Eleni Kounalakis

Candidate for State Treasurer

Eleni Kounalakis is the 50th Lieutenant Governor of California. She is the Democratic pick for state treasurer. The vote is set for November 3, 2026. She was born in Sacramento. Her parents were Greek immigrants. She is the daughter of Sacramento developer Angelo Tsakopoulos. She earned a B.A. from Dartmouth College. She earned an M.B.A. from the Haas School of Business, at UC Berkeley. She then spent 18 years at her family's firm, AKT Development Corporation. It is one of California's largest land firms. She rose to become its president. President Barack Obama later named her ambassador to Hungary. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton swore her in, on January 7, 2010. She served until 2013. She was the first Greek-American woman to hold a U.S. ambassador post. Her 2015 memoir, 'Madam Ambassador,' covers that time. She was elected lieutenant governor in 2018. She was re-elected in 2022. She was sworn in on January 7, 2019. She was the first woman elected to that job. In that role she has also served on the UC Board of Regents. She has served on the CSU Board of Trustees too. She has often voted against tuition hikes there. She launched a run for governor in April 2023. She quit that race on August 8, 2025. Polls and fundraising were both weak. She entered the treasurer's race instead. She said she could 'make the greatest impact by focusing on California's financial future.' In the June 2, 2026 primary, for the open seat, she came in first, among six hopefuls. She won 3,154,323 votes (36.7%). She now faces Republican Jennifer Hawks in November. Hawks got 2,063,253 votes (24.0%). Her campaign lists backers such as Governor Gavin Newsom. They also list former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton. Press coverage calls her the race's frontrunner. She lives in San Francisco. Her husband is journalist and scholar Markos Kounalakis. They have two sons. Home: San Francisco, California. Job: Lieutenant Governor of California. Prior office: Lieutenant Governor since 2019. She was elected in 2018. She was re-elected in 2022. U.S. Ambassador to Hungary, 2010-2013, an appointed post. This is an open seat. She is not the incumbent treasurer.

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