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Indian American professor enters CA Governor race
He is campaigning on cutting bureaucracy, reducing regulatory burdens, and increasing direct funding for classroom education.
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Malvika Choudhary - Mon, 27, Apr 2026
- 15:10 EDT
- 84
Satish Rao / UC Berkeley
An Indian American professor has entered California’s increasingly crowded gubernatorial race, positioning himself as a candidate focused on administrative efficiency, regulatory reform, and education policy.
Satish Rao, who has taught at the university for nearly three decades, is running to address what he described as systemic inefficiencies in state governance, arguing that California is “drowning” in bureaucracy and excessive regulation while failing to deliver outcomes in sectors such as education.
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His campaign focuses on reducing administrative spending, limiting regulatory expansion, and redirecting resources toward core public services.
Rao has criticized what he calls “administrative bloat,” contending that a significant share of public funding is absorbed by non-instructional costs rather than classroom teaching.
He has also proposed a more aggressive use of the governor’s veto power to curb legislative output, citing the volume of bills passed annually in California. His platform calls for raising the threshold for new regulations and reviewing existing rules that he says add costs without clear public benefit.
On education, Rao has argued that the state is underperforming on basic outcomes, particularly literacy, and has called for shifting funding toward teachers and classroom instruction while scaling back approaches he characterizes as ineffective.
His broader proposals include improving oversight of state spending, which he estimates at roughly $300 billion, and reducing regulatory barriers affecting housing, infrastructure, and the cost of living.
Rao was born overseas and moved to the United States at the age of two, growing up in Texas before later moving to the Seattle area. He is currently on sabbatical to pursue his campaign.
His entry comes in an open race to succeed Gavin Newsom, with no clear frontrunner and a large field that includes Xavier Becerra, Katie Porter, Tom Steyer, and Matt Mahan.
California’s primary election is scheduled for June 2, under the state’s “top-two” system in which the two highest vote-getters, regardless of party, advance to the general election.
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