{"id":504214,"date":"2026-03-05T00:40:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T00:40:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/504214\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T00:40:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T00:40:09","slug":"california-democrats-defy-call-from-party-to-abandon-crowded-race-voters-choose-the-next-governor-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/504214\/","title":{"rendered":"California Democrats defy call from party to abandon crowded race: \u2018Voters choose the next governor\u2019 | California"},"content":{"rendered":"

One day after California\u2019s Democratic party urged candidates without a \u201cviable path\u201d in the state\u2019s crucial race for governor to drop out, the crowded field showed no sign of winnowing down.<\/p>\n

At least nine Democrats<\/a> are in the running to replace the outgoing governor, Gavin Newsom, with no clear frontrunner, which has fueled fears that the number of candidates could lead to two Republicans advancing to the November election.<\/p>\n

Rusty Hicks, the chair of California\u2019s Democratic party, warned in an open letter on Tuesday about that \u201cunlikely\u201d but \u201cpossible\u201d scenario and called on candidates to \u201cact in a responsible manner with the opportunities and support we have earned\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe it starts with a candid assessment of the political landscape around you, an honest reflection on your viability to win the race and the courage to make a tough choice,\u201d Hicks wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He advised candidates not to run in the primary if they don\u2019t have a path to reach the general election, and said they should be prepared to suspend their campaigns within the next month if they hadn\u2019t made \u201cmeaningful progress\u201d toward a primary win.<\/p>\n

The packed field of Democratic candidates includes former secretary of health and human services and state attorney general Xavier Becerra; former state lawmaker Ian Calderon; San Jose\u2019s mayor, Matt Mahan; former congresswoman Katie Porter; billionaire environmental activist Tom Steyer; the Congress member Eric Swalwell; the state schools superintendent, Tony Thurmond; former mayor of Los Angeles Antonio Villaraigosa; and former state controller Betty Yee.<\/p>\n

The Republican candidates include Chad Bianco, the Riverside county sheriff, and the conservative political commentator Steve Hilton<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California found the race had split into two distinct groups, with polling indicating Hilton, Porter, Bianco, Swalwell and Steyer are in close competition, while the other candidates trail behind.<\/p>\n

The state\u2019s Democratic party did not endorse a candidate during its recent convention, although Swalwell earned support from about 24% of delegates, and Yee and Becerra followed.<\/p>\n

Candidates were critical of Hicks\u2019s letter, arguing that the decision must be left to voters.<\/p>\n

\u201cBernie Sanders was right. Our political system is rigged, corrupted by the political elites, the wealthy and the well-connected,\u201d Thurmond said in a statement. \u201cThe California Democratic party is essentially telling every candidate of color in the race for governor to drop out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yee told Politico in a statement that voters were tired of \u201cinsider political theater\u201d and \u201cthe drama, the pollsters and the powerful elites\u201d, while Mahan\u2019s campaign told media that \u201cvoters choose the next governor \u2013 not political gatekeepers\u201d.<\/p>\n

In his letter, Hicks said that while suggestions might be viewed as \u201coverly harsh\u201d, they were necessary to ensure a Democrat wins the governorship, and because a Democratic loss in the deep blue state could \u201cimperil Democrats\u2019 chances to retake the House\u201d.<\/p>\n

Newsom has said he understands why Hicks sent the letter. \u201cThere is some concern,\u201d he said of the race.<\/p>\n

The Associated Press contributed reporting<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One day after California\u2019s Democratic party urged candidates without a \u201cviable path\u201d in the state\u2019s crucial race for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":504215,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":{"0":"post-504214","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-united-states-of-america","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","14":"tag-us","15":"tag-usa"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=504214"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504214\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/504215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=504214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=504214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=504214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}