Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Brian Brokaw

36. Brian Brokaw

It’s not always easy being the child of a Capitol titan, but Brian Brokaw (son of Barry, a regular on this list for years) long ago broke out of the old man’s shadow and established himself as a major power player in his own right. How major? Well, for one he’s a close confidant of Gov. Gavin Newsom, and has been the man’s Senior Advisor on all three of Newsom’s successful gubernatorial campaigns – 2018, the 2021 recall and the gov’s 2022 re-election effort. But let’s not stop there. Brokaw also directed Kamala Harris’s winning campaigns for both Attorney General and the U.S. Senate. He also ran a super PAC for her 2020 presidential campaign, but come on now – nobody wins them all. Oh, and we haven’t even mentioned the numerous successful ballot measures and local election campaigns he has run all over California. In short, he is super connected from Sacramento to D.C. and back again, and will almost certainly remain a trusted and highly influential advisor to Newsom, Harris and any number of other Dems for years to come. We should mention here he also serves on the board of Open California, the publisher of Capitol Weekly.

Updated Aug. 26, 2025