The 2018 CA Comptroller Election, a general between CA Board of Equalization chairperson and former President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors Malia Cohen, and former Social Security Advisory Board Member Lanhee Chen resulted in a comparatively narrow victory for Cohen in a race that was seen as the GOP's best shot to end their statewide losing Streak in California.
The only open seat in California in 2022, as well as being the Chief fiscal officer in California, both candidates campaigned as watchdogs for state funds.
Here, Chen — a moderate republican who was a policy advisor on Mitt Romney's 2012 Presidential Campaign & claimed he didn't vote for Trump in 2016 or 2020 — had a strong financial advantage bringing in over Double what Cohen raised in October, on top of having a $1 Million advantage before October.
Chen likewise had the endorsements of many notable CA papers, including the SoCal paper of record: the LA Times
However, Cohen — seeking to use California's partisan lean to her advantage — attacked Chen by Tying him to then-former President Trump, speciffcally the party's opposition to abortion despite (per the LA Times) Chen arguing he supports abortion access.
In the end, Cohen's arguments did allow her to win thank's to near D+20% wins at the top of the ticket — however Chen was still able to put in an impressive performance, only losing by 11% as Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Brian Dahle lost by D+18%