Some people never really leave San Francisco politics. Jane Kim is one of them.
After losing a high-profile state Senate race in 2016 and a mayoral bid in 2018, the former supervisor and progressive activist left office in 2019. She went on to work for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign, secured a seat on the local Democratic Party board, and became state director for the Working Families Party.
Now she’s running for a position that comes as a shock even to her: state insurance commissioner.
“If you told me in September that I was going to be running for this office, I would have been very surprised,” Kim told The Standard. “I had no plans on running for office, much less statewide office.”
The role, once a poorly understood and little-discussed down-ballot position, has drawn increased attention after wildfires ravaged Southern California last year. The officeholder regulates the $3 trillion insurance industry, overseeing how companies reimburse customers and set premium rates for home, auto, life, and workers compensation policies.
The current commissioner, Ricardo Lara, who is terming out, has been criticized for his cozy ties with the state’s insurance marketplace(opens in new tab) amid soaring premiums and dropped policies for homeowners, and for his habit of traveling internationally to attend industry junkets on taxpayers’ dime.
Kim, an attorney known for her advocacy for free City College, subsidized child care, and affordable housing, has no professional experience in the insurance industry. That outsider status, rather than humbling, may be emboldening her: She is proposing sweeping changes, including taking on large corporations and creating a universal, publicly run insurance program.
But critics warn that her lack of experience is a liability. They say she is not equipped to handle the complexities of the cutthroat insurance industry, and her ideas for fixing it are unrealistic.
Why is Kim running?
Rumors of Kim entering the race began circulating in late 2025, when she attended a private endorsement meeting at SEIU California for the insurance commissioner position. She declared her candidacy in January.
Kim said she was enjoying her work at the Working Families Party, helping to elect progressive candidates across the state. But as the party evaluated which June races to invest in, the insurance commissioner contest stood out: Insurers were threatening to leave California while premiums were rising, hurting working-class families, and allies encouraged her to consider running.
In December, Kim’s team commissioned polling that showed her progressive message resonating with voters(opens in new tab). More than 50% were undecided on the race at the time.
“Everything was moving in our direction, and I decided to run,” she said. “It happened very quickly.”
In a sign of her staying power within San Francisco politics, Kim has been endorsed by SEIU California, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, state Controller Malia Cohen, and a long list of other elected officials — including Sanders himself. She attributes that support to her role leading the Working Families Party in recent years.
“I’m the only candidate who has worked statewide in the last five years,” she said. “I have built a very big infrastructure of contacts from San Diego to Sacramento.”
The race to replace Lara is crowded, with more than 10 Democrats and Republicans running. Another leading Democrat in the race is state Sen. Ben Allen, whose district includes parts of the Los Angeles area affected by wildfires. Former state legislator Steve Bradford, also from Southern California, and San Francisco parent advocate and financial analyst Patrick Wolff are running, too.
At the February Democratic Party state convention, Kim and Allen emerged as early front-runners, each receiving about 40% of delegate support.
Audacious ideas
Kim began her career as a Chinatown organizer and later spent 12 years in elected office, from the school board to the Board of Supervisors. With few ties to the insurance industry, she is proposing some of the most ambitious — critics call them ludicrous — ideas to overhaul it.
The proposal generating the most buzz, and the most pushback from rivals, would create a public, state-run insurance program for natural disasters. Kim said a single-payer-style system could be funded in multiple ways, including with exit fees on insurers and by using customer premiums to pay claims rather than generate corporate profits. Her campaign website(opens in new tab) does not provide an estimate of how large the risk pool would need to be — in terms of participants or funding — for the program to work effectively.
“The other candidates are running more status quo campaigns,” she said when asked about her moonshot goals. “The tools and policy outcomes they’re centering are very similar to what the current administration is doing.”
Kim said she fundamentally disagrees that the private market can adequately serve consumers, citing public insurance models in New Zealand and Japan as examples that could work in California.
She also proposes capping CEO pay at insurance companies, requiring exit fees for companies that leave California, and forcing insurers to pay interest when they deny, delay, or underpay valid claims.
Kim acknowledged that her plans are audacious and that some would require cooperation from the governor and the state Legislature. She also pushed back on criticism of her lack of industry experience, arguing that the insurance commissioner role requires a skilled legislator, not an industry wonk.
“This role is ultimately a political role. We’re not in the position we’re in because we didn’t elect an actuary,” she said. “There are actuaries at the Department of Insurance. What we need are political leaders.”
Critics are skeptical
The idea of a public insurance program has long been debated but has little support among consumer advocacy groups.
“The first question you have to ask with a proposal like that is, who pays?” said Carmen Balber, executive director of Consumer Watchdog, a Southern California-based nonprofit that follows the insurance industry and commissioner’s race. “Until you answer that question, you’re not having an honest conversation about the policy.”
Balber questioned the viability of Kim’s plan, noting that the candidate has not provided estimates of the scale needed to succeed. She pointed to the state’s earthquake insurance program(opens in new tab) as an example of a public model that became too expensive while offering limited coverage, failing to provide meaningful help to consumers.
Kim pushed back on concerns about cost, arguing that consumers are paying too much under the current system.
Cohen, California’s top fiscal officer, defended Kim, saying she will bring care and accountability to the role of insurance commissioner.
“She follows through on what she promises—something California needs right now,” the state controller said.
In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani is also pushing a new program(opens in new tab) to provide cheaper property insurance to landlords of affordable housing.
Amy Bach, executive director of United Policyholders, another advocacy group for insurance consumers, expressed skepticism about Kim.
“As far as I can tell, she’s an outsider,” Bach said. “She’s not worked in the insurance realm. I don’t know that she has relationships in the insurance realm, and I’m very concerned about her ability to bring real solutions.”
Bach emphasized that the insurance system is deeply intertwined with real estate and lending markets and cannot be easily overhauled. She believed that Kim has some good points to make and may be right in the future when there’s a collapse of the insurance system, but “we’re not going to be able to turn it upside down overnight.”
Allen, Kim’s main opponent, said during a debate(opens in new tab) that her proposal could bankrupt the state.
Wolff has released a creative ad(opens in new tab) attacking both Kim and Allen, arguing that they lack the experience needed to master the intricacies of the insurance market. In an interview, Wolff said Kim’s single-payer proposal would cost taxpayers billions while failing to address climate risks or improve equity.
“This is not serious policy from a responsible regulator,” Wolff said. “It’s political grandstanding from a professional politician.”
Kim dismissed the criticism.
“I don’t shy away from challenges,” she said. “We have to develop and build something completely different.”
The top two finishers in June will advance to the general election. Kim said she expects herself and one other Democrat to move forward.