A Conversation With Toni Atkins, the Departing State Senate Leader

For years, Toni Atkins has been one of the most powerful politicians in California, even though her name is unfamiliar to many people in the state.

A state lawmaker for 14 years representing San Diego, Atkins has served as the speaker of the Assembly and, more recently, as president pro tem of the Senate — the first person in more than a century, and the only woman, to have held both of the Legislature’s top positions.

During her tenure, she has quietly negotiated eight state budgets and helped enact some of California’s most impactful legislation: Medicaid expansions that extend health insurance to all eligible adults, regardless of immigration status. Laws that increase access to reproductive health care and protect providers after the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Free meals for public school students. Tax credits for poor families.

Atkins, a Democrat, is leaving the Senate after this year because of term limits, and she is ceding her leadership post next week. Senator Mike McGuire of Healdsburg is expected to succeed her.

But her career in politics is hardly over. A few weeks ago, Atkins announced that she would run in 2026 to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom, who cannot seek a third term.

She agreed to an exit interview, and we spoke by phone right around the time she was announcing her campaign for governor. I intended to focus on her political legacy, but we ended up talking mostly about her roots in Appalachia. Here’s our chat, lightly edited.