Did CA’s major issues scare gubernatorial candidates?

from Dan WaltersCalMatters

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California faces a half-dozen existential problems that threaten the state’s future economic and social well-being, and they have stubbornly resisted attempts to solve them for the past 25 years.

They are—in no particular order and often intertwined—high costs of living, high levels of poverty, homelessness, housing shortages, unsafe water supplies, and poor public education outcomes. There are also a number of smaller problems, some of which are components of what I would consider the ‘Big 6’, such as a deficit government budget and unstable and increasingly expensive power supply.

Gavin Newsom will vacate the post in a year and probably run for president, leaving some problems a little better, some a little worse, but all still unresolved.

Taken together, they should dominate the agenda of those we elect to office this year, especially the man or woman who emerges as the next governor. They continue to threaten the future, however, because in a state as large and complex as California, forging a civic and political consensus to resolve them is mind-numbingly difficult.

Could this be why so many potentially viable candidates have decided not to run? Is this why the field remains so unsettled, even at such a relatively late point in the political cycle?

Could it be that those who dropped out or never got involved looked at the daunting array of potentially intractable problems they would face and concluded that failure would be their most likely fate?

We’ll never know for sure what dismotivated them, but the intriguing fact is that some of those who decided not to run would have potentially led the pack, such as former Vice President Kamala Harris, Attorney General Rob Bonta, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla and Los Angeles businessman Rick Caruso.

Those still in the race are interesting in their own way, but no one stands out as an obvious or natural favorite and their qualities tend to be weak.

Caruso, who ran a credible campaign for mayor of Los Angeles four years ago, was the one to get out at the latest on a campaign not only for governor but also for mayor. He said he was “deeply disappointed to withdraw from an election that I believe is so critical to the future of California.”

“Although my name will not be on the ballot, my work continues,” Caruso said in X. “Public service requires no title. It is and always will be my calling.”

Caruso’s announcement came just days after Bonta, who initially shunned a gubernatorial campaign before announcing he would run, finally announced he would seek another term as attorney general.

This seemingly leaves only a field of minor candidates as measured by standard political odds. In true 2026 style, as some drop out, others emerge as potential gubernatorial candidates.

The latest to do so is San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, a Democrat who has been a vocal critic of how Sacramento Democrats, including Newsom, are running things. On the day Bonta pulled the plug, Mahan made that clear he considered running away.

Mahan told the San Jose Mercury News that none of the other candidates have articulated a “clear and compelling” vision or the “bold and independent leadership” needed to address the state’s thorny issues, particularly homelessness.

“I see it’s business as usual in Sacramento,” said Mahan, who was at the Capitol advocating for reforms aimed at making housing more affordable. “I don’t see anybody acting like it’s a crisis.”

With the backing of Silicon Valley, Mahan could become a formidable contender in the state’s first two primaries in June.

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