Jeanne Kuang covers politics, California’s state government, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the 2026 governor’s race. Previously, she wrote about labor, homelessness and economic inequality.
Jeanne is focused on accountability stories highlighting how state policies affect disadvantaged communities. Her stories covered heat protections for workers and state prisoners, California’s scrutiny (and lack thereof) of immigration detention centers and Her reporting on CalMatters’ California Divide team for a series examining long waits and low payouts for workers who claim they are victims of wage theft was honored with awards from the Society of Professional Journalists Northern California chapter and the Best of the West.
Jeanne came home to California to join CalMatters in 2022. Prior to that, she covered politics in Missouri for The Kansas City Star, where she wrote about rural health care, the battle over COVID-19 vaccination, the fallout of a law that made the state a “sanctuary” against federal gun laws, and the Republican Party’s efforts to undo voter-approved policies. She was also a city hall reporter for The News Journal in Delaware, and before that she wrote about criminal justice issues for Injustice Watch in Chicago. Jeanne grew up in the San Gabriel Valley, graduated from Northwestern University and is now based in Sacramento with her cat, Potato.
Other languages spoken: Mandarin (fluent)
