Jane Kim, a Democrat and former San Francisco supervisor, is running for California insurance commissioner in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election. She faces fellow Democrat Ben Allen after leading the June 2 top-two primary with approximately 26.8% of the vote, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Both are Democrats.
The insurance commissioner sets rates and enforces rules on homeowners, auto and health coverage statewide, including for Santa Monica policyholders.
Candidate information
- Party: Democratic
- Office sought: California Insurance Commissioner
- Election date: Nov. 3, 2026
- Education: Bachelor of arts in political science and Asian American studies, Stanford University; juris doctor, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (2009)
- Born: July 9, 1977, in Manhattan, New York, to South Korean immigrant parents
Kim was the 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 January 2011 to January 2019. Before that, she served as a member and president of the San Francisco Board of Education.
She worked as a civil rights attorney, according to her campaign website. She also worked as a youth community organizer at the Chinatown Community Development Center. Kim later served as California political director and national regional political director for the Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign. She was also the inaugural executive director of the California Working Families Party.
As a San Francisco supervisor, Kim said she passed what she called California's first $15 minimum wage, negotiated record levels of affordable housing, made San Francisco the only city in the nation with free community college, expanded free childcare for all low- and middle-income families, and passed what she called the strongest tenant protections in the nation.
On the issues
The following positions are from Kim's campaign website and BallotReady responses. They represent the candidate's own statements.
Campaign finance: Kim said she has pledged not to accept contributions from the insurance industry, the fossil fuel industry or corporate political action committees. She said she will not self-fund her campaign, describing herself as the only Democratic candidate to make that pledge.
Homeowners and disaster insurance: Kim said she would provide natural disaster insurance for all, make sure premiums pay for claims, invest in safer homes and communities, and require insurers to pay disaster survivors immediately.
Consumer protection and accountability: Kim said she would freeze rates after a policyholder files a claim, penalize delays to speed up payments, launch market conduct examinations to hold bad actors accountable, and create a public insurer performance dashboard showing how insurance companies spend policyholder money.
Healthcare: Kim said 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.
Auto insurance: Kim said she would create a public option for affordable auto insurance.
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, SEIU California, California Teachers Association, UFCW Western States Council and the Working Families Party.
Candidate responses were submitted through the candidate's campaign website and BallotReady. The Santa Monica Wave did not interview the candidate for this profile.
