Jane Kim, a Democrat and former San Francisco supervisor, is running for California insurance commissioner in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election. She faces Democrat Ben Allen.
Kim led the June 2 top-two primary with approximately 26.8% of the vote, collecting 1,947,178 votes, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Candidate information
- Party: Democratic
- Birthplace: Manhattan, New York
- Education: Bachelor of arts in political science and Asian American studies, Stanford University; juris doctor, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (2009)
- Background: First Korean American elected official in San Francisco, according to Wikipedia
Experience and public service
Kim served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors representing District 6 from Jan. 8, 2011, to Jan. 8, 2019. Before that, she served as a member and president of the San Francisco Board of Education. She worked as a youth community organizer at the Chinatown Community Development Center and as a civil rights attorney, according to her campaign website.
She served as California political director and national regional political director for the Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign. She also served as inaugural executive director of the California Working Families Party.
As a supervisor, Kim said on her campaign website, she passed California's first $15 minimum wage, negotiated record levels of affordable housing and expanded free childcare for all low- and middle-income families.
On the issues
The following positions are drawn from Kim's campaign website and her responses submitted through BallotReady. They reflect the candidate's own statements.
Disaster insurance and claims: Kim says she would provide natural disaster insurance for all Californians, make sure insurers pay disaster survivors immediately, freeze rates after a policyholder files a claim and penalize delays to speed up claim payments. She says she would launch market conduct examinations to hold bad actors accountable and create a public insurer performance dashboard.
Healthcare coverage: Kim says she would enforce minimum coverage standards, create a statewide coverage calculator, end price discrimination for auto insurance and write a plan to provide what she calls Medicare for Kids.
Insurance affordability: Kim says she would make sure premiums pay for claims, create a public option for affordable auto insurance, show how insurance companies spend policyholder money and invest in safer homes and communities.
Campaign finance: Kim has pledged not to accept contributions from the insurance industry, the fossil fuel industry or corporate political action committees, and not to self-fund her campaign. She describes herself as the only Democratic candidate in the race to make this pledge.
Endorsements
Kim's endorsements include U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, California State Controller Malia Cohen and Dolores Huerta, according to her campaign website and CalMatters. Labor endorsements include the California Labor Federation, California Nurses Association, California Teachers Association, SEIU California and the UFCW Western States Council.
Candidate information was gathered from public records, news coverage and the candidate's own campaign materials. Policy positions reflect the candidate's stated views.
