Last November, California State Treasurer John Chiang, one of the top two Asian-American elected officials in the most Asian-American state in the union, indicated a real interest in running for governor in 2018.
But for those eager to see an Asian American vie to lead the most populous state in the nation, January may still be too soon for a more definitive answer.
“He’s interested,” Marc Lifsher, Chiang’s communications director, told NBC News, but Lifsher said any decision from Chiang would likely come sometime in the first quarter.
Chiang, 53, first mentioned the possibility of running for governor during a reporter briefing in his office late last year. He was the state controller between 2006 and 2014, and in 2014 was elected to the post of state treasurer after being termed out of controller.
His resume also includes serving as a former IRS tax attorney and as a member of the California State Board of Equalization. The son of Taiwanese immigrants, Chiang was born in New York City and raised in Chicago. He graduated with a law degree from Georgetown University.
Currently, the only declared candidate in the 2018 race is Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, the former mayor of San Francisco.
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