Join Our Team!
Golden State Watchdog PAC
Lanhee Chen Announces Formation of Golden State Watchdog PAC
Mountain View, CA - Lanhee Chen, prominent policy expert and former candidate for California State Controller, announced today the formation of the Golden State Watchdog PAC. The PAC will support pragmatic policy ideas to advance accountability and good governance in California, and promote solutions-oriented Republicans running for office in the Golden State.
"After months of reflection about how I can best contribute to the political conversation in California and beyond, I have decided that I will not be a candidate for any office in 2024," said Chen. "While I remain hopeful that future years may hold opportunities for me to seek elective office in our state, I have decided to form the Golden State Watchdog PAC so I can continue to promote ideas and support candidates that will help to fix California.”
Chen is a widely respected public policy expert who was the Republican nominee for California State Controller in 2022. He won more votes than any other Republican in the country in the general election and outperformed the rest of the statewide ticket by almost half a million votes. Lanhee has advised numerous high-profile Republican candidates and served as a presidential appointee in both Republican and Democratic administrations. He is currently the David and Diane Steffy Fellow in American Public Policy Studies at the Hoover Institution, as well as the Director of Domestic Policy Studies and Lecturer in the Public Policy Program at Stanford University.
"I believe that we need leaders who are committed to being accountable stewards of taxpayer resources and want to advance policies that will improve the lives of Californians throughout our state,” Chen said. The Golden State Watchdog PAC will help to provide them with the ideas and resources to win elections and fix California.”
About Lanhee Chen
Lanhee Chen is a leader, problem-solver and educator who has built his career on tackling some of California and America’s biggest fiscal policy challenges. He was raised in Southern California and is the son of immigrants from Taiwan. After earning four degrees from Harvard University, including a law degree and doctorate in political science, he served in senior roles in both Republican and Democratic presidential administrations.
Today, Lanhee is regarded as one of America’s leading policy commentators and experts. He teaches public policy at Stanford University and conducts research at the Hoover Institution, a think tank on campus. Lanhee is also a Partner at the Brunswick Group, a public affairs consultancy with offices all over the world. He has helped leaders in California and around the country develop policies to address some of our society’s most pressing problems—like improving our health care system, saving Social Security, and growing our economy. His writings have appeared in America’s biggest newspapers and he has frequently shared his ideas and policy recommendations on television news programs across America and around the world.
Lanhee was the Republican nominee for California State Controller in 2022. He won more votes in the general election than any other Republican in the country; earned the endorsement of every major newspaper in California; raised more money than any other Republican down-ticket statewide candidate in recent memory; and outperformed the rest of the statewide ticket by almost half a million votes.
Previously, Lanhee was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate to serve as a member of the independent and bipartisan Social Security Advisory Board, a group of leaders that advise the President, Congress, and other policymakers on matters relating to the Social Security program.
Lanhee built his own small business, which focuses on providing advice on fiscal and other public policy issues to leaders in both the public and private sectors. He is an investor who works with entrepreneurs to help them grow their businesses and create new jobs. Lanhee has also taken an active leadership role in a variety of nonprofit organizations. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of El Camino Health, a health care system in his community.
Lanhee grew up rooting for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Los Angeles Lakers—and remains a die-hard fan of both teams to this day. He and his wife Cynthia, a nonprofit attorney, are raising their family in the San Francisco Bay Area.
About the PAC
The Golden State Watchdog PAC, launched by Lanhee Chen, will support the development of pragmatic policy ideas to advance accountability and good governance in California, and promote solutions-oriented Republicans running for office in the Golden State.