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Eleni Kounalakis
2019 - Present
2027
6
Eleni Kounalakis (Democratic Party) is the Lieutenant Governor of California. She assumed office in 2019. Her current term ends on January 4, 2027.
Kounalakis (Democratic Party) is running for election for California Treasurer. She declared candidacy for the 2026 election.[source]
Kounalakis also ran for election for Governor of California. She will not appear on the ballot for the general election on November 3, 2026.
Kounalakis is a former ambassador to Hungary and a senior advisor for the Albright Stonebridge Group. During the 2016 election cycle, she was a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign and part of Clinton's foreign policy advisory team.[1]
Biography
Kounalakis earned a bachelor's degree from Dartmouth in 1989 and an M.B.A from the University of California, Berkeley in 1992. Her career experience includes working as real estate developer.[2] She has been affiliated with the World Council of Religions for Peace.[3]
Political career
Below is a list of offices within Ballotpedia’s scope. Offices outside of that scope will not be listed. If an update is needed and the office is within our scope, please contact us.
Kounalakis' political career includes the following offices:
- 2019-present: Lieutenant Governor of California
Elections
2026
See also: California Treasurer election, 2026
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
General election for California Treasurer
Anna Caballero and Eleni Kounalakis are running in the general election for California Treasurer on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Anna Caballero (D) | |
 | Eleni Kounalakis (D) | |
| ||||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
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2022
See also: California lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2022
General election
General election for Lieutenant Governor of California
Incumbent Eleni Kounalakis defeated Angela Underwood Jacobs in the general election for Lieutenant Governor of California on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Eleni Kounalakis (D) | 59.7 | 6,418,119 |
 | Angela Underwood Jacobs (R) | 40.3 | 4,332,602 | |
| Total votes: 10,750,721 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Lieutenant Governor of California
The following candidates ran in the primary for Lieutenant Governor of California on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Eleni Kounalakis (D) | 52.7 | 3,617,121 |
| ✔ | | Angela Underwood Jacobs (R) | 19.9 | 1,365,468 |
 | David Fennell (R) | 13.4 | 922,493 | |
| Clint Saunders (R) | 4.5 | 306,216 | ||
 | Jeffrey Highbear Morgan (D) | 3.3 | 229,121 | |
 | Mohammad Arif (Peace and Freedom Party) | 2.7 | 183,150 | |
 | William Saacke (D) | 2.5 | 171,800 | |
 | David Hillberg (Independent) | 1.1 | 74,289 | |
 | James Orlando Ogle III (No party preference) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 25 | |
| Total votes: 6,869,683 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Scott Sebel (R)
- Boris Romanowsky (Independent)
Campaign finance
2018
General election
General election for Lieutenant Governor of California
Eleni Kounalakis defeated Edward Hernandez in the general election for Lieutenant Governor of California on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Eleni Kounalakis (D) | 56.6 | 5,914,068 |
 | Edward Hernandez (D) | 43.4 | 4,543,863 | |
| Total votes: 10,457,931 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Lieutenant Governor of California
The following candidates ran in the primary for Lieutenant Governor of California on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Eleni Kounalakis (D) | 24.2 | 1,587,940 |
| ✔ | | Edward Hernandez (D) | 20.6 | 1,347,442 |
 | Cole Harris (R) | 17.5 | 1,144,003 | |
 | Jeff Bleich (D) | 9.9 | 648,045 | |
| David Fennell (R) | 7.9 | 515,956 | |
| Lydia Ortega (R) | 6.4 | 419,512 | ||
 | David Hernandez (R) | 6.2 | 404,982 | |
 | Gayle McLaughlin (Independent) | 4.0 | 263,364 | |
 | Timothy Ferreira (L) | 1.5 | 99,949 | |
 | Cameron Gharabiklou (D) | 1.2 | 78,267 | |
| Danny Thomas (Independent) | 0.7 | 44,121 | ||
| Total votes: 6,553,581 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Marjan Fariba (Independent)
- Matthew Rizzie (D)
Endorsements
Kounalakis was endorsed by former President Barack Obama (D) in the general election.[4]
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
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2022
Eleni Kounalakis did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2018
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Eleni Kounalakis completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Kounalakis' responses.
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
Economy: As the chair of the Commission for Economic Development, I will advance policies that ensure our state's economy works for everyone, fight to build more affordable homes, ensure equal pay for women, and prepare California's economy for the 21st Century. We need to create more good-paying jobs while also protecting our environment. Higher Education: The cost of higher education is out of control. I have pledged to oppose all tuition increases for California students attending the UC and CSUs. I paid $2K per year in tuition for my MBA at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business. Now, the same program costs over $60K per year. I will fight to make higher education affordable and to build more affordable student housing. Environment: As Lt. Governor, I will serve on the State Lands Commission. I will use my skills as a diplomat, and my experience working on the policies that led to the Paris Climate Accord as U.S. Ambassador to Hungary, to protect the environment and ensure California is a global leader in the effort to fight climate change. I'll fight to protect our coasts and stop the Trump administration from expanding offshore oil drilling.
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?
I am the only woman in this race, and if elected, I'll bring down a high, hard glass ceiling as the first woman elected Lt. Governor of California. If we make history in this way, there is no greater cause for me to take on than to fight for gender parity in leadership and increase security for women. This includes protecting women from sexual harassment and ensuring equal pay and economic security.
What was your very first job? How long did you have it?
My very first paid job was working as a staffer at the California Democratic Party in 1992, helping elect two women to the U.S. Senate and turning California blue. Since then, I have been an activist promoting good government and a supporter of qualified Democratic candidates for elected office.
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Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, 2016
| Eleni Kounalakis | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Organization: | Albright Stonebridge Group |
| Role: | Senior advisor |
| Location: | San Francisco, Calif. |
| Affiliation: | Democratic |
| Education: | •Dartmouth College •University of California, Berkeley |
For the 2016 presidential election, Kounalakis joined Hillary Clinton's campaign. While she served as part of Clinton's foreign advisory team, Kounalakis was also involved in fundraising for the campaign in California.[5] In November 2015, she hosted a San Francisco fundraising event for Clinton that raised $2,700 per attendee.[6] In a 2015 opinion piece for CNN, Kounalakis described her experiences with Clinton and why she supported her presidential run: "Diplomatically, without bluster or bullying, without stealing headlines or focusing on her own legacy, Hillary Clinton rebuilt the network of American relationships around the globe. This is certainly her most important legacy and fundamental to the future of American leadership in the world."[7]
Notable endorsements
This section displays endorsements this individual made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
|
Officeholder Lieutenant Governor of California |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Albright Stonebridge Group, "Eleni Kounalakis," accessed May 31, 2016
- ↑ Office of Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis, "About Eleni Kounalakis," accessed April 21, 2025
- ↑ Dartmouth Alumni Magazine, "Journey to Budapest," December 2010
- ↑ Twitter, "Barack Obama tweet August 1, 2018," accessed August 13, 2018
- ↑ GreekReporter, "Eleni Kounalakis On Her Ambassadorship, New Book and Hillary Clinton," March 31, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "Hillary Clinton confronts her 43 percent problem," January 29, 2016
- ↑ CNN, "Hillary Clinton revived America's reputation in world," August 17, 2015
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Lieutenant Governor of California 2019-Present |
Succeeded by - |
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