Jane Kim holds slim lead over Ben Allen with race for California insurance czar too close to call

Bernie Sanders-endorsed Jane Kim was ahead of state Sen.Ben Allen in a tight race for California insurance commissioner early Wednesday morning, as election officials continued counting ballots.With approximately 52% of votes counted, the lefty ex-San Francisco supervisor had received 3,426,499 votes, or 52%, compared to Allen’s 3,168,467 votes, or 48%, according to the California Secretary of State’s official election results.The contest between the two Democrats was the closest statewide race on Tuesday’s ballot.

Kim, a progressive who finished first in the June primary, faced off against the more moderate Allen for the opportunity to replace outgoing Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, whose term ends in December.After maintaining a three-point advantage late Tuesday, Kim expressed confidence in her campaign’s position, saying she felt “very good about where we stand.”“It’s an incredible honor to have received so much support from every corner of the state,” she said in a statement.“There has never been a statewide campaign like this one in California, and we are so proud of the race we ran.”Allen, meanwhile, called for patience Wednesday morning as additional ballots were being processed, emphasizing that “every vote matters.”Allen had a financial advantage throughout the campaign, raising roughly $2.3 million in direct contributions, compared to the $1.3 million collected by Kim.He pointed to the devastation caused by the January 2025 Palisades Fire, which swept through communities in his Senate district, as a major reason he entered the race.“My work doesn’t stop,” he said.

“Every day, I’ll be fighting for those families.”While both candidates acknowledged that California homeowners are struggling with an increasingly troubled insurance market, they offered sharply different solutions.The far-left candidate’s major proposal to tackle the crisis is a single-payer disaster-insurance policy for every Californian dubbed �...