Democrats’ fear rising that too many candidates in governor’s race could lead to a Republican victory

SAN FRANCISCO — Leaders of the California Democratic Party, liberal activists and loyal power brokers are publicly expressing fear that the large field of candidates running for governor could split the vote and open the door to a surprise Republican victory in November.

Because of these concerns, Democrats at the bottom of the group are being pressured to drop out of the race to ensure the party’s political dominance in statewide elections continues in the 2026 election.

“California Democrats are ready to do whatever it takes,” state party chairman Rusty Hicks told reporters Friday at the annual meeting of the California Democratic Party. “We are ready, willing and able to do what is necessary to ensure that a strong candidate emerges from the primary who will do what is necessary in November.”

Nine leading Democrats are running to replace outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom, compared to the GOP’s top two candidates, and could split Democratic voters enough for two Republicans to win the most votes in the June primary and advance to the November election. Under California’s “jungle primary” system, the top two vote-getters, regardless of party affiliation, advance to the general election.

Hicks was respectful of Democratic candidates who had long tenures in public office, compelling personal stories and experience leading the state. But he said the harsh political reality remains that in a state with 23.1 million registered voters and some of the most expensive media markets in the country, a viable candidate must raise enormous amounts of money to run a winning campaign.

The party, its allies, and the candidates themselves “have a collective commitment to making sure we never see a Republican elected.” [for governor]” said Hicks.

While Hicks and other party leaders have not publicly named candidates who should drop out of the race, candidates trailing in the polls include State Supt. Public Instruction’s Tony Thurmond, former state controller Betty Yee, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former House Majority Leader Ian Calderon.

Democratic voters far outnumber registered Republicans in the state, and no Republicans have been elected to statewide office since 2006.

But given the expanding field of gubernatorial candidates, the lack of a clear front runner and the state’s unique primary system, the race appears to be up for grabs. An average of the most recent polls has conservative commentator Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, both Republicans, tied for first place, according to Real Clear Politics. Each received the support of 15.5% of voters. The top Democrat, Rep. Eric Swalwell of Dublin, Calif., had 12.5% ​​support.

In 2012, Republicans finished first and second in the San Bernardino County congressional district race; Even though Democrats have a solid lead in voter registration. The four Democrats running for the seat split the vote, opening the door to a victory for GOP Rep. Gary Miller. Pete Aguilar, one of the Democrats who lost in the primary, won the seat in 2014 and has served in Congress ever since.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) on Friday pushed back on fears that two Republicans would win the top two spots for governor in June.

“This is not going to happen,” he said in an interview after speaking at the Young Democrats’ reception. “And the one thing you need to know about Democrats this year is that we are united. As I said, our diversity is our strength, our unity is our strength. And everyone knows there’s so much at stake.”

But the scenario has prompted a cross-section of the typically fractious party to unite behind the belief that the field must be narrowed, either by choice of candidates or through pressure.

Jodi Hicks, leader of Planned Parenthood’s California operations, said the organization is focused on congressional races but having two Republican gubernatorial candidates “would be nothing short of devastating.”

“We haven’t weighed in on the governor’s race, but we’re very mindful of whether that’s going to be gamed and whether we’re going to throw our weight behind it and make sure that doesn’t happen,” he said.

Newsom and legislative Democrats have tried to buffer major federal funding cuts to reproductive care. The November election, which will feature two Republicans on the gubernatorial ballot, will eliminate a key partner in Sacramento and could impact turnout in down-ballot congressional and legislative races.

“The first two Republicans [race] Jodi Hicks said there would be absolutely dire consequences for the midterm fight and the governorship.

Lorena Gonzalez, leader of the California Federation of Labor Unions, stated that her organization’s approval process will begin on Tuesday.

“I think we will have some pretty honest discussions with the candidates about their individual paths and where they are,” he said. “They’re all great candidates, a lot of them are really good people. But that’s where it’s starting to happen.”

He expects the area to begin weakening in the coming days and weeks.

The conversation went beyond party leaders to delegates like academic labor researcher Gregory Hutchins of Riverside.

The 29-year-old actor, who said he hoped to see some candidates withdraw after the weekend, said: “My goal in the congress is not necessarily for the party to rally around a particular candidate, moreover, this is a test to see which candidates have the level of support to run a successful campaign.”

“Am I worried about the long term? [a top-two Republican runoff] Could something happen? “Yes and no,” he said, “I’m not worried that we won’t be able to fix this problem before the primaries, but I think we need to start getting serious about, ‘We need to fix this problem ASAP.'”

Not everyone agreed.

San Francisco Democrat Tim Paulson, who supports Yee, called efforts to push people out of the race “preemptive disqualification.”

“This is nothing more than scare tactics to distract people from racing,” he said. “This is still a live primary. No one knows who’s the front runner yet.”

Bob Galemmo, 71, said that many people do not believe that Donald Trump will be elected president in 2016 and are afraid that two Republicans will participate in the general elections.

“You should never say never,” he said. “If we could get it down to four or five [candidates]This will be useful.”

Efforts have already begun.

RL Miller, chairman of the state Democratic Party’s environmental group, said Yee should leave the school.

“Ye, who’s at the bottom of the polls, needs to think hard about whether he’s serving the party or being selfish by staying in the race,” Miller said.

Yee, the former state party vice-chairman, pushed back hard, saying pressure to drop out of the race would be “undemocratic”.

“First of all, I’ve been serving this party for a long time. I’m not doing this out of selfishness in any way,” he said at the Saturday meeting, where he handed out breakfast burritos to delegates. “But I’ll just say this: the race is wide open.”

Yee’s campaign manager said the largest group of voters is still undecided and the candidate hasn’t asked anyone to drop him out of the race outright, but someone started a rumor a month or two ago that he would drop out of the race and run instead for insurance commissioner.

“I won’t leave and I don’t think any candidate should leave either,” Yee said.

Calderon said Swalwell pressured him to drop out of the race.

Calderon advocated for staying in the race to try to reach undecided voters during a gubernatorial forum Friday at the Commonwealth Club.

“I stay pretty consistent in that 1 to 3 percent range,” he joked. “But my issue is access to resources and visibility, which is something that can change in a day with the right support and support.”

Swalwell and his campaign did not respond to a request for comment.