In summary Ian Calderon joins a crowd of Democrats jockeying in a wide-open race for governor. Former state lawmaker Ian Calderon is joining the crowded 2026 race for California governor, he announced Tuesday. The Whittier Democrat is framing his candidacy as one from a “new generation of leadership.” He was 27 when he became the first millennial to be elected to the state Assembly in 2012. But he was no newcomer even then — Calderon comes from a line of politicians from southeast Los Angeles County. Ian Calderon left the Assembly, where he was majority leader, in 2020 to focus on his young family and his stepmother Lisa Calderon now holds his seat.