# Attorney General — California Candidate Report Card

**Election: November 3, 2026. Research checked: October 7, 2026.**

Every office deserves an explanation, and every candidate deserves the same questions. This page begins the public record for California’s attorney general contest, with evidence that readers can inspect and challenge.

## WHAT THIS OFFICE DOES

The attorney general leads the Department of Justice, represents California in court, enforces state law, and investigates unlawful activity.

## THE CANDIDATES

### Rob Bonta

**Background:** His official biography records service as attorney general since April 2021, previous Assembly service, and work as a deputy city attorney. The agency describes civil-rights, consumer-protection, and criminal-enforcement priorities. These are agency descriptions, not independent performance evaluations. [Official biography](https://oag.ca.gov/about).

**Democratic.** The official guide lists Bonta but contains no statement from him. That is missing material in this source, not proof that he lacks a platform.

[Official office and public record](https://oag.ca.gov/)

**Question for the candidate:** What are your next-term enforcement priorities, oversight safeguards, and measurable outcomes?

### Michael E. Gates

**Republican.** His statement emphasizes legal and prosecutorial experience, Proposition 36 enforcement, trafficking prosecutions, victim protection, and treatment. His crime and results claims need independent checking.

![Michael E. Gates — portrait supplied to the official California voter guide](/images/redesign/elections/candidates/attorney-general-gates.jpg)

[Candidate website](https://gates4ag.com/)

**Question for the candidate:** What prosecution and treatment outcomes would you report, and how would you protect due process?

## PROVISIONAL SCORECARD

| Candidate | Clear commitments / 10 | Full report / 90 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Rob Bonta | Unscored | Not assigned |
| Michael E. Gates | 6 | Not assigned |

**Why these limited scores:** Gates describes enforcement mechanisms connected to the office. Bonta cannot be rated on a statement he did not submit; equivalent campaign materials must be reviewed before comparing totals.

## HOW TO READ THE SCORE

**Provisional AI research assessment — not Omar’s final score or endorsement.** This first pass rates only the **clear, measurable commitments** category using the candidate’s published statement. It does not rate personal character, policy desirability, or the likelihood of winning.

The 10-point rule gives up to two points each for: a stated action; an identifiable delivery mechanism; a connection to this office’s responsibilities; a quantified success target; and an implementation deadline. Two means explicit, one means partial, and zero means absent from the reviewed statement. Here, zero describes a missing element in this specific document, not the candidate’s ability or complete platform. A candidate with no reviewed statement remains unscored.

The other eight categories require broader evidence: relevant experience; accountability; education; affordability; economic opportunity; civil rights and religious freedom for everyone; environment; and practical use of office powers. **They remain unscored in this first pass. No total out of 90 is assigned.** A fuller record may change the provisional category score.

## THREE VOICES — ONE OPEN RECORD

**AI research:** the sourced snapshot and limited assessment above. **Voter response:** Omar and other readers can give their own assessments. **Candidate response:** candidates can provide evidence, corrections, and their own scores. No candidate responses or endorsements are claimed here.

**Who will win?** No election forecast is assigned. This report contains no reviewed polling; a statement score is not a probability of winning.

We wish every candidate the best of luck and hope the result serves the people of California. The research remains open. The human decides.

## SOURCES AND PORTRAITS

[Official candidate statements and office responsibilities](https://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/candidates/attorney-general-candidate-statements.htm). Statements are supplied by candidates and are not independently fact-checked by the Secretary of State. The score evaluates the submitted wording; it does not validate every claim.

[Official guide’s candidate list](https://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/voter-info/info-about-candidate-statements.htm). Check the certified list and your own ballot for the complete applicable contest.

[Portrait source — Michael E. Gates](https://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/img/attorney-general/gates.jpg)


[Official portrait — Rob Bonta](https://oag.ca.gov/sites/default/files/media/ag-bonta-official-2.jpg). The full-resolution agency photograph is linked here.

[Back to California — The People's Ballot](https://omararizona.com/us-politics-vote-2026-2028-elections/california)