Toni Atkins, the president pro tempore of the California state Senate, has declared her candidacy for the Golden State’s governorship in 2026.
Atkins joins several other big-name Democrats, including Lt. Gov Eleni Kounalakis and Public Instruction Superintendent Tony Thurmond, in the race to succeed term-limited incumbent Gov. Gavin Newsom.
If elected, Atkins will be both the first woman and first LGBTQ person to hold the California governorship.
The leader of the California Senate on Friday said she would run for governor in 2026, entering a campaign that is far from the minds of voters but is quickly filling with candidates in a state that requires frequent fundraising to compete in some of the nation’s most expensive media markets.
Toni Atkins, a Democrat from San Diego, made history as only the third person and the first woman to hold both of the state Legislature’s top jobs — speaker of the Assembly and president pro tempore of the Senate.
Atkins is still in the latter role, but plans to step down early next month as she enters the final year of her term and cannot seek reelection because of term limits.
REPUBLICAN VYING FOR KEVIN MCCARTHY’S VACATED SEAT OUTLINES PROMISE OF ‘CALIFORNIA FOR ALL CALIFORNIANS’
California, despite its progressive reputation, has never had a woman or an openly LGBTQ governor. Atkins, who is a lesbian, could be both. But she’ll have to compete against a strong field of Democrats, including Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, former Controller Betty Yee and Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis. Attorney General Rob Bonta is also considering a run to succeed current Gov. Gavin Newsom, who cannot seek a third term.
Kounalakis, Thurmond, Yee and Bonta have the benefit of appearing — and winning — in a statewide election, meaning voters will be familiar with them. Atkins has only ever been elected by voters in San Diego.
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President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins of the California state Senate is photographed at the Capitol in Sacramento, California, Monday, July 10, 2023.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli,File)
But she is well-versed in the inner workings of the Capitol and policymaking. She has negotiated multibillion-dollar budgets and major legislation with two governors. And she has a compelling personal story — growing up in a house with no running water in rural Virginia before making her way out West and becoming one of the most powerful elected officials in the state.
“I certainly don’t fit the mold of past governors or even some of the candidates that will be in this race,” Atkins said. “I’m going to lean on my story, because I think Californians are going to want someone more like them.”
Atkins came to California in 1985 to help care for her sister’s young son. She later worked at a women’s health clinic that performed abortions before getting elected to the San Diego City Council. She had a brief stint as mayor before getting elected to the state Assembly in 2010 and the state Senate in 2016.
In the Legislature she worked with former Gov. Jerry Brown and Newsom to craft a series of budgets marked by multibillion-dollar surpluses. That ended last year when the state had a multibillion-dollar deficit.
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Newsom has steadfastly refused sweeping tax increases to balance the budget — something Atkins, too, said she would try to stay away from if she were elected governor.
“We want to preserve what we’ve done. It took a lot of work,” Atkins said. “I would not gravitate toward raising taxes in this moment. I don’t think it’s called for yet.”
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Utah tied the record for the warmest Christmas Day in state history before the sun came up.
In the very first hour of Christmas, Salt Lake City had already tied the record for the warmest Christmas ever recorded, with temperatures hitting 59 degrees. This record was set exactly 70 years ago in 1955, according to the National Weather Service.
By the afternoon, the city is forecast to surpass the record, reaching a high of 62 degrees.
The forecast for St. George unsurprisingly shows even warmer temperatures with an expected high of 67 degrees.
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A full rainbow was visible in Garrison, Utah, on Christmas Eve 2025. (Photo: Alicia Wheeler via KUTV Chime In)
This record-breaking weather is not surprising, as Christmas Eve also surpassed the previous recorded high, and this month marks Utah’s warmest December on record.
While there will not be snow in Utah valleys for the holiday, scattered storms are expected to bring wind and rain throughout the northern and south-eastern parts of the state, according to KUTV Meteorologist Sean Kelly. However, the Interstate 15 corridor should be relatively dry in the afternoon.
Windy conditions will blow through the state today and tomorrow, with some reaching speeds of over 50 mph.
MORE | Unseasonably warm December forces Olympic qualifying event to relocate out of Utah
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While fall temperatures have been stubbornly holding on into the winter, Kelly said cold temperatures could be just days away.
A cold front is forecast to reach the state by the weekend, with a possibility of snow by Saturday evening. Temperatures are also expected to drop into the twenties and thirties on Sunday and Monday, with potential highs sitting around or below freezing.
By Jake Goldstein-Street (Washington State Standard)
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Dec. 25, 2025 4:55 p.m.
A road is covered by floodwaters after heavy rains led to historic flooding in the region Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Burlington, Wash.
Lindsey Wasson / AP
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. declared a public health emergency Wednesday over this month’s flooding in Washington state.
The action from Kennedy, the head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is focused on helping meet the needs of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. As part of that, his agency is providing access to HHS emPOWER, which gives data on the number of Medicare enrollees reliant on medical equipment dependent on electricity and other health care services that could make them especially vulnerable to a disaster.
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The announcement could be a good sign for the state’s chances of getting a major disaster declaration from President Donald Trump to potentially open up tens of millions of dollars to deal with the flooding’s aftermath.
Gov. Bob Ferguson plans to ask for such a declaration in the coming weeks.
The flooding from heavy rain and overflowing rivers forced thousands of evacuations, breached multiple levees and damaged numerous highways. It still didn’t quite reach the levels some forecasts predicted. One person has been reported dead.
Kennedy’s order follows an emergency declaration from Trump that unlocked federal resources to respond to the storm.
John Knox, of the department’s Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, said in a statement that, “HHS stands ready to assist state and local response efforts in the state of Washington due to the potential health care impacts from severe storms.”
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Health and Human Services has also waived penalties for violating federal health privacy rules under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, for hospitals.
“With today’s declaration and waiver, HHS is helping ensure that residents in the storm’s path have continuous access to the care they need during and after this storm,” Knox said. “ASPR’s highly trained personnel are prepared to support state and local actions to save lives and protect the delivery of health care services.”
The federal Disaster Distress Helpline is also available for crisis counseling. The multilingual hotline, open 24 hours a day, can be reached via call or text at 1-800-985-5990.
The declaration is retroactive to Dec. 9.
A windstorm forecast to arrive in western Washington on Wednesday could exacerbate problems, as saturated soil from the recent rain could make trees and powerline poles especially susceptible to falling over. But the wind is now not expected to be as intense as predicted earlier this week.
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Meanwhile, Washington Attorney General Nick Brown filed a lawsuit with other states against Kennedy on Tuesday for his threats against gender-affirming care providers.
Brown called Kennedy’s move “as cruel and unnecessary as it is illegal, but consistent with an administration that puts politics above health.” It’s Washington’s 49th lawsuit against the federal government since Trump retook office in January.
Washington State Standard is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501(c)(3) public charity.
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(Lander, WY) – County 10 got an exclusive interview with the Man in Red himself this year, who recently stopped by the Wyoming Life Resource Center (WLRC) in Lander to spread some Christmas cheer, along with his furry elves Rylee and Aggie. Santa said that he was able to battle the Wyoming wind on his […]
