Sacramento

Gloria Romero, a former Democrat and state Senate Majority Leader, announced Monday she is running for lieutenant governor as part of a ticket with GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton, a former Fox News commentator.

“At the end of the day, it’s really about one-party rule in Sacramento. I’ve seen it. I left it,” Romero said in an interview. “We’ve got to make a change, otherwise we will never turn around on accountability or affordability and fight for working families like the Democrats once said the party stood for. Those days are gone. It’s a new day, and I’m proud to work alongside Steve in this exciting race to make California Golden again.”

Hilton, who has a long-standing political relationship with Romero, said her expertise in the state Capitol is among the reasons he selected her. Romero served in the state Senate and Assembly for about 12 years, including three as the state Senate’s first female majority leader.

“She’s been incredibly helpful already, helping me understand how Sacramento works and doesn’t work,” Hilton said. “When I’m the governor I will have to work with the legislature. And one of the most important things that I see as a real benefit from having Gloria there with me is that she’s not just been in the legislature, she’s led one of the chambers. She really understands how it works and still has relationships.”

Other candidates running for lieutenant governor include Treasurer Fiona Ma, former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs and Josh Fryday, a member of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s cabinet, all Democrats, and state Sen. Brian Jones (R-Santee).

Romero was a lifelong Democrat, including co-chairing President Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign in California. But she began to break with her party over education reform, notably her support for school choice.

“Education is the key to the American dream, and yet my party was so beholden to the teachers union, the alphabet soup of power influencers in Sacramento,” she said.

Invoking the words of the late President Reagan, Romero said she didn’t leave the Democratic party, the party left her. She became a registered Republican in September 2024 after what she calls a “political coup” to oust President Biden as the Democratic nominee. She then endorsed President Trump and spoke at a rally supporting him near Coachella.

She said the lieutenant governor’s role is typically a sleepy perch for politicians as they bide their time to run for higher office.

“It should not be that way,” Romero said, adding that the lieutenant governor’s role on the boards that oversee the UCs, Cal States and community college is a particularly good fit for her wheelhouse. “Education and turning around education, it’s in my blood, it’s in my dreams. It’s my passion.”

Unlike presidential elections, statewide contests do not feature running mates; each candidate must be elected on their own merits.

Hilton said Romero was the first member of his “golden ticket for California” and that he planned to roll out other statewide candidates who will join their effort.

“I know it hasn’t been done before. It’s not how things are normally done,” he said. “But right from the beginning, when I was thinking about my race for governor, one of the things that I really wanted to do was to put together a strong team, because turning around California is going to take a strong team.”

Lakers guard Austin Reaves will miss at least a month with a grade 2 strain in his left calf, the team announced Friday, one day after he left the game against the Houston Rockets at halftime.

Reaves, averaging career highs in points (26.6), assists (6.3) and rebounds (5.2), had already missed three games with what the team called a “mild” calf strain. He returned off the bench while playing on a minutes restriction against Phoenix on Dec. 23 and reprised his starting role on Christmas Day in a loss to the Rockets. But after scoring 12 points in 15 minutes in the first half, he was ruled out for the second half with “left calf soreness.”

Calf injuries have been major concerns across the NBA since three stars — Tyrese Haliburton, Damian Lillard and Jayson Tatum — suffered Achilles tears during last year’s playoffs. Haliburton and Lillard have previously dealt with calf injuries.

Lakers star guard Luka Doncic suffered a calf injury on Christmas Day last year while with the Dallas Mavericks and missed two months, during which he was traded to the Lakers.

“I know how it is to go to a calf injury. It’s not fun at all,” Doncic said Thursday after the game. “[I’ll] just be there to support him. Take your time. Calves are dangerous so take your time.”

The Lakers (19-10) are losing their second-leading scorer at a critical time of the season. They have lost three consecutive games, their only losing streak of the season, and their defense in the last 15 games has been among the worst in the league.

After the third consecutive blowout loss, coach JJ Redick questioned how much his players cared. He promised an “uncomfortable” film session and team meeting at practice on Saturday before the Lakers face Sacramento at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday.

After a difficult stretch of the schedule that included eight out of 10 games against teams with winning records, the Lakers have four of their next five against teams in the bottom of the Western Conference standings. Outside of a home game against the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons on Tuesday, the Lakers play the Sacramento Kings, the Memphis Grizzlies (on Jan. 2 and 4) and at New Orleans on Jan. 6.

Reaves’ absence could extend until the beginning of the Lakers’ Grammy road trip that begins on Jan. 20 against Denver.