\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThe race for California governor features former presidential wannabes, a county sheriff, two women who could become the first female to hold the office, House members, current and former, an ex-Cabinet secretary and at least one billionaire with another in the wings. The contest has been singed by scandal and witnessed one campaign nearly melt down.And it hasn\u2019t officially started yet.The pending exit of term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom has created the most wide-open and crowded field for the state\u2019s highest office in memory. The job pays $242,000 a year but provides an arguably more valuable national political platform and the ability to engage in trade, climate and other global affairs. By default the California governor, in a state of nearly 40 million people, is a national figure. Newsom is widely expected to launch a White House run after the Democrat\u2019s term ends in early January 2027.The lure of the powerful job attracted its latest candidate Thursday \u2014 Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, who served as a House manager in President Donald Trump\u2019s 2021 impeachment trial and briefly sought his party\u2019s 2020 presidential nomination.The eventual winner will also inherit a long list of problems, from an unchecked homeless crisis to multibillion-dollar projected future budget gaps.The primary is June 2. Candidates can begin taking the first steps needed to qualify for the ballot next month. Newsom has not endorsed a successor.How do Democrats stand out among Democrats?Democrats are strongly favored to hold the seat in a liberal-leaning state where a Republican hasn\u2019t won a statewide race in nearly two decades. Democrats outnumber registered Republicans by nearly 2-to-1 statewide, a staggering advantage.One challenge for the growing list of Democratic candidates will be trying to stand out when they largely agree on most issues \u2014 dealing with the state\u2019s affordability crisis and countering Trump will top the agenda. Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has positioned himself toward the center political lane and has been talking about his record of cutting taxes. He also boosted police force numbers and saw crime drop when he was LA\u2019s mayor.Billionaire businessman Tom Steyer, a recent entrant into the contest who ran for president in 2020, says the state can \u201cbreak up the monopolistic power of utilities\u201d to reduce its second-highest-in-the-nation electricity rates.How many is too many?Even in a field of recognized names, there is no dominant candidate.\u201cIt\u2019s a five-way, six-way jump ball and that ball could go in any direction,\u201d Democratic consultant Michael Trujillo said. \u201cAny one of these Democrats running currently could be our next governor.\u201dIn California, the top two vote-getters advance to the November general election, regardless of party. With many candidates dividing up the electorate, that means the two candidates who advance could get to November with just over 20% of the vote \u2014 and maybe less. The winning advantage separating the top two finishers from the rest of the field could be a percentage point or two.Along with Swalwell, Villaraigosa and Steyer, other Democrats in the contest include former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter, former Biden administration health secretary Xavier Becerra, former state controller Betty Yee, schools superintendent Tony Thurmond and real estate developer Stephen Cloobeck. Attorney General Rob Bonta, who previously said he wasn\u2019t running, is now reconsidering a bid.Unwelcome publicity sours Porter\u2019s startPorter \u2014 who in the House became a social media celebrity by brandishing a whiteboard at congressional hearings while grilling CEOs \u2014 joined the unfolding race in March and moved quickly to establish herself as a leading contender.But her momentum collapsed in early October, after a snippet of a recent TV interview went viral showing her in an awkwardly tense back-and-forth with a reporter. At one point, she threatened to walk out. Shortly afterward, a video surfaced of a 2021 interview showing her loudly berating a staffer.After a deluge of online mockery, rivals quickly questioned whether she was too unsteady for the job. But Porter\u2019s campaign lined up supporters to help her weather the fallout. It is unclear if the unflattering episode will influence voters.Becerra\u2019s name pulled into Sacramento scandalProsecutors allege longtime Becerra aide Sean McCluskie was at the center of a plan to steal money from one of Becerra\u2019s dormant state campaign accounts to pad his salary after he accepted a job as Becerra\u2019s chief of staff in Washington.Becerra is a former House member and state attorney general.Villaraigosa launched a digital ad spotlighting Becerra\u2019s connection to the scandal. Becerra is not implicated in the indictment. But the ad attempts to raise doubts about his judgment and features clips from a TV interview in which Becerra said he knew payments were being made from his account but didn\u2019t know they were being improperly used.A Republican surprise?Even in a heavily Democratic state, Republicans can pull off surprises.Last year, former baseball star Steve Garvey finished second in the U.S. Senate primary, besting Porter and then-Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee and advancing to the November election. He lost to now-Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff. The leading Republicans in the governor\u2019s race \u2014 Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and conservative commentator Steve Hilton \u2014 are hoping to slip through into November, given the large Democratic field dividing the vote.There are other unknowns. Billionaire shopping mall developer Rick Caruso hasn\u2019t ruled out a run, after losing his bid to become Los Angeles mayor.See more coverage of top Central Coast stories | Download our app \/ Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tLOS ANGELES \u2014 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
The race for California governor features former presidential wannabes, a county sheriff, two women who could become the first female to hold the office, House members, current and former, an ex-Cabinet secretary and at least one billionaire with another in the wings. The contest has been singed by scandal and witnessed one campaign nearly melt down.<\/p>\n
And it hasn\u2019t officially started yet.<\/p>\n
The pending exit of term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom has created the most wide-open and crowded field for the state\u2019s highest office in memory. The job pays $242,000 a year but provides an arguably more valuable national political platform and the ability to engage in trade, climate and other global affairs. By default the California governor, in a state of nearly 40 million people, is a national figure. Newsom is widely expected to launch a White House run after the Democrat\u2019s term ends in early January 2027.<\/p>\n
The lure of the powerful job attracted its latest<\/a> candidate Thursday \u2014 Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, who served as a House manager in President Donald Trump\u2019s 2021 impeachment trial and briefly sought his party\u2019s 2020 presidential nomination.<\/p>\n The eventual winner will also inherit a long list of problems, from an unchecked homeless crisis to multibillion-dollar projected future budget gaps.<\/p>\n The primary is June 2. Candidates can begin taking the first steps needed to qualify for the ballot next month. Newsom has not endorsed a successor.<\/p>\n How do Democrats stand out among Democrats?<\/p>\n Democrats are strongly favored to hold the seat in a liberal-leaning state where a Republican hasn\u2019t won a statewide race in nearly two decades. Democrats outnumber registered Republicans by nearly 2-to-1 statewide, a staggering advantage.<\/p>\n One challenge for the growing list of Democratic candidates<\/a> will be trying to stand out when they largely agree on most issues \u2014 dealing with the state\u2019s affordability crisis and countering Trump will top the agenda. Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has positioned himself toward the center political lane and has been talking about his record of cutting taxes. He also boosted police force numbers and saw crime drop when he was LA\u2019s mayor.<\/p>\n Billionaire businessman Tom Steyer,<\/a> a recent entrant into the contest who ran for president in 2020, says the state can \u201cbreak up the monopolistic power of utilities\u201d to reduce its second-highest-in-the-nation electricity rates.<\/p>\n How many is too many?<\/p>\n Even in a field of recognized names, there is no dominant candidate.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a five-way, six-way jump ball and that ball could go in any direction,\u201d Democratic consultant Michael Trujillo said. \u201cAny one of these Democrats running currently could be our next governor.\u201d<\/p>\n In California, the top two vote-getters advance to the November general election, regardless of party. With many candidates dividing up the electorate, that means the two candidates who advance could get to November with just over 20% of the vote \u2014 and maybe less. The winning advantage separating the top two finishers from the rest of the field could be a percentage point or two.<\/p>\n Along with Swalwell, Villaraigosa and Steyer, other Democrats in the contest include former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter,<\/a> former Biden administration health secretary Xavier Becerra<\/a>, former state controller Betty Yee, schools superintendent Tony Thurmond and real estate developer Stephen Cloobeck. Attorney General Rob Bonta, who previously said he wasn\u2019t running, is now reconsidering a bid.<\/p>\n Unwelcome publicity sours Porter\u2019s start<\/p>\n Porter \u2014 who in the House became a social media celebrity by brandishing a whiteboard at congressional hearings while grilling CEOs \u2014 joined the unfolding race in March and moved quickly to establish herself as a leading contender.<\/p>\n But her momentum collapsed in early October, after a snippet<\/a> of a recent TV interview went viral showing her in an awkwardly tense back-and-forth with a reporter. At one point, she threatened to walk out. Shortly afterward, a video surfaced of a 2021 interview showing her loudly berating a staffer.<\/p>\n After a deluge of online mockery, rivals quickly questioned whether she was too unsteady for the job. But Porter\u2019s campaign lined up<\/a> supporters to help her weather the fallout. It is unclear if the unflattering episode will influence voters.<\/p>\n Becerra\u2019s name pulled into Sacramento scandal<\/p>\n Prosecutors allege<\/a> longtime Becerra<\/a> aide Sean McCluskie was at the center of a plan to steal money from one of Becerra\u2019s dormant state campaign accounts to pad his salary after he accepted a job as Becerra\u2019s chief of staff in Washington.<\/p>\n Becerra is a former House member and state attorney general.<\/p>\n Villaraigosa launched a digital ad spotlighting Becerra\u2019s connection to the scandal. Becerra is not implicated in the indictment. But the ad attempts to raise doubts about his judgment and features clips from a TV interview in which Becerra said he knew payments were being made from his account but didn\u2019t know they were being improperly used.<\/p>\n A Republican surprise?<\/p>\n Even in a heavily Democratic state, Republicans can pull off surprises.<\/p>\n Last year, former baseball star Steve Garvey finished second in the U.S. Senate primary, besting Porter and then-Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee and advancing to the November election. He lost to now-Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff. The leading Republicans in the governor\u2019s race \u2014 Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco<\/a> and conservative commentator Steve Hilton<\/a> \u2014 are hoping to slip through into November, given the large Democratic field dividing the vote.<\/p>\n There are other unknowns. Billionaire shopping mall developer Rick Caruso hasn\u2019t ruled out a run, after losing<\/a> his bid to become Los Angeles mayor.<\/p>\n See more coverage of top Central Coast stories<\/a> | Download our app<\/a> \/ Subscribe to our morning newsletter<\/a> | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The race for California governor features former presidential wannabes, a county sheriff, two women who could become the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":68434,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[29238,13573,7,2926,9,8,13540,2000,40574,1751,31119,4194,4592,2211,1748,30980,2637,225],"class_list":["post-68433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-becerra","tag-billionaire","tag-california","tag-california-governor","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-candidate","tag-contest","tag-crowded-field","tag-democrats","tag-house-member","tag-job","tag-porter","tag-race","tag-republicans","tag-scandal","tag-sheriff","tag-state"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68433","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=68433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68433\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}