Sacramento, California– California’s gubernatorial primary draws to a close Tuesday as voters choose from a wide range of candidates hoping to replace embattled Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The end of the voting period, which began in early May, concludes with a chaotic contest without a clear candidate. Candidates tried Elbow each other In the final stretch, each sought to convince voters that they were better prepared to lead the most populous state and one of the largest economies in the world.
California places all candidates on a single primary ballot regardless of party, and the top two candidates advance to the general election in November. About 60 candidates participated in the ballot, most of whom are largely unknown to about 23 million voters in the state.
On the Democratic side, it includes the most prominent contenders Xavier Becerraformer state attorney general and US Secretary of Health; Tom Steyera billionaire climate activist; Katie porterformer member of Congress; and Matt MahanMayor of San Jose.
The two most prominent Republicans are the conservative commentator Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.
The Democrats’ campaign focused on combating the Trump administration’s attacks on the state’s liberal policies, while Republicans pledged to bring about change after more than 15 years of Democratic leadership in Sacramento. But the dividing line in the race was how to address the state’s high costs of living.
Drivers were paying $6.08 per gallon at the pump as of the end of May, $1.65 higher than the national average, according to AAA. Meanwhile, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office estimated that a typical home costs about $775,000, more than double the national average. California residents pay the second-highest residential electricity rates after Hawaii, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Some candidates have proposed suspending the state’s gas taxes, which total about 70 cents per gallon, while others have proposed subsidizing in-state tuition at public colleges. A few Democrats said they would eliminate private health insurance in favor of a government-run system with no premiums, while Republicans pledged to increase oil and gas production and reduce regulation.
“The truth is we’ve gone off the rails, and we have one-party rule,” Hilton said in a debate in May. “The results have been disappointing. It is time for some balance.”
Earlier in the race, Democrats expressed concern that they could be shut out of the general election even though they count 45% of registered voters in the state compared to 25% for Republicans.
The concern was that their relatively crowded field of candidates could split the Democratic vote enough to enable Republicans to advance under the single-primary system, which was first used statewide in 2014.
No two candidates from the same party have ever run in the general election in the California governor’s race, although this has happened twice in the US Senate elections in 2016 and 2018.
However, recent developments have tempered Democrats’ concerns with a few candidates emerging as major contenders. In the final days of the race, Hilton warned that Republicans could be eliminated if they failed to rally behind him.
Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell’s resignation and withdrawal from the race after sexual assault allegations were made against him left an opening for Becerra, who had previously struggled to gain traction.
Highlighting his long political career, Becerra began raising more money and garnering the support of powerful labor groups and Latino legislative leaders.
But that momentum has also made him a target, and rivals have criticized his leadership as health minister, including his handling of the influx of infections. Unaccompanied migrant children On the US-Mexico border in 2021, when Becerra’s Department of Health and Human Services was in charge of the shelters where they were housed. Some of them have been criticized for it Unsuitable living conditionsThere were also concerns about the authorities’ failure to thoroughly vet the sponsors with whom some children were placed.
“The minister has never faced a crisis he couldn’t ignore,” Mahan said at one discussion in April.
Steyer campaign spent or booked More than $203 million In broadcast TV, cable and radio advertising, according to the AdImpact tracker. During his election campaign, he was attacked for past investments in fossil fuels and private prisons in a hedge fund he founded in the 1980s and left more than a decade ago. Some accused him of trying to buy the elections.
“This will be a race between those who earned it versus those who are trying to buy it,” Becerra told CNN in April.
For their part, Republicans never rallied behind a strategy to send Hilton and Bianco to the general election, but rather the two struggled to consolidate support for them. President Donald Trump’s April endorsement of Hilton, a former political adviser to a conservative British prime minister, likely strengthened him among GOP voters and diminished Bianco’s chances of advancing.
Trump on Monday evening again urged people to vote for Hilton, saying Democrats have done an “absolutely terrible job” running the state.
“Steve can turn things around before it’s too late, and as President, I will help him do that!” Trump posted on his social media platform.
All California voters receive a mail-in ballot, and election officials count those received up to a week after Election Day as long as they are postmarked by then. This often results in a long count, with winners not announced until days or even weeks later.
This is the first time in more than two decades that there is no political star in the governor’s race. In 2003, Republican Representative Arnold Schwarzenegger came to office in a recall election that ousted then-Gov. Gray Davis; In 2010, former Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown cemented his political comeback by winning nearly three decades after his first two terms; In 2018, Newsom had already established a national profile after serving terms as lieutenant governor and mayor of San Francisco and won handily.