California Governor Gavin Newsom is asking Congress for nearly $40 billion in disaster funding to help Los Angeles recover and rebuild areas scorched by last month's devastating wildfires, the Washington Post reported on Friday citing a letter.

Voters have to wait until 2026 to cast their ballots and decide the next governor of California. Gov. Gavin Newsom won't be among the candidates.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris hasn't announced her future plans yet but even without entering the race for California governor in 2026, one poll shows the race would be hers to lose if she did.

After flying back to Los Angeles last month, Ms. Harris has stood with firefighters in Altadena, greeted evacuees at a Red Cross shelter and toured fire damage in Pacific Palisades. During her most recent stop, she did little to quell speculation.

Gov. Gavin Newsom is term-limited, and several high-profile Democrats have already signaled they want to run next year to replace him.

Chad Bianco, a tough-on-crime Republican Sheriff in California's Riverside County and a 2024 Trump supporter, launches a 2026 campaign for governor in the race to succeed term-limited Gov. Gavin Newso

None of California’s governors came from Riverside County. Most holding the state’s highest elected office hailed from Los Angeles or San Francisco, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, who served as San Francisco’s mayor and California lieutenant governor before winning his current job in 2018.

Ric Grenell, former ambassador to Germany and acting director of national intelligence in the first Trump administration, said he might run for governor of California, but only under one condition.

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco is to officially declare his run for California governor on Monday. He is set to make the announcement at an 11:30 a.m. event at Avila's Historic 1929 Event Center in Riverside.

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco became the first well-known Republican to announce a bid for California governor to replace term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2026. Bianco is an ardent supporter of President Donald Trump and has criticized Newsom and other Democrats leading California.