According to the\u00a0latest California Democratic Party Voter Index Survey<\/a>, Republican\u00a0Steve Hilton<\/a>, a political commentator and former adviser to\u00a0UK Prime Minister<\/a>\u00a0David Cameron<\/a>, is the front-runner in the race. He is closely followed by Republican Chad Bianco, Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner; and Democrats Tom Steyer, a billionaire investor;\u00a0Xavier Becerra<\/a>, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services; and\u00a0Katie Porter,<\/a>\u00a0a former congressional representative.<\/p>\n Polling with 4% or less of support are Democrats\u00a0Matt Mahan<\/a>, San Jose mayor;\u00a0Antonio Villaraigosa<\/a>, former Los Angeles mayor; and\u00a0Tony Thurmond<\/a>, California state superintendent of public instruction.<\/p>\n Democrat\u00a0Eric Swalwell<\/a>, former U.S. Representative for California\u2019s 14th congressional district, was once a front-runner, but dropped out of the race on April 12 because of\u00a0allegations of sexual misconduct.\u00a0<\/p>\n In total,\u00a061 candidates<\/a>\u00a0are competing in the\u00a0June 2 primary. The\u00a0two top vote-getters will advance to the Nov. 3 general election.<\/p>\n Student achievement is on every agenda<\/p>\n All the major candidates agree on one point: student test scores are too low. According to\u00a0state data<\/a>, 49% of California students met proficiency standards in English language arts, 37.3% in math and 32.7% in science last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThese results should be a five-alarm fire in our state,\u201d Mahan, a former middle school English and history teacher, told EdSource in a survey. \u201cToo many California students are not meeting basic benchmarks in reading and math, which has long-term consequences for them socially and economically, and for our entire society.\u201d<\/p>\n Mahan said he would invest in high-dosage tutoring for students who are behind, and would ensure districts are accountable for adopting\u00a0evidence-based literacy<\/a>\u00a0curricula. At a\u00a0CBS gubernatorial debate<\/a>\u00a0on Tuesday, Mahan said teachers should be rewarded if their students\u00a0improve academically, while teachers whose students falter academically should be provided with additional coaching and training.<\/p>\n Hilton has said he will hold teachers accountable for student performance by rewarding the best and firing the worst. He has also advocated for keeping students back in third grade until they can read.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe failure of our government-run schools is an outrageous scandal that we cannot tolerate any longer,\u201d Hilton said in a\u00a0statement on his website<\/a>. \u201cThat means taking on the ideologues and activists who have removed accountability for teachers and lowered expectations for students.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Bianco\u00a0has proposed<\/a>\u00a0expanding career technical education and high-performing charter schools; increasing the focus on reading, writing, math and science; increasing funding for teacher training and recruitment; promoting mental health supports; and ensuring all schools have an assigned law enforcement officer.<\/p>\n Thurmond said he would launch a five-year plan that would ensure that every student in the state can read by third grade. He would also make kindergarten mandatory and offer career training programs.<\/p>\n \u201cFor all 57 years of my life, we\u2019ve been talking about closing the achievement gap,\u201d Thurmond said during a gubernatorial forum in\u00a0February<\/a>\u00a0hosted by the Black Action Alliance and KTVU Fox 2. \u201cYou know, if we can send a person to the moon, we can close the achievement gap. We have to have the political will to do it and then back it up. It\u2019s not an achievement gap \u2014 our kids can achieve, but there are barriers in their way, and we have to remove those barriers.\u201d<\/p>\n No agreement on need for more funding<\/p>\n Education funding is a priority for many Californians, according to a\u00a0PPIC survey.<\/a>\u00a0Thirty-seven percent of survey respondents said K-12 education should be the highest priority for state government spending. Six percent of those surveyed said it should be higher education.<\/p>\n Candidates are divided on how they would approach funding. Some Democrats have proposed\u00a0increasing\u00a0funding to schools by increasing taxes on billionaires and corporations, while the two Republican\u00a0candidates say<\/a>\u00a0schools don\u2019t need more funding and should cut wasteful spending.<\/p>\n Steyer has proposed<\/a>\u00a0investing more money in public schools and increasing teacher\u00a0pay to help<\/a>\u00a0recruit and retain them.<\/a>\u00a0He says he\u2019ll generate\u00a0up to $50 billion in new revenue by raising taxes on corporations and wealthy individuals, with funds split between health care and education.\u00a0<\/p>\n During the CBS debate earlier this week, Thurmond addressed the funding crisis that has been created for school districts because of declining enrollment.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhat folks aren\u2019t saying on this stage is the biggest challenge for our schools is declining enrollment,\u201d Thurmond said. \u201cSchools get their revenue based on attendance, OK. And we\u2019re one of only six states in the nation that still gives revenue based on average daily attendance. We have to move to an enrollment system as we recognize that schools are losing revenue.\u201d<\/p>\n Affordable college a priority for some<\/p>\n For a student in the University of California system, the total annual cost \u2014 including tuition, school fees, housing, food and other living expenses \u2014 is about $47,000. At California State University, total costs range from $26,000 and $37,000. \u00a0<\/p>\n If elected, Steyer would like to make education free from universal preschool at age 3 to community college in California, while Porter proposes\u00a0making state universities tuition-free\u00a0<\/a>for California residents by raising corporate taxes.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFor more than 100 years, California students didn\u2019t pay even 1 cent for tuition,\u201d\u00a0Porter said<\/a>. \u201cThat was the promise California made to its taxpayers, that changed under Ronald Reagan before he sold our country on trickle-down economics. He sold out California students by charging our first tuition fees that turned the public right to a higher education into a private burden on families.\u201d<\/p>\n Villaraigosa does not promise free tuition. Instead, he says he would\u00a0expand financial aid, increase dual-enrollment opportunities for high school students taking college courses, grow career technical education programs and make it easier to transfer from community colleges to four-year universities, according to a survey returned to EdSource.<\/p>\n Culture wars on full display<\/p>\n Changing state policies that prohibit parental notification when students indicate they may be transgender, and allowing transgender athletes to participate in girls\u2019 sports are top priorities for Bianco.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter I am elected governor, you will never have to worry about boys in your locker room, boys in your restroom or having to compete against boys in athletics,\u201d Bianco said in an Instagram\u00a0post<\/a>. \u201cUntil then, we will continue doing everything we can to keep you safe as we fight against this insanity. Stay strong.\u201d<\/p>\n Bianco also opposes phasing out gas-powered school buses and says he will remove vaccination requirements to attend schools.\u00a0<\/p>\n Despite the governor\u2019s power to develop a state budget and seat officials in state agencies and commissions, these promises, as well as Hilton\u2019s promise to make teachers more accountable, may be difficult to achieve in a state where Democrats have a veto-proof supermajority in both houses.<\/p>\n Thurmond has<\/a>\u00a0said he will identify new tax revenue by closing tax loopholes and taxing billionaires to provide more funding for education and health care. He also said he will fight to keep immigration officers out of schools, a popular sentiment in California.<\/p>\n Are they talking about the right things?<\/p>\n Lupita Cortez Alcal\u00e1, executive director of Stanford-based research center Policy Analysis for California (PACE), said she wants\u00a0candidates to discuss chronic absenteeism, declining enrollment and teacher shortages. Alcal\u00e1 described chronic absenteeism \u2014 defined as being absent for 10% of the school year \u2014 as \u201ca system-level crisis,\u201d noting it reached 19.4% in 2024.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n She also said candidates should address reports that half of California\u2019s teachers are considering leaving the profession, as well as the budget cuts and school closures that districts are facing because of declining enrollment.<\/p>\n \u201cIf 50% of teachers are leaving the profession, we are going to have a major problem,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Governor\u2019s role could change<\/p>\n The election is particularly important to schools this year because the next\u00a0governor may have an\u00a0enhanced role in education<\/a>, if legislators agree to move control of the California Department of Education to the governor\u2019s office.<\/p>\n Alcal\u00e1 said placing the\u00a0CDE under the governor\u2019s office would allow state leaders to better align timelines, infrastructure needs and capacity to ensure equitable implementation when investing in initiatives and signing education policies. PACE co-authored\u00a0a report calling for the change<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the connection to implementation at the Department of Education and through all these systems of support, like county offices of education, the California Collaborative for Educator Excellence and even the universities \u2026 really needs to be better streamlined and aligned because our education system is highly fragmented,\u201d Alcal\u00e1 said.<\/p>\n Unions choose their candidates<\/p>\n California\u2019s largest education unions had lined up behind Swalwell, but withdrew their support after allegations of sexual misconduct emerged. Now, the California Teachers Association has recommended Steyer. The Service Employees International Union, which represents 750,000 workers \u2014 including school employees \u2014 across the state, has\u00a0not announced<\/a>\u00a0a new endorsement.<\/p>\n Steyer had already\u00a0secured endorsements from several other unions\u00a0representing teachers and school staff, including the\u00a0California Federation of Teachers<\/a>, the California School Employees Association\u00a0and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.\u00a0<\/p>\n The California Faculty Association\u00a0has split its endorsement<\/a>\u00a0between Becerra and Thurmond.\u00a0<\/p>\n Porter and Villaraigosa also have a fair share of union support, with both of their websites claiming support from the California Federation of Labor Unions.<\/p>\n President Donald Trump gave his endorsement to Hilton, calling him \u201ca truly fine man\u201d who can\u00a0turn the state around<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tom Steyer\u00a0\u2013 $133.9 million<\/p>\n Matt Mahan\u00a0\u2013 $12.7 million<\/p>\n Steve Hilton \u2013\u00a0$7.2 million<\/p>\n Katie Porter\u00a0\u2013 $6.3 million<\/p>\n Antonio Villaraigosa\u00a0\u2013 $4 million<\/p>\n Chad Bianco\u2013 $3.3 million<\/p>\n Xavier Becerra\u00a0\u2013 $2.98 million<\/p>\n Tony Thurmond\u00a0\u2013 $275,000<\/p>\n Donations reported by April 18.<\/p>\n Together, the candidates had received about $168 million in campaign contributions by April 18, but most of it \u2014 $133.9 million \u2014 is in the coffers of the Steyer campaign. The main donor was Steyer himself, who contributed $133.7 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n Along with individual donors, candidates reported contributions from businesses and unions, but few with ties to education.<\/p>\n This story originally appeared in EdSource.<\/a><\/p>\n \t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/LNM-20240812-EDSOURCELOGO-01.jpg\")
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