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Should Democrats vote for Matt\u00a0Mahan or Katie Porter, who lag in the polls? Or should they vote strategically to enhance the chance of a Democrat making it to the November election?<\/p>\n
Lea Suzuki\/S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n
For voters feeling frustrated and uninspired ahead of California\u2019s June 2 primary election<\/a>: You\u2019re not alone.\u00a0<\/p>\n The governor\u2019s race is, to put it mildly, a hot mess. The state\u2019s political establishment and power brokers have twice<\/a> closed ranks<\/a> around milquetoast candidates despite their struggle to articulate even a basic policy platform.<\/p>\n First, it was former Rep. Eric Swalwell, who abandoned his gubernatorial bid<\/a> after longstanding whispers of impropriety burst into the public realm with heinous sexual-assault allegations first revealed in a damning Chronicle report<\/a>.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Now, former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier\u00a0Becerra is the chosen favorite\u00a0\u2014 someone who\u2019s offered little in his campaign beyond a calm avuncular demeanor.<\/p>\n Somewhat inexplicably, both men seem to appeal to voters, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n San Francisco Chronicle Logo<\/p>\n Make us a Preferred Source to get more of our news when you search.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Swalwell topped the polls before he dropped out. Becerra is now the leading Democratic contender, neck-and-neck with Republican Steve Hilton, who\u2019s endorsed by President Donald Trump<\/a>. Trailing in most polls is Democratic billionaire Tom Steyer, whose puffs of populist rage come with little substance<\/a>, closely followed by Republican Chad Bianco, the Riverside County sheriff best known for seizing ballots from last year\u2019s special election<\/a>.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Democratic former Rep. Katie Porter, whose deep grasp of policy makes her one of the strongest candidates in the race<\/a>, is in fifth place.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n There\u2019s a Gen Z phrase that I believe best captures the situation: Chat, we\u2019re cooked<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sure, voters are unpredictable, and polls can be wrong. But even inaccurate polls can shape campaigns<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 and influence what voters believe their choices are.\u00a0<\/p>\n Many politicos view it as inevitable that Hilton will face off against either Becerra or Steyer in November. And in a state where there are nearly twice as many registered Democrats as Republicans<\/a>, it\u2019s hard to imagine a Republican winning against\u00a0a Democrat.\u00a0<\/p>\n In other words, if a Republican and a Democrat advance to the general election, California will basically have already chosen its next governor.<\/p>\n Given the state\u2019s lopsided voter registration, it would be far more substantive and competitive\u00a0\u2014 and interesting\u00a0\u2014 for two Democrats to face off in the general election. But with Hilton consolidating the GOP vote after receiving Trump\u2019s endorsement, he\u2019ll likely make it to the runoff.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n This has led many exhausted Democrats to engage in a frenzied game of mental chess as they try to maximize the value of their vote<\/a>. Rather than considering the full field of candidates and choosing the best, most qualified contender\u00a0\u2014 the Chronicle editorial board, of which I\u2019m a member, determined that it\u2019s Porter<\/a>, though San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan also merits serious consideration\u00a0\u2014 they\u2019re winnowing their focus to who they think is likely to win.\u00a0<\/p>\n So even if they\u2019re not particularly fond of Steyer or Becerra, they\u2019re nonetheless choosing between them.\u00a0<\/p>\n I understand this sense of fatalism. But I don\u2019t plan to gamify my vote.\u00a0<\/p>\n Elections are not foregone conclusions. Treating them as such only increases the apathy, helplessness and resignation that prompt many Californians to sit out elections altogether, convinced their vote doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n I have no intention of artificially limiting myself to a subset of mediocre candidates simply because of what the polls say.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n An astonishing 57% of adults think the state is headed in the wrong direction, according to a Public Policy Institute of California poll<\/a> released Wednesday night. California\u2019s issues are too great and its problems too acute to vote for a candidate merely because it seems like they\u2019re going to win.\u00a0<\/p>\n I plan to vote my conscience\u00a0\u2014 for who I actually think is best qualified to get the state on the right track.\u00a0<\/p>\n By this point, you may be yelling at your phone screen about my naivete. Despite more than 60 candidates in the race<\/a>, only a few have the name recognition, party support, money and personality to ever stand a chance of becoming governor.\u00a0<\/p>\n Yet I find something strangely hopeful in the fact that people run for office knowing they have basically no shot at winning. I spoke to many of them as part of the editorial board\u2019s endorsement process, and they cited similar reasons for their long-shot runs: They were tired of complaining about the status quo and wanted to take action. They were dissatisfied with their elected officials\u2019 decisions. They wanted to give voters an alternative choice.\u00a0<\/p>\n In many ways, their gambit is futile. But in other ways, it isn\u2019t futile at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The simple existence of their candidacies is a repudiation of the electoral apathy that afflicts so many of us\u00a0\u2014 the feeling that our votes don\u2019t matter, that there\u2019s no point making our voices heard because the outcome feels predetermined. Their presence is a reminder that nothing is set in stone.\u00a0<\/p>\n It gives us permission to stop overthinking and try to do the right thing.<\/p>\n After all, Porter was leading the polls until two separate videos of her\u00a0overreacting to a reporter\u2019s simple question<\/a> and yelling an expletive at a staffer<\/a> went viral. Becerra, meanwhile, was barely registering in the polls until Swalwell exited the race in disgrace. (A similarly cringey viral video of Becerra instructing a reporter<\/a> to limit \u201ctough questions\u201d and put together a \u201cprofile,\u201d not a \u201cgotcha piece,\u201d has barely affected his campaign\u00a0\u2014 an example of the double standard to which male and female candidates are held.)\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Guest opinions in Open Forum and Insight are produced by writers with expertise, personal experience or original insights on a subject of interest to our readers. Their views do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Chronicle editorial board, which is committed to providing a diversity of ideas to our readership.<\/p>\n