Why It Matters
The California state superintendent of public instruction oversees more than 10,000 public K-12 schools, making the office one of the most consequential education posts in the country. A competitive primary has produced a front-runner, but the full shape of the November contest remains unresolved — and the powers the next superintendent will actually hold are themselves in question.
What Happened
Chino Valley Unified school board president Sonja Shaw finished atop a ten-candidate field in the California superintendent primary, drawing close to 25% of ballots cast. San Diego Unified school board member Richard Barrera trailed her with roughly 20% support, placing him in contention for the second spot that would advance to November.
Because the state superintendent position is a nonpartisan office, the two highest vote-getters move on to the general election regardless of political affiliation. A definitive second-place finisher had not been confirmed as vote tallying continued.
Shaw built her campaign around parental rights and opposition to certain LGBTQ-related school policies, and she engaged in a public dispute with current Superintendent Tony Thurmond in 2023 over rules governing transgender student privacy. On the trail, she emphasized student performance and school accountability. “Families want accountability, academic excellence, and schools that put students first,” Shaw said.
Barrera secured the backing of both the California Teachers Association and the California Charter Schools Association — two organizations that have frequently clashed over education funding priorities. He argued the state’s economic standing should produce better-resourced classrooms. “We’re the wealthiest state in the country, we’re the fourth largest economy in the world and we shouldn’t have public schools where our students are getting shortchanged,” Barrera said.
Former Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, who had campaigned on his background administering early childhood education programs, withdrew from the race Wednesday morning and threw his support behind Barrera. The broader field also included Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, who previously led the Assembly’s education committee; former state Sen. Josh Newman, who chaired the Senate education committee; Los Angeles Community College District board member Nichelle Henderson; and San Francisco Unified teacher Ainye Long.
By the Numbers
~25% — Shaw’s share of the primary vote, the highest in the field.
~20% — Barrera’s vote share, placing him second as counting continued.
10 — candidates who entered the superintendent contest.
32% — proportion of voters who remained undecided in an April survey, with no candidate exceeding 10% support at that stage.
$210,460 — the annual salary for the superintendent position.
$50 million — total campaign spending in the 2018 superintendent race between Thurmond and challenger Marshall Tuck, a sum that towers over the few hundred thousand dollars the leading candidates had raised through last week.
Zoom Out
The subdued fundraising in this cycle partly reflects uncertainty about the office itself. Governor Gavin Newsom put forward a proposal in January that would transfer most substantive decision-making authority from the superintendent to the State Board of Education — an eleven-member body — and a newly created education commissioner. If that restructuring advances, the next superintendent would inherit a significantly narrowed role.
Newsom and Thurmond are both term-limited this year, producing a simultaneous change at the top of the state’s education hierarchy. Nationally, superintendent and school board races have attracted heightened interest as debates over curriculum content, parental rights, and school governance have intensified across multiple states.
The charter school sector served as the dominant financial force in California superintendent campaigns for roughly two decades, but spending patterns in this race look markedly different. Barrera’s ability to win endorsements from both the teachers union and the charter school advocacy group simultaneously represents an unusual cross-factional coalition that could carry weight in a general election matchup.
What’s Next
Final vote tabulation will determine which two candidates advance to November. Barrera’s hold on the second qualifying position is the central outstanding question. Separately, any legislative or executive action on Newsom’s proposed restructuring of the superintendent’s authority could reshape what the winning candidate is actually empowered to do upon taking office early next year.