Malia Cohen, the Democratic incumbent, is running for re-election as California State Controller in November 2026 against Republican challenger Herb Morgan. Cohen, the first Black woman elected Controller, previously served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and the State Board of Equalization, and is campaigning on governing state finances with “transparency, efficiency and fairness.” She has been endorsed by Governor Gavin Newsom, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, Senate President Pro Tem Monique Limón, the California Democratic Party, the California Teachers Association, and several regional labor councils. Morgan, a San Diego-based investment professional, is campaigning on a self-produced fraud-investigation platform and a proposed blockchain-based public finance tracking system.
