funding for former President Biden's Inflation Reducation Act and Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act. The courts agreed with the AGs and granted an injunction against the Trump action. However, Trump continues to ignore the court ordered injunction.

“The Trump Administration continued to improperly freeze vital federal funding more than a week after a court ordered it not to, jeopardizing California’s efforts to strengthen domestic energy security and the construction of critical infrastructure projects,” said Bonta. 

“No Administration is above the law. In every case we’ve filed to date, state attorneys general have successfully restrained the President’s abuse of executive power – and we will continue to hold him accountable; our democratic institutions depend on it. The court’s decision today is unequivocal: The Trump Administration must fully comply with the court’s order and immediately restore all federal funding while our litigation continues."

Bonta is the son of immigrantss from the Philippines. His parents fled the Philippines in 1972 during the martial law regime of strongman Ferdinand Marcos. In the US, they became involved with the United Farm Workers, working for the rights and improved working conditions of the largely immigrant agricultural work force. They instsilled a sense of justice in their son, which is why he became a lawyer, a State Assemblymember and finally his corrent justice as California's top attorney.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X or at the blog Views From the Edge.