# Treasurer — 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 treasurer contest, with evidence that readers can inspect and challenge.

## WHAT THIS OFFICE DOES

The treasurer manages investments, sells state bonds and notes, and handles financing responsibilities. The treasurer does not independently write the budget.

## THE CANDIDATES

### Jennifer Hawks

**Republican.** Her statement emphasizes business experience, responsible investment, financial oversight, and exposing waste.

![Jennifer Hawks — portrait supplied to the official California voter guide](/images/redesign/elections/candidates/treasurer-hawks1.jpg)

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

**Question for the candidate:** What investment benchmarks, debt disclosures, and oversight steps would change under your leadership?

### Eleni Kounalakis

**Democratic.** Her statement proposes affordable-housing finance, family investments, and pension protection, drawing on business and lieutenant-governor experience.

![Eleni Kounalakis — portrait supplied to the official California voter guide](/images/redesign/elections/candidates/treasurer-kounalakis.jpg)

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

**Question for the candidate:** How would you measure housing-finance outcomes and investment risk without overpromising the office’s powers?

## PROVISIONAL SCORECARD

| Candidate | Clear commitments / 10 | Full report / 90 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Jennifer Hawks | 4 | Not assigned |
| Eleni Kounalakis | 6 | Not assigned |

**Why these limited scores:** Kounalakis identifies financing channels. Hawks identifies stewardship goals with less detail about the instruments she would use.

## 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/treasurer-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 — Jennifer Hawks](https://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/img/treasurer/hawks1.jpg)

[Portrait source — Eleni Kounalakis](https://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/img/treasurer/kounalakis.jpg)

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