San Jose state Sen. Dave Cortese is quietly getting his ducks in a row for a possible run for California attorney general, but only if incumbent Rob Bonta jumps into the governor’s race. That move would instantly make the Bay Area ground zero in a high-stakes statewide showdown and, closer to home, would trigger a special election in Santa Clara County to finish out the final year of Cortese’s Senate term. Translation for local politicos: circle 2026 on your calendars.
According to San José Spotlight, a top campaign organizer has confirmed that Cortese is interested, but only on one condition: his team will move ahead if, and only if, Bonta steps aside. State campaign finance filings already show Cortese has opened a committee for a 2026 attorney general bid, and his political consultant Tom Clifford, cited in the Spotlight report, underscored that the decision hinges entirely on what Bonta does next.
The same reporting was later republished by SFGATE via Bay City News Service, which also noted that other local prosecutors, including Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen, are said to be eyeing statewide runs of their own. If they all jump in, Democrats could be looking at a crowded primary where law‑enforcement résumés and labor backing are the main currency. How that field ultimately shapes up will turn on Bonta’s timetable and who beats the filing deadlines early next year.
Cortese’s record and what he’d bring to the race
Cortese is an attorney by training with decades in Bay Area politics, having served on the San Jose City Council and the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors before winning a state Senate seat in 2020, according to California Senate Democrats. His official bio highlights long-standing ties to organized labor and his role as chair of the Senate labor committee.
On public safety, Cortese has pushed a series of local measures that could preview his statewide message. He has led gun buyback events, championed a county safe‑storage ordinance and sponsored workplace protections in the wake of the 2021 VTA rail yard shooting. Taken together, those issues give him a blend of law‑and‑order credentials and labor support that would likely be front and center in an attorney general primary.
Local stakes: District 15 and Santa Clara County
Cortese currently represents Senate District 15, which covers parts of San Jose, Morgan Hill, Gilroy and San Martin. If he wins a statewide race, that seat would open up and have to be filled by a special election in Santa Clara County, San José Spotlight reports. Local power brokers and labor groups are already gaming out what that could mean: an early, expensive contest that scrambles existing endorsement plans and fundraising priorities.
For everyday voters in District 15, Cortese’s decision could translate into a rapidly shifting 2026 ballot, with an attorney general race at the top and a suddenly open Senate seat closer to home.
What’s next
Timing is tight. Candidate filing for the 2026 statewide primary opens in early February, and the filing deadline is March 6 ahead of the June 2 statewide direct primary, according to the official election calendar from the San Bernardino County Registrar. If Bonta formally jumps into the governor’s race, Cortese’s team would have only a short window to flip the switch from exploratory mode to formal candidacy, complete with paperwork and ballot statements.
A Cortese bid would put a San Jose politician with deep Bay Area roots at the center of a statewide debate over public safety, workers’ rights and immigrant protections, the mix of priorities that has defined much of his career. With the calendar locked in, the next few months of filings, announcements and endorsements will show whether Santa Clara County politics is about to help shape California’s next big legal and political fight.
