Gloria Romero, a Republican and former California Senate majority leader, is running for lieutenant governor in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election. She faces Fiona Ma, a Democrat.
Romero was the first woman to serve as Senate majority leader in the history of the California State Senate, according to her Wikipedia page. On Sept. 4, 2024, Romero left the Democratic Party and joined the Republican Party, citing what she called the Democratic Party's abandonment of working-class families and parental rights.
Candidate information
- Party: Republican
- Born: July 10, 1955, in Barstow, California
- Education: Associate of arts, Barstow Community College; bachelor of arts, California State University, Long Beach; master of arts, California State University, Long Beach; doctor of philosophy in psychology, University of California, Riverside
Experience and public service
- Board of trustees member, Los Angeles Community College District (1995–1998)
- State Assembly representative, District 49 (1998–2001)
- Majority whip, California State Assembly (1998–2000)
- State senator, District 24 (2001–2010)
- Senate majority leader, California State Senate (2005–2008)
- Professor, Cal State Los Angeles, according to her campaign website
- Founder and executive director, Scholarship Prep Charter School
- Adjunct faculty, Pepperdine School of Public Policy
On the issues
The following positions are drawn from Romero's campaign website and her responses on BallotReady. All statements reflect the candidate's own claims.
Environment and energy: Romero said the lieutenant governor plays a major role in California's land and coastal policy. She said she would lead on restructuring commissions she described as answering to Sacramento special interests. She called for fire prevention, smarter land management and faster rebuilding after disasters, naming Paradise, Malibu, the Palisades and Altadena as communities that have paid the price for what she called bad policy and slow permitting. She said she would work with federal partners to cut through red tape and explore untapped energy reserves.
Education: Romero said she would fight to restore merit in college admissions and protect academic standards. She called California's community colleges "the Ellis Islands of higher education" and said recent reports show widespread abuse of the application system. She said she would push to integrate the K-12 system more fully with higher education so students graduate prepared for college and careers. Romero also said she would hold campus administrators accountable for nondiscrimination, saying Jewish students and students of every faith and background deserve safety and equal treatment.
Taxes and budget: Romero said she would push for serious oversight and real consequences for how taxpayer dollars are spent, particularly in workforce training programs.
Civil rights: Romero said she would stand up for women's sports and Title IX protections.
Endorsements
The following endorsements were claimed by the endorsing organizations, according to BallotReady profile data:
- Bay Area GOP
- California Congress of Republicans
- Los Angeles County GOP
- Monterey County GOP
- San Bernardino County GOP
- San Francisco GOP
- Santa Clara County GOP
- Silicon Valley Association of Conservative Republicans
Candidate positions and biographical claims attributed to the candidate were drawn from her campaign website and BallotReady questionnaire responses. Voters can learn more at gloriaromero4ltgov.com.
