As anxiety mounts among California Democrats about the potential of a Republican being elected governor, the state party will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on polling to assess the viability of the sprawling field of candidates hoping to replace termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom, according to plans released Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The move comes after nearly every Democratic candidate refused<\/a> party leaders\u2019 call last week to withdraw<\/a> from the race to avoid splitting the vote in the June primary \u2014 an outcome that could lead to a Republican being elected to statewide office for the first time in two decades.<\/p>\n \u201cCandidates have filed, and now they\u2019ve got the opportunity to showcase their viability, their path to win. I want to simply ensure that everybody has information to fully understand the current state of the race,\u201d said Rusty Hicks, the leader of the California Democratic Party. <\/p>\n As campaign season ramps up, the series of six polls will allow \u201ccandidates, supporters, the media, voters, anyone and everyone to have a clear understanding of what is or is not happening in this particular race,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The filing deadline to appear on the June 2 ballot was Friday. Three days earlier, Hicks released an open letter urging candidates who did not have a path to victory to withdraw from the race. Of the nine prominent Democrats who had announced runs for governor, only one heeded his call: former state Assembly Majority Leader Ian Calderon.<\/p>\n That means the eight other candidates\u2019 names will appear on the ballot, regardless of whether they decide to later drop out. And that creates the possibility of a Republican winning the race because of how California elections are decided. <\/p>\n The state has a voter-approved top-two primary system, under which the two candidates who receive the most votes in the June primary advance to the November general election, regardless of party.<\/p>\n Two prominent Republicans will appear on the ballot: former conservative commentator Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco. Even though Democratic voters outnumber Republicans nearly 2 to 1, and the state\u2019s electorate last elevated Republicans to statewide office in 2006, it is mathematically possible for Democrats to splinter the vote, allowing the two GOP candidates to advance.<\/p>\n