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Posted on 04/06/2026 10:35:17 AM PDT by Angelino97
Political media habitually use “race” to describe contests for public office. However the word implies movement and therefore would be inaccurate if applied to this year’s election of a new governor.
Sixty-one names will be on the June 2 primary ballot, including 10 leaders who profess to be serious about seeking the office.
However, they aren’t racing. Rather, the eight top-polling Democrats seem to be in a children’s game, sitting in a circle staring at each other, waiting for someone to blink.
Meanwhile, the two top Republicans are taking potshots at each other, potentially undermining the GOP’s only chance to elect a governor for the first time in two decades.
For weeks voter polls have found that three Democrats are locked in a tie, albeit at a puny level, around 10%, while the other five Democrats are buried in single digits.
California’s top-two primary election system has all candidates listed on the same ballot, regardless of party, with the two top finishers then advancing to the November general election.
Given the size of the field, anyone garnering around 20% in June would probably earn a place in the runoff — or about twice what the three Democrats at the top — Katie Porter, Eric Swalwell and Tom Steyer — currently have.
With mail voting set to begin in a month, the calendar is beginning to be a factor. Every ballot that’s mailed removes that voter from having his or her mind changed. One should expect, therefore, that those with even semi-realistic chances of making the cut would be waging all-out campaigns by now.
However, the only highly visible campaign is that of billionaire Steyer, who’s not only hopping around the state for personal appearances but shelling out millions of his own bucks for television and internet ads.
Much of Steyer’s campaign is aimed at Swalwell, who has obtained substantial union support, most prominently from the California Teachers Association. Swalwell also benefits from the threats of Donald Trump’s FBI to release files from its investigation of Swalwell’s relationship with a supposed Chinese spy.
Steyer and Swalwell seem to be vying for the most left-leaning bloc of Democratic voters, while Porter is coasting on the name identification gained during her losing campaign for the U.S. Senate two years ago and hoping that being the only woman in the trio will lift her into one of the top two finishes.
Democratic Party leaders are openly worried, though, that the two Republicans — Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco — could finish 1-2, thereby ensuring the election of a GOP governor. They would like the five lower-tier Democratic candidates to publicly surrender, thereby enhancing chances that a Democrat would make it to November.
However, members of that Democratic quintet show no signs of quitting, and if they continue to soldier on, despite scant support, the possibility of a 1-2 Republican primary finish continues.
The GOP’s only chance of achieving such an upset would be for Hilton and Bianco to operate as a team, pushing their support — 16% and 14% respectively in the latest poll — to the magic 20% level. However, they are campaigning as opponents, even though if just one of them makes the November ballot he would almost certainly lose to whichever Democrat survives the primary.
This static, who-will-blink-first scenario does contain one surprising aspect — the failure of San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan to unleash the blitz he needs to climb into contention, despite having apparently unlimited support from wealthy Silicon Valley figures who want a tech- and business-friendly governor.
On Wednesday, Politico reported there was a shakeup in the Mahan campaign due to what were termed differences over strategy. Maybe that explains why his campaign has been so anemic after his much-ballyhooed late entry. He hasn’t been racing much either.
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California needs to be broken up like the phone company.
I will now switch my vote from Hilton to Bianco. We need them to finish first and second so we’re guaranteed a GOP Governor after the jungle primary
I suspect some of those guys will start having unfortunate accidents if they don’t drop out
I’m sure there is a ruling already sitting on a judges desk to throw out any votes that go for the two republicans.
It’s not that, it’s the “curing” of defective ballots. It took until the last week of November in 2024 for all the sick ballots to get well and, presto, we lost up to 5 house seats where we were leading after Election Day
Yope, they do not need to fight each other!
They need to cooperate to get all Dems out in primary!
If there is one Dem and one Rep in runoff, Dem will probably win.
That's a pretty good strategy.
I've seen them polling Hilton 16%, Bianco 14%, for a couple of months now.
I’d be careful. Bianco can get more support if we all work hard. Don’t ask me how. Let’s hope the national republicans do their dirty deed regarding Swalwell. He’s the bigger fish.
I hate Steyer and Swalwell! Their stupid ads are everywhere, promising free stuff. Free food, free housing, lowered gas costs, etc.
It’s not free! They’re taking money from honest citizens and promising to dump it in the laps of brain-dead voters. Steyer wants to have gov’t take over PG&E, and says he’ll get a 25 percent reduction in energy costs. Idiot, as if gov’t can run anything efficiently. It will double or triple energy costs. Energy costs are high due to gov’t regulation of PG&E. Gov’t is the problem!
Same goes for the other promises, no way can they honor them.
This time, I'm rooting for Bianco. But I expect that come November, some far left Democrat will win by a wide margin.
“We need them to finish first and second so we’re guaranteed a GOP Governor after the jungle primary”
Who in their right mind would disagree with that, since there is *NO* other way for a Republican to win statewide in California?
Donald Trump, that’s who.
Instead of staying out of it and allowing the voters of California to decide & then have maybe a 5% chance of that wonderful primary outcome you mentioned, he has reduced it to zero percent by making an endorsement.
With all of the sheep dutifully flocking to the anointed GOP candidate and abandoning the other one, some Democrat (makes no difference which one, as they are all communists) is now guaranteed to make the November ballot and is therefore guaranteed to win.
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