BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) \u2014 California\u2019s race for governor is shifting following the departure of U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, as a crowded field of Democratic candidates continues to compete ahead of the June primary.<\/p>\n
New polling shows billionaire investor Tom Steyer leading the race, while former U.S. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra is gaining momentum after Swalwell\u2019s exit reshaped voter support.<\/p>\n
Despite the shift, the Democratic field remains large, prompting calls from party leaders for lower-polling candidates to drop out. Local advocates say that is unlikely.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the Democratic vote is splintered. I don\u2019t really see any of them dropping out at this point,\u201d said Flor Olvera, a community advocate with the Kern County Democratic Central Committee.<\/p>\n
Olvera said upcoming debates could play a key role in narrowing the race, depending on how candidates distinguish themselves and present detailed plans to voters.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the debate will tell us what candidate is actually talking to us and how they plan to achieve that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Other candidates, including U.S. Rep. Katie Porter, remain competitive in a race where polling margins are tight and many voters are still undecided.<\/p>\n
In Kern County, however, local political trends may limit how much shifts within the Democratic field influence outcomes. The county has historically leaned Republican, meaning the general election could depend more on GOP turnout and consolidation.<\/p>\n
Matthew Martin with the Kern County Republican Party said the state\u2019s \u201ctop-two\u201d primary system \u2014 sometimes referred to as a \u201cjungle primary\u201d \u2014 adds another layer of uncertainty as candidates from all parties compete on the same ballot.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, there\u2019s 60 people on the ballot for California governor, but there\u2019s really ten main folks, and now we\u2019re down to nine with the Democrats ousting Eric Swalwell,\u201d Martin said. \u201cIt really is interesting because California is a jungle primary system.\u201d<\/p>\n
For many Kern County voters, the central issue remains affordability, including the rising cost of fuel and groceries.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much we\u2019re spending on gas, on groceries \u2026 voters are going to align with the candidate with the better plan,\u201d Olvera said.<\/p>\n
Martin added that the coming weeks will be critical for candidates trying to connect directly with voters.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a time for the candidates to connect directly to voters, look them eye to eye, and say, \u2018This is what I believe, and this is why I believe it,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
California\u2019s primary election is scheduled for June 2. The deadline to register to vote is May 18.<\/p>\n
Stay in Touch with Us Anytime, Anywhere:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) \u2014 California\u2019s race for governor is shifting following the departure of U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":273755,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[151,155,153,152,162],"class_list":["post-273754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield-downtown","tag-bakersfield-headlines","tag-bakersfield-news","tag-kern-county-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=273754"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273754\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/273755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=273754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=273754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=273754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}