A GOP Governor? In California? Unless the Dems Get It Together, Yes.

The state’s Democratic honchos are refusing to impose any discipline over an eight-person field. They better act soon, or they’ll hand the state a MAGA governor.

The Democrats are in danger of giving away one of the most important perches in American politics, particularly with a radical Republican like Donald Trump in the White House, and one that they should easily own: the California governorship. The party’s lack of strong internal leaders, ideological divides, and inept handling of issues of race and identity have combined to create a chaotic mess with dire potential consequences. Democratic leaders, both in California and across the country, must immediately start working on a path to ensure that at least one of the candidates who qualifies for the general election in the California governor’s race is a Democrat. 

The California primaries are officially on June 2, but voters receive and can mail in their ballots as soon as May 5. That’s just six weeks from now. Instead of primaries for each party, California is one of the states where the top two candidates go to the general election. And the polls suggest that if the election were held today, the two candidates who advance might be Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and former Fox News host Steve Hilton, both Republicans. And Bianco and Hilton aren’t Arnold Schwarzenegger-ish moderate Republicans, but true conservatives who want to implement Trump’s vision in California. 

California is a heavily Democratic state (Kamala Harris received 59 percent of the vote compared to 38 percent for Trump in 2024), so what the hell is going on? Democratic dysfunction. Of the ten candidates running, eight are Democrats. Bianco and Hilton are each near 20 percent, essentially splitting the statewide GOP vote. Meanwhile, the eight Democrats are all getting a chunk of the state’s Democratic vote, leaving the entire field stuck in either single digits or the low to mid teens. Polls also show from 15 to 25 percent of the electorate saying that they are not sure who they will vote for. That likely consists of Democratic voters unable to sort through their eight choices. 

The three leading Democrats, former Representative Katie Porter, billionaire venture capitalist Tom Steyer, and Representative Eric Swalwell, are all close to Bianco and Hilton in the polls. But at this point, there is no guarantee that any of those three will make the general election. 

How did we get here? Part of the problem is that there is no clear heir apparent to outgoing Governor Gavin Newsom. Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis started running for the top job, didn’t get much support, and then shifted to the state treasurer’s race last August.........

© New Republic