LOS ANGELES — The California Democratic Party did not endorse a candidate for governor at this past weekend’s convention after none of the eight major candidates received more than 60% of the vote.

With early voting starting in less than three months, even the candidates polling in the single digits left the convention with something to brag about.

The campaign for former State Controller Betty Yee said she “surges ahead reshaping the field,” while former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra’s campaign pointed to the Young Democrats endorsement, saying his “strong performance” at the convention “shows clear path to victory.”

Political experts say the large field without a clear frontrunner could be a concern for Democrats, though the likelihood of a split vote knocking the party out of the November ballot remains low.

“It would be very unlikely for us to find a situation where no Democrat advances to the general election. But it doesn’t mean that it’s not possible,” said Paul Mitchell, the vice president of Political Data.

“It’s a wide-open race, but it’s still California,” GOP consultant Rob Stutzman said. “I don’t think there’s a high chance you get two Republicans, but I do think it’s a high chance no one breaks away from the pack.”

The Democratic field includes Yee, Becerra, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, Congressman Eric Swalwell, former Congresswoman Katie Porter, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond.

The filing deadline to appear on the ballot is March 6 and one or more of these Democrats could leave the race before then.

If the top two Republicans in the race, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and Fox News host Steve Hilton, box out the Democrats, political experts say it would be catastrophic for the Democratic party.

“Not only does it mean that they don’t have a Democratic governor, but it also means all those other statewide elections that are counting on high Democrat turnout, that high Democrat turnout probably wouldn’t come,” Mitchell said. “The congressional races, where we have these new districts under Prop. 50, you could see that procedural victory of Prop. 50 get undone by extremely low Democratic turnout.”

Stutzman expects the Democratic Party to spend big money to elevate their top candidates and make sure it’s not Hilton and Bianco after June 2.

“This is a Trump midterm, so all the headwinds are against Republicans, even in a governor’s race,” Stutzman said. “The math is just extremely difficult.”


Copyright © 2026 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.