{"id":340899,"date":"2026-06-01T03:08:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T03:08:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/340899\/"},"modified":"2026-06-01T03:08:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T03:08:08","slug":"controversial-california-governor-candidate-pulls-ahead-in-key-region","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/340899\/","title":{"rendered":"Controversial California governor candidate pulls ahead in key region"},"content":{"rendered":"

Controversial gubernatorial hopeful Tom Steyer has surged ahead in two pivotal Northern California regions, a new poll reveals<\/a>, as voters zero in on the soaring cost of living.<\/p>\n

The billionaire climate crusader<\/a> is now leading the pack in both the San Francisco market and Northern California as the June 2 primary approaches.<\/p>\n

Controversial gubernatorial hopeful Tom Steyer has surged ahead in two pivotal Northern California regions, a new poll reveals, as voters zero in on the soaring cost of living. Toby Canham for CA Post<\/p>\n

Tom Steyer takes a selfie with a supporter at a rally. Toby Canham for CA Post<\/p>\n

In San Francisco, Steyer garnered 34% support among likely voters, well ahead of the rest of the field. Republican Steve Hilton came in second at 19%, followed by Xavier Becerra<\/a> at 17%.<\/p>\n

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan received 11%, former Rep. Katie Porter drew 6%, and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco garnered 5%. Four percent of respondents were undecided, while 2% had already voted or declined to answer.<\/p>\n

The poll found that worries over affordability continue to overshadow all other voter concerns across the Golden State. Godofredo A. V\u00e1squez\/Pool AP via AP<\/p>\n

Steyer also topped the field in Northern California, where he received 26% of the vote. Bianco followed with 22%, Hilton drew 20%, and Becerra received 17%. Ten percent of voters remained undecided.<\/p>\n

The poll found that worries over affordability continue to overshadow all other voter concerns across the Golden State.<\/p>\n

Cost of living emerged as the top issue swaying voters in every media market surveyed, drawing fears from at least 20% of respondents statewide.<\/p>\n

Cost of living emerged as the top issue swaying voters in every media market surveyed, drawing fears from at least 20% of respondents statewide. Toby Canham for CA Post<\/p>\n

Affordable housing ranked second in San Francisco, the Central Valley, the Central Coast and San Diego.<\/p>\n

The survey also revealed that Californians are still deeply split over Gov. Gavin Newsom\u2019s performance in office.<\/p>\n

Statewide, Newsom\u2019s approval rating stood at 49%, while 50% disapproved of his job performance.<\/p>\n

In San Francisco, Steyer garnered 34% support among likely voters, well ahead of the rest of the field. Toby Canham for CA Post<\/p>\n

His highest disapproval ratings were recorded in Sacramento, where 63% of respondents disapproved of the governor\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n

Disapproval also reached 61% in the Central Valley, 54% in San Diego and 52% in Northern California. The regional numbers also highlight the uphill battle Becerra faces as the race enters its final stretch.<\/p>\n

Steyer also topped the field in Northern California, where he received 26% of the vote. Toby Canham for CA Post<\/p>\n

According to the polling memo, Becerra is running second on the Central Coast but will need stronger performances in Los Angeles and San Francisco to win statewide.<\/p>\n

With housing costs and everyday expenses continuing to weigh heavily on voters, the poll suggests affordability concerns remain front and center as Californians prepare to choose Newsom\u2019s successor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Controversial gubernatorial hopeful Tom Steyer has surged ahead in two pivotal Northern California regions, a new poll reveals,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":340900,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,46666,9,8,989,13,18562,140454,25299,3586,6392],"class_list":["post-340899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-governor-election-2026","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-elections","tag-politics","tag-polls","tag-surveys","tag-tom-steyer","tag-us-news","tag-voters"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340899","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=340899"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340899\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/340900"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=340899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=340899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=340899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}