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Patrick Wolff Democratic

Running for Insurance Commissioner

Official statement

Self-written ballot statement from the CA Secretary of State voter guide.

Unusual phrasingWe need an Insurance Commissioner with deep insurance and financial expertise to solve it—not someone who is part of the politics that created the problem.
Unusual phrasingThe Insurance Commissioner must be a champion for customers and ensure the Department of Insurance is never under the influence of insurance companies.
Read the full statement

California is in an insurance crisis. We need an Insurance Commissioner with deep insurance and financial expertise to solve it—not someone who is part of the politics that created the problem. I am not a politician, and if elected this is the only elected office I will ever run for. From 2001–2005, I worked at a major bank where I built a home and auto insurance brokerage. Since 2005, I have worked as a financial analyst where, among other sectors, I analyzed insurance markets and companies. I know how insurance works inside out, and I am running to make our insurance system fair, efficient and transparent. The Insurance Commissioner must be a champion for customers and ensure the Department of Insurance is never under the influence of insurance companies. My campaign does not accept any money from insurance companies or fossil fuel companies, and I will never accept gifts from corporate or special interests. Before I graduated from college in 1997, I was a champion chess player: I became a chess grandmaster and was a two-time U.S. Chess Champion. I know how to fight and win in tough, complex situations and I will bring those skills to the role of Insurance Commissioner. You can read my detailed plan to fix the insurance crisis at https://patrickwolff.com/my-plan . I would be honored to have your vote, and as your Insurance Commissioner, I will be a Wolff on your side. https://patrickwolff.com/

Election history

Appears in 1 prior election.

2026
Ran
See also: California Insurance Commissioner election, 2026 General election The primary will occur on June 2, 2026.

Where they stand

Issues their published 2026 campaign themes engage with. Click an issue to compare positions across candidates.

Mentions Climate & environment
…to bring more companies back into the state, and investing in tools that make policies easier to understand. Climate resilience and wildfire risk: Our insurance crisis is tightly linked to climate change and worsening w…
Mentions Education
…s a two-time U.S. Chess Champion and international grandmaster. After graduating magna cum laude from Harvard University, he brought the strategic thinking and discipline he learned at the chessboard into the world of fi…
Full notes (markdown source)

Patrick Wolff

Office sought: Insurance Commissioner
Party: Democratic
Ballot designation: Financial analyst

Background

Biography. Patrick Wolff was born in New York, New York . He graduated from Belmont High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Harvard in 1997. His career experience includes working as an investor. He worked in business and finance from 1997 to 2017. [1] Wolff has been affiliated with the following organizations: [1] Mechanics’ Institute, board of trustees Westside Family Democratic Club, board member

Prior offices and election history

2026

See also: California Insurance Commissioner election, 2026 General election The primary will occur on June 2, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary. The candidate list in this election may not be complete. Nonpartisan primary Nonpartisan primary election for California Commissioner of Insurance The following candidates are running in the primary for California Commissioner of Insurance on June 2, 2026. Candidate Ben Allen (D) Steven Bradford (D) Jane Kim (D) Patrick Wolff (D) Submit photo Eric Aarnio (R) Merritt Farren (R) Robert P. Howell (R) Stacy Korsgaden (R) Sean Lee (R) Keith Davis (American Independent Party) Eduardo Vargas (Peace and Freedom Party) There are no incumbents in this race. = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2026 — Endorsements

Wolff received the following endorsements. To send us additional endorsements, click here . Barak’s voter guide (Sway voting group by Barak Gila) Barak’s voter guide (Sway voting group by barak) CalMatters Voter Guide (Sway voting group by CalMatters) Daily Breeze’s Voting Group (Sway voting group by Daily Breeze) East Bay YIMBY’s Voting Group (Sway voting group by East Bay YIMBY) Edwin M. Lee Asian Pacific Democratic Club’s Voting Group (Sway voting group by Edwin M. Lee Asian Pacific Democratic Club) GrowSF’s Voting Group (Sway voting group by GrowSF) Los Angeles Daily News’ Voting Group (Sway voting group by Los Angeles Daily News) Orange County Register’s Voting Group (Sway voting group by Orange County Register) Press Enterprise’s Voting Group (Sway voting group by Press Enterprise) San Francisco Eastern Neighborhoods Democratic Club’s Voting Group (Sway voting group by San Francisco Eastern Neighborhoods Democratic Club) San Francisco Examiner’s Voting Group (Sway voting group by San Francisco Examiner) YIMBY Action’s Voting Group (Sway voting group by YIMBY Action) iVoterGuide California (Sway voting group by iVoterGuide)

Issue positions (campaign themes)

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses See also: Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection Patrick Wolff completed Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Wolff’s responses. Expand all | Collapse all Who are you? Tell us about yourself. Patrick is a financial analyst, father, and lifelong Democrat running for California Insurance Commissioner to fix our state’s broken insurance system and put consumers first. He’s spent his career solving complex problems in business, finance, and insurance, and is running for CA Insurance Commissioner because he believes Californians deserve an insurance system that is fair, transparent, and accountable. Before launching his business career, Patrick was best known for his accomplishments as a chess player. He is a two-time U.S. Chess Champion and international grandmaster. After graduating magna cum laude from Harvard University, he brought the strategic thinking and discipline he learned at the chessboard into the world of finance and insurance. Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office? Patrick will fix California’s broken insurance system so coverage is available, affordable, and fair. California’s insurance markets are in crisis: many homeowners, renters, and small businesses can’t get the coverage they need, and those who can often face skyrocketing premiums and shrinking coverage. More and more people are being pushed onto the FAIR Plan, our “insurer of last resort,” which was never designed to carry this much of the market. Patrick brings real insurance and financial expertise — and he will stay independent from the insurance industry. This office should be held by someone whose qualifications are in insurance, finance, and consumer protection, not someone looking for a political stepping stone. Patrick has spent years analyzing insurance companies like Berkshire Hathaway and other major public insurers as a Chartered Financial Analyst, and helped build a home and auto insurance brokerage inside Capital One. That work gave him an inside view of how insurers design products, price risk, and manage claims, and how those decisions affect ordinary people. He also understands the importance of independence. Patrick has pledged not to accept campaign contributions Patrick will make the Department of Insurance work for consumers by demanding accountability, speeding approvals, and making policies understandable. Too often, people feel powerless when dealing with their insurance company. Claims get delayed or denied, policies are confusing, and there’s no easy way to compare how companies treat their customers. Patrick will change this. As Insurance Commissioner, Patrick will create clear “report cards” that grade insurance companies on how they handle claims using the Department’s existing justified complaint data, and he will require those grades to be shown to consumers before they buy a policy. Patrick will push to streamline rate-review timelines so California gets closer to the national average What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? Patrick is most passionate about: Insurance reform and consumer protection: California’s insurance system has become opaque, confusing, and too often unfair to ordinary people. Patrick cares deeply about creating a market where coverage is available and affordable, where companies are held accountable for honoring claims, and where consumers have clear information when they make decisions. That means grading insurers on claims performance, fixing underinsurance, strengthening the Sustainable Insurance Strategy to bring more companies back into the state, and investing in tools that make policies easier to understand. Climate resilience and wildfire risk: Our insurance crisis is tightly linked to climate change and worsening wildfires. Patr What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system? Insurance is regulated at the state level. Each state has its own Department of Insurance; each Department of Insurance is run by the Insurance Commissioner. The Insurance Commissioner has the ultimate responsibility to make sure insurance is regulated effectively for the good of the customer, i.e. the end consumer. Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why? While there are many people I admire, for the role of Insurance Commissioner the example I would most like to follow is Warren Buffett in terms both of how responsibly he anticipated/managed risk and how effectively he communicated to his shareholders. While the role of a government regulator is obviously different from that of a public company CEO, I believe the qualities that Mr. Buffett demonstrated will be crucial for me to do my job effectively. What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official? Focus on the general public good; integrity; honesty; competence. What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office? The fundamental job of the Insurance Commissioner is to regulate the insurance market for the good of the customer, i.e. the end consumer. What legacy would you like to leave? I would like my legacy in public service to be that I reformed California’s insurance market, made people’s lives better, and helped bring about more effective statewide governance generally. What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time? I have a vivid memory of a July 4th parade in our town of Northampton celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 1976. I was 8 years old. What was your very first job? How long did you have it? After I graduated Harvard in 1997 I went to work for a management consulting company. I worked there for two years. What is your favorite

Enrichment source: Ballotpedia — https://ballotpedia.org/Patrick_Wolff

Sources