The race for governor of California is still open

from Jeanne KuangCalMatters

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The game of musical chairs in the race for California’s next governor lost another player last week.

After Democratic businessman Stephen Klubeck — who was polling under half a percent — dropped out of the race and endorsed Rep. Eric Swawell on Monday, at least 10 candidates remain.

Voters are hardly to blame if the names don’t ring a bell. Although it has been going on for more than a year now, the 2026 gubernatorial race remains unexpectedly wide open. c a poll released last month, 44 percent of voters polled had no preference for governor, and no candidate topped 15 percent.

The primary election is next June. Here’s a look at the field right now:

XAVIER BESSERA

If former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra was looking for attention for his campaign, he found it in the form of negative headlines.

Last month, federal prosecutors indicted a Sacramento power broker in an alleged corruption scandal that rocked the state’s Democratic party. At its center? A dormant campaign account held by Becerra that prosecutors allege former chief of staff to Gov. Gavin Newsom Dana Williamson conspired with other political consultants to steal $225,000 from. Williamson is accused of helping divert funds to the wife of Becerra’s longtime aide, Sean McCluskey, who pleaded guilty in the alleged scheme.

Becerra was California’s first Latino attorney general before serving as former President Joe Biden’s cabinet secretary. It primarily runs on a platform to reduce healthcare costs.

He has not been accused of wrongdoing in the case and said he did not know what was going on. But it’s still possible that the association — and the subtext he was oblivious to — will taint his campaign, which already gets just 8%.

The dispute is one of the few moments of intrigue in an otherwise quiet race.

KATIE PORTER

In October, former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter, a Democrat, was caught on camera trying to leave a TV interview with a reporter who pressed her on whether she needed Republican support in the race. A second video followed, showing Porter berating a staff member during a Zoom call. Considered a favorite at the time, she dropped out of the news cycle and later said she “could have done better” about the behavior in the videos, but they she seems to have dropped her approval ratings. She is essentially tied for the top Republican candidate.

Porter made a name for herself as one of a “blue wave” of female Democratic lawmakers elected to Congress during the first Trump administration in 2018. A UC Irvine law professor who ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate last year, she drew attention for her tough questioning of corporate executives using her signature whiteboard.

TOM STEYER

Joining a wide range of other Democrats, a billionaire investor and climate activist Tom Steyer announced last month he joins the race.

Steyer, who made his fortune by founding a hedge fund in San Francisco, has used his wealth to support liberal causes, including the environment. He has never held public office before, but ran a short-lived campaign for president in 2020.

CHAD BIANCO

Trump supporter Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco is tied with Porter in the polls, though he’s unlikely to hold on near the top of the pack in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans nearly two-to-one and a GOP candidate hasn’t won a state seat in nearly 20 years.

Bianco in a cowboy hat strongly criticizes democratic governance. He advocates loosening regulations on businesses and says he wants to repeal California’s sanctuary law, which restricts local police from cooperating with federal deportation officials.

ERIC SWALWELL

Other Democrats have focused on their resumes and government experience to try to stand out in a race where names have little recognition across the board. All said they want to make California more affordable and push back on the Trump administration’s influence on the state.

swwell, a former Bay Area prosecutor and congressmanlikely to lean heavily on his anti-Trump loyalists. He was one of several members of Congress appointed by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to help impeach Trump for the second time since the January 6, 2021 coup attempt, and is now the latest Democrat to be attacked by the Trump administration. above his mortgage.

ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA

Former mayor of Los Angeles and former Speaker of the House Antonio Villaraigosa is among the more moderate representatives of the Democratic Party. He boasts that he ran the largest city in the state, through which he increased the police force. He ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2018.

BETTY YEE

Former state comptroller Betty Yee emphasizes her experience with the state budget and tax system, having served as a top finance office in the former government. Gray Davis administration and after serving on the state board of equalization.

TONY THURMOND

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, a Democrat, is the only candidate currently in the statewide seat. He emphasizes his background as a social worker who grew up on public assistance programs in a low-income family. He stated an ambitious target of building two million housing units on surplus government land.

IAN CALDERON

Ian Calderon, former Democratic Assembly Majority Leader, emphasizes his relative youth. He was the first millennium member of the state assembly and is part of a Los Angeles County political dynasty. He has some ties to the cryptocurrency industry and dropped it in ads and debates.

STEVE HILTON

Republican Steve Hilton, a Fox News contributor, was an adviser to conservative British Prime Minister David Cameron before turning to American politics. Before launching his campaign, he released a book this year calling California “America’s worst-run state.”

This article was originally published on CalMatters and is republished under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives license.