What Californians Should Know About the 2026 Governor Race

The race for California governor is underway, and there is much more at stake than many realize. As the highest position of authority in the state, the California governor has several important powers, such as holding supreme authority over state agencies and departments, signing or vetoing bills into law, approving or rejecting funding for government programs, and granting pardons. Our current governor, Gavin Newsom, was able to cap insulin costs at $11, enact a plan to build more affordable homes in California, invest $140 million in Planned Parenthood, reduce crime while investing in crime prevention, and guarantee free breakfast and lunch for every public school student. After Newsom set such a high bar, many Californians find themselves in a dilemma when voting on a new governor.

With so many candidates running, the choices aren’t easy to make. The most popular Democratic Party candidate is Xavier Becerra, the former U.S. Health secretary under former President Biden and the former state attorney general. Becerra filed over 100 lawsuits against President Trump as attorney general and administered the vaccine rollout as U.S. Health secretary. Becerra aims to build the California economy, protect Californians’ rights, and address California’s affordability crisis by freezing utility and insurance rates to help middle-class Californians. 

Republican candidate Steve Hilton, the former political advisor to British Prime Minister David Cameron and former Fox News host, is the most popular Republican pick. Hilton wrote books focused on critiques of large, bureaucratic systems and founded a crowdfunding platform for political candidates. Hilton believes in lowering gas prices and cutting income taxes for middle- and upper-class Californians. 

The most unusual candidate is billionaire Tom Steyer, an environmental advocate and investor. The Democratic candidate founded a successful hedge fund that invested in private prisons and fossil fuels. Steyer believes in many progressive economic and environmental policies, such as implementing higher taxes on billionaires, building affordable housing, and holding climate polluters accountable.

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco is another popular Republican candidate. Bianco wants to enforce stricter punishments for crime and immigration. He also wants to increase oil production and remove the gas tax. One of his most controversial positions is his goal to overturn California’s sanctuary law, which would increase ICE involvement in local jails.  

Finally, Democratic candidate Katie Porter is a former congressmember from Orange County. Porter wants to cut income taxes for the middle class and raise them on corporations, as well as enforce stricter policies limiting ICE involvement. The remaining candidates include Democratic candidate Matt Mahan, San Jose mayor, and Democratic candidate Antonio Villaraigosa, former mayor of Los Angeles. 

Considering the different stances of all the candidates, the debate was intense, featuring disagreements on several major issues. The main topics candidates focused on were affordability, immigration, oil production, wildfires, and the billionaire tax. Democratic candidates criticized Becerra, the leading candidate, while Republican candidates Hilton and Bianco strongly opposed many of the Democratic candidates’ policies. After the debates, analysts declared that no candidate delivered a race-changing performance that would significantly sway current polls. 

Regarding each candidate’s popularity and the status of the polls, Xavier Becerra is still in the lead at 19%, with Hilton and Steyer both at 17%, closely behind. One thing to note is that Republican voters are mainly rallying behind two candidates, whereas Democratic voters are split between several candidates, as many Democrats do not support Becerra, the leading blue candidate. However, there is still a significant 12% remaining undecided, which still leaves the race up in the air. 

So what does this mean for us as Californians? The outcome of this race will shape the lives of every Californian. The most important state legislature and policies will be decided by the governor we elect. Our votes will shape California’s future policies on affordability, housing, immigration, and countless other issues. With only a couple weeks before the California Primary Election on June 2, this is the time for Californians to get informed and make their votes count.