The $30 million fundraising gap

Democratic candidates have raised significantly more money than their Republican counterparts in the race for the role of state treasurer, California's chief banker. The role requires managing and investing unspent taxpayer money and overseeing the state's borrowing and debts.

Anna Caballero, most recently the chair of the state Senate's powerful Appropriations Committee, and Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis both raised hundreds of thousands of dollrs from large donors, including unions, tribes, and businesses.

Kounalakis originally ran for governor, but dropped out at the end of 2025. With 47% of votes counted as of 9:30 p.m., Kounalakis has the lead with 36.3% of the vote.. Republican candidate Jennifer Hawks, a retired businesswoman, has 26.6%.

An echo of Sydney's 2024 institutional buy-up

California voters are also weighing in on who should regulate the state's embattled insurance market, which has been grappling with how to cope with insurers leaving the state amid growing wildfire risks.

Current and former state Democratic lawmakers Ben Allen and Steven Bradford are among the candidates, as is Democrat Patrick Wolff, a financial analyst whose campaign is largely self-funded. The Republican Party has endorsed insurance agent Stacy A. Korsgaden.

With 47% of votes counted as of 9:30 p.m., former San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim has the lead with 24.1% of the vote. Allen is next with 20.3% of the vote,and Korsgaden has 17.5%.

Who is the unnamed buyer?

The source article does not reveal the identity of the unnamed buyer who has been endorsed by the Republican Party for the role of insurance regulator .

The article does mention that the buyer has been endorsed by the Republican Party, but it does not provide any further information about their identity or qualifications.

What auditors flagged in the May filing

The source article does not provide any information about what auditors flagged in the May filing. It only mentions that the filing was made in May, but it does not provide any further details about what was included in the filing.