Gloria J. Romero, Ph.D. (born July 10, 1955, Barstow, California) is a former California state senator, education reform advocate, and lifelong Californian who served nearly 12 years in the state Legislature — including as the first woman ever to serve as California State Senate Majority Leader (2005–2008). A Democrat for most of her political career, she re-registered as a Republican in September 2024 after years of growing estrangement from her former party over education policy, COVID-19 mandates, and gender identity politics. She is running as the Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor of California in the June 2, 2026 primary, openly aligned with Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton as an informal joint ticket.
Romero grew up in Barstow and earned an A.A. from Barstow Community College, a B.A. and M.A. from California State University, Long Beach, and a Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of California, Riverside. Before entering politics, she worked as a professor and academic researcher. She served on the Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees and the Los Angeles Elected Charter Reform Commission before being elected to the California State Assembly representing the 49th District in 1998, where she served as Assembly Majority Whip. She was elected to the State Senate representing the 24th District (East Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley) in 2001, serving until term limits ended her tenure in 2010.
In the Senate, Romero served as Chair of the Senate Education Committee, Public Safety Committee, and the Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee on Education, rising quickly to become Senate Majority Leader in 2005. She authored landmark legislation such as the Parent Trigger and Open Enrollment Act — the first laws in the nation to give parents real authority over chronically failing schools. After leaving the Legislature, she founded and led the California Parent Power advocacy organization, promoting school choice and education reform. She co-chaired President Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign in California. She announced she was leaving the Democratic Party in September 2024, calling RFK Jr. a “personal hero” and pledging to vote for Donald Trump. She announced her candidacy for Lieutenant Governor in January 2026.
Endorsements
California Republican Party, Reform California, and informal alignment with Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton. A full list is available on her campaign website.
Reputation/Scandals/Successes
Core Strengths and Positive Reputation
- Historic Legislative Career and Deep Sacramento Experience: Romero’s 12 years in the Legislature — including three as the first female Senate Majority Leader — give her a level of institutional Sacramento knowledge and relationship capital that no other candidate in the Lieutenant Governor race can match. Steve Hilton said she has been “incredibly helpful already, helping me understand how Sacramento works and doesn’t work” and noted that “she’s not just been in the legislature, she’s led one of the chambers.” Her record as Chair of the Senate Education Committee, Public Safety Committee, and Budget subcommittees gives her substantive policy depth across the exact areas that shape the Lieutenant Governor’s board and advocacy roles.
- Pioneer on Education Reform and Parental Rights: Romero authored the Parent Empowerment Act of 2010 — the “Parent Trigger” law — the first law in the nation to give parents real authority to force major overhauls of chronically failing public schools, from replacing principals and teachers to converting institutions into charter schools. This was an act of genuine political courage that put her at odds with powerful teachers’ unions within her own Democratic Party, and it helped spark a national school choice movement. She is widely recognized as one of the most consequential California education reformers of the 2000s.
- Distinctive Crossover Profile and Authentic Personal Story: Romero’s biography — a Barstow-raised Latina from a working-class family who earned a Ph.D., led a state legislative chamber, and then walked away from the party she had served for decades out of principle — is genuinely unusual and difficult to dismiss as cynical opportunism. She said: “I didn’t leave the Democratic party; the party left me.” Her platform directly targets the voters most frustrated with California’s educational and political status quo, giving her an authenticity on accountability issues that career Republicans cannot easily replicate.
- Platform Well-Suited to the Office’s Actual Powers: Romero told CalMatters she has “called the lieutenant governor sort of the Seinfeld of state government, because nobody knows who it is, and then they think it’s a job about nothing.” Rather than overpromising, she has committed to actively using the office’s higher education board seats — UC Regents, CSU Trustees, and Community College Board of Governors — to challenge administrative bloat, restore academic standards, hold administrators accountable on campus safety and antisemitism, fight remedial coursework policies that she argues set students up for failure, and push for school choice and career-aligned education.
Criticisms and Vulnerabilities
- Steep Structural Disadvantage as a Republican in California: No Republican has won a California statewide constitutional office since 2006. Democrats outnumber Republicans among registered California voters by more than 2 to 1. While Romero’s crossover background and name recognition in Latino communities give her more potential appeal than most Republicans, analysts generally expect the top-two primary to produce two Democratic finalists. Her path to November requires finishing ahead of at least one of the well-funded Democratic frontrunners in a field where she trails significantly in both polling and fundraising.
- Party Switch Raises Authenticity Questions: Romero’s switch from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party in September 2024 — after co-chairing President Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign in California and serving as a Democratic Senate leader for over a decade — has drawn scrutiny from both sides of the aisle. Democrats argue the switch is opportunistic and reflects an alignment with Trump-era conservatism that contradicts her earlier record. Some Republicans question whether a lifelong Democrat is a reliable conservative. Her endorsement of Donald Trump, praise for RFK Jr. as a “personal hero,” and campaign alignment with former Fox News commentator Steve Hilton have all contributed to this perception challenge.
- Alignment With Steve Hilton Carries Risks: Running as an informal ticket with Steve Hilton — a British-born former Fox News host who has never held elected office and is a significant longshot in the governor’s race — ties Romero’s political fortunes to a candidate whose viability is uncertain. If Hilton underperforms or becomes politically toxic, the association could drag on Romero’s own campaign. Critics have also characterized the joint ticket announcement as more of a publicity strategy than a governing vision, since California elections are individual contests with no formal ticket structure.
- Positions Outside California’s Political Mainstream: Romero’s platform — supporting school vouchers, opposing what she characterizes as ideological content in public school curricula, questioning COVID-19 policies, and differing with Democrats on transgender student protections — places her well to the right of the California electorate’s median voter on social and education issues. While these positions energize the Republican base and some frustrated independents, they limit her appeal among the broader California electorate she would need to win a statewide general election.
Campaign Contributors
Romero’s campaign fundraising trails the leading Democratic candidates significantly. She has drawn support from school choice and parental rights advocacy networks. Full contributor details are available at Transparency USA.
