“Decision Day” in America comes in various shapes and forms—on May 1, for example, the deadline for many a high school senior to commit to a college for the fall semester.

In the world of California politics, however, “decision day” took on a different meaning this year. Late last week, it was the deadline for political candidates to decide whether to enter a June primary contest. Or, for declared candidates wanting out, a last chance to quit their respective race lest their name remain on the ballot as a zombie presence.

So how did this affect a California governor’s race and a “top-two primary” in which progressive elders fear too many Democrats watering down their party’s share of the June turnout would end up in the almost comical notion of two Republican candidates advancing to the general election in November (comical in the sense that Democrats own a nearly 20-point advantage in voter registration)?

As it turns out, not much.

Only one Democrat quit the governor’s race: former Assembly leader Ian Calderon. If you’ve never heard of him, neither have most Californians. Calderon was polling at the back of the pack (this Emerson College survey had him at less than 1 percent).

So where does that leave matters, with the June 2 primary now less than eight weeks away?

Eight Democrats will compete to become California’s forty-first governor: former Health and Human Services secretary and state attorney general Xavier Becerra; San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan; former congresswoman Katie Porter; billionaire Tom Steyer; Representative Eric Swalwell; state schools chief Tony Thurmond; former Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa; and former controller Betty Yee.

And on the Republican side: Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and former Fox News host Steve Hilton. A third Republican, tech entrepreneur Jon Slavet, quit the race last week).

Does this mean the unlikely pairing of two Republican gubernatorial candidates on the November ballot (not since 1990 has California opted for a non-incumbent Republican in a non-recall gubernatorial race)?

Don’t bet on it—but if you must, then........

© Hoover Institution