California Governor Race Heats Up as Candidates Stand Firm Despite Polls

In an unexpected twist, several underdog Democratic candidates in California are standing their ground in the gubernatorial race, despite calls from party leaders to step aside. Both California Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks and Governor Gavin Newsom have urged these candidates to reconsider their campaigns to prevent the possibility of two Republican contenders advancing to the November general election.

Among those resisting is Superintendent Tony Thurmond, alongside former Attorney General Xavier Becerra, former Controller Betty Yee, and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan. Each of these candidates is polling at approximately 5% or less. With the final deadline looming for submitting their names for the ballot, they have all expressed their determination to continue their campaigns.

Thurmond, who garnered just 2% in a February survey by the Public Policy Institute of California, took to social media to voice his concerns. “The California Democratic Party is essentially telling every candidate of color in the race for governor to drop out,” he stated in a video. Thurmond criticized the party’s apparent preference for candidates who are wealthy and predominantly white.

In an open letter, Rusty Hicks urged those without a plausible path to victory to withdraw, highlighting the potential danger of a scenario where two Republicans, such as former Fox News Host Steve Hilton and ex-Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco, could face off in the general election. Although unlikely, Hicks warned that this outcome is not impossible.

The party’s growing anxiety surrounding the race was a key topic at the California Democratic Party Convention held in San Francisco last month, where the risk of being excluded from the governor’s race was a major concern for Democrats. As the deadline approaches, the tension within the party only seems to be intensifying.

Hicks discussed the risk at the California Democratic Party Convention in San Francisco last month amid rising Dem panic about the possibility of being locked out of the governor’s race.

“I know who will probably get the blame if two Republicans are in the general election, they’ll come looking for the chair of the party. That’s usually how this works,” Hicks told reporters. “I think it’s also important for me to reiterate that I’m aware of — but not worried about — that dynamic.”

Hicks’ call to drop out didn’t move Yee, polling at 5%, who posted gleeful photos on X filing her official campaign paperwork.

Becerra likewise defied the call to drop out and posted a video collecting signatures to place his name on the ballot.

“Looking forward to being your governor!” said Becerra, who is polling at 5% according to PPIC.

Hilton and Bianco are near the top of recent polls while the Dem field is heavily splintered among nine notable Dems — including former Rep. Katie Porter, Rep. Eric Swalwell, billionaire activist Tom Steyer, and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Former assemblymember Ian Calderon is also in the race.

Villaraigosa and Becerra, who each have about 5% support, traded barbs on Tuesday with the former LA mayor suggesting that Becerra drop out and vice versa.

Mahan, who has received substantial backing from Silicon Valley but sits at 2% support in recent polling, insisted he will win and told Politico: “Thankfully, voters choose the next governor — not political gatekeepers.” 

Even Calderon, who was polling at 1% in the PPIC’s poll, refused to drop out: “I thought we were Democrats and we believed in choice,” he told Politico.

After saying on Monday that he was checked out of the governor’s race, Newsom changed his tune Tuesday and said he agreed with Hicks’ message.

“I read it a few hours ago, and I confess I agree,” Newsom said at a book event in Los Angeles Tuesday. “At this moment in history, with all the peril and promise that marks this moment for California, the most un-Trump state in America, to have a Republican Trumper running, there is no margin for error.”

California State Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas echoed calls for lagging Dems to drop out.

“It’s important that candidates don’t file if they aren’t ready or able to go the distance. With respect, they know who they are,” Rivas said.

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