Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Dustin Corcoran

No. 26 Dustin Corcoran

If a bill or a regulation or a ballot initiative or a strong breeze would impact healthcare in general, and physicians in particular, the 50,000-member strong California Medical Association and its CEO Dustin Corcoran are going to be involved. Corcoran joined the CMA government affairs shop in 1998, learning the game at the knee of legendary CMA lobbyist Steve Thompson. He was clearly a sponge because by 2010 Corcoran was CEO. Since then he has become of the most influential people in the Capitol community, with a CMA endorsement being one of the most sought after by aspiring office seekers. He is a proven coalition builder and a keen strategist himself, particularly in either winning statewide ballot initiatives the CMA favors or defeating those they don’t. That will be tested again this November when the billionaire tax goes before voters, an initiative Corcoran and CMA strongly oppose. And if you really want to know his influence, look at how many people around the Capitol community he mentored on their way up. In a world of big players, Dustin Corcoran is yuuuuuge.

Updated August 11, 2026.