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What’s at stake in this race
The California governor is the most powerful elected official in the nation’s most populous state, commanding a $300 billion budget. The governor shapes policy for 39 million residents, signs or vetoes legislation, appoints judges and members of regulatory agencies and leads crisis response from wildfires to pandemics. California’s governor wields outsized national influence, making the office a launching pad for presidential ambitions. This year, a crowded Democratic field has split likely voters, allowing two Republican candidates to consistently poll near the top. The top two candidates, regardless of party, will advance to the November election.
Top polling candidates appear in alphabetical order followed by dozens more you will see on your ballot.
Xavier Becerra
Party: Democratic
Former U.S. Health secretary, former state attorney general
Becerra represented Los Angeles in Congress for more than two decades before being appointed California’s attorney general in 2017. He led the state’s numerous lawsuits against the first Trump administration and Republican states. He was U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services under Biden, steering the administration through the COVID-19 vaccine rollout and receiving criticism for the agency’s care of migrant children in its custody. Becerra says he’s open to revising the state’s climate goals to keep fuel affordable for middle-class Californians and wants to declare a state of emergency to freeze utility and insurance rates.
Key endorsements
- California Faculty Association
- Equality California
- Planned Parenthood California
Related links
- Candidates target Steyer, Becerra in free-wheeling California governor debate
- Becerra’s surge in California governor race draws fresh scrutiny to candidacy, long government record
- Gavin Newsom’s former chief of staff indicted on public corruption charges
Listen to his interview with LAist:
Listen
25:45
In depth with California gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra
Xavier Becerra talked with LAist AirTalk host Larry Mantle about wide-range of issues facing the next governor of California, and why he's suited to take on the job.
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Chad Bianco
Party: Republican
Riverside County sheriff
Bianco has a three-decade career in the Riverside County sheriff’s office and was elected sheriff in 2018 with the support of the union that represents deputies. He has past ties to far-right groups such as the Oath Keepers militia and has faced criticism, lawsuits and a state investigation over deaths and conditions in his jails. Bianco is pushing to suspend numerous state regulations, particularly environmental ones, and says as governor he would overturn the state’s sanctuary law. He also wants to boost oil and gas production and eliminate the income tax and the gas tax.
Key endorsements
- Peace Officers Research Association of California
- California Republican Assembly
- California Rifle and Pistol Association
Related links
- Two Republicans are fighting for California governor. Why a tie is their best strategy
- California sheriff says his seizure of more than 600,000 ballots is ‘normal law enforcement’
- Internal emails show how fringe groups fueled Sheriff Chad Bianco’s ballot seizure
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Rob Bonta, the incumbent, faces challenges from Republican Michael E. Gates and the Green Party's Marjorie Mikels. -
L.A. County Board of Supervisors, District 3: Who's running in the June 2 primary and why it mattersIncumbent Lindsey Horvath faces three challengers in the primary for District 3, which was heavily affected by the Palisades Fire. -
Five candidates are in the running to be the L.A. County supervisor for District 1, filling the seat currently occupied by Hilda Solis, who is termed out this year.
Steve Hilton
Party: Republican
Former adviser to UK prime minister, former Fox News host
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Hilton, who is British American, was senior adviser for former conservative Prime Minister David Cameron from 2010 to 2012 before moving to California, where he co-founded a political crowdfunding platform in Silicon Valley. He has written books on decentralizing power in large, bureaucratic institutions from government to the food and health care systems. From 2017 to 2023 he hosted a weekly show on Fox News. Hilton wants to lower the price of gas by suspending environmental regulations, cut income taxes for middle-class earners and wealthier Californians and open natural spaces for housing, particularly suburban single-family homes.
Key endorsements
- President Donald Trump
- Nisei Farmers League
- Israeli-American Civic Action Network
Related links
- Could Trump’s Hilton endorsement sabotage GOP chances?
- Two Republicans are fighting for California governor. Why a tie is their best strategy
- GOP Candidate Steve Hilton Would Extradite California Abortion Doctor to Louisiana
Matt Mahan
Party: Democratic
Mayor of San Jose
Mahan worked on voter engagement platforms in Silicon Valley before joining the San Jose city council in 2021 and becoming mayor in 2023. He has focused his term on reducing street homelessness by opening numerous tiny homes as a more palatable alternative to traditional temporary shelters, sometimes at the expense of using city funds to develop permanent affordable housing. A moderate, he opposes new taxes and wants to temporarily suspend the gas tax and tie government leaders’ pay to performance to force improvements.
Key endorsements
- Thrive LA
Related links
- Some California Democrats pitch gas price relief as prices at the pump soar
- San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan enters governor’s race as Newsom critic
- Matt Mahan added 1,000 beds for the homeless in a year. Critics say it’s not a sustainable solution
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Katie Porter
Party: Democratic
Professor of law at UC Irvine, former congressmember from Orange County
Porter flipped a longtime Republican congressional seat in Orange County in 2018 and held it through 2024. She is a law professor focused on consumer protection, was mentored by Elizabeth Warren and is known for grilling corporate and health care executives while pointing at a whiteboard. Porter wants to cut income taxes for middle-income earners and raise corporate taxes on large businesses. She supports developing denser housing in urban areas and near transit stations.
Key endorsements
Related links
- Katie Porter enters race for California governor promising to stand up to Donald Trump
- Katie Porter's Run for Governor Centers Tax Cuts, Corporate Accountability
Tom Steyer
Party: Democratic
Environmental advocate and investor
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Steyer is a billionaire who made his fortune at a hedge fund where he invested in such industries as private prisons and fossil fuels. After selling off those holdings, he founded a firm investing in environmental technology and became a climate change activist, sometimes bankrolling ballot measures on other liberal causes. He wants to challenge the monopoly status of the state’s investor-owned utilities, raise property taxes on business-owned properties and collect a fee on AI usage to support displaced workers.
Key endorsements
Related links
- Billionaire blitz: Steyer’s $132 million campaign dwarfs rivals in California governor race
- Tom Steyer vows to cut electricity bills by 25%, but experts say the details fall short
- Billionaire activist Tom Steyer joins race to succeed Newsom as California governor
Tony Thurmond
Party: Democratic
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Thurmond, a former social worker, is head of the California Department of Education which oversees the state’s public K-12 schools. He previously served four years in the state Assembly. Further to the left than most of his fellow Democratic candidates, Thurmond is the only gubernatorial contender who supports a proposed one-time tax on billionaires’ assets to backfill federal cuts to Medi-Cal. He wants to give a tax credit to lower-income working families, open up spare land owned by school districts to develop housing and commit more public funding to building affordable housing.
Key endorsements
- California Faculty Association
- National Association of Social Workers – California
Related links
- Schools chief was caught off guard by Newsom’s plan to pare down the future scope of his job
- Tony Thurmond Carves Out a Progressive Path in the Race for California Governor
- California’s schools chief has a $200,000 salary and a side gig
Antonio Villaraigosa
Party: Democratic
Former mayor of Los Angeles and Assembly speaker
Villaraigosa was speaker of the state Assembly in the late 1990s and mayor of Los Angeles from 2005 to 2013, during which he significantly expanded the size of the police force and pushed a local sales tax ballot measure to pay for public transportation expansions. Villaraigosa is one of the more moderate Democrats in the race. He is more skeptical of the state’s climate goals, believes in using oil and gas as a “transition” fuel and wants a moratorium on climate regulations.
Key Endorsements
- Peace Officers Research Association of California
- Building and Construction Trades Council of California
- California State Association of Electrical Workers
Related Links
- Some California Democrats pitch gas price relief as prices at the pump soar
- Antonio Villaraigosa's Second Act: Can a ‘Pragmatist’ Lead California?
- Newsom gave his political rival a $380k job. Special interests helped foot the bill
Listen
25:18
In depth with California gubernatorial candidate Antonio Villaraigosa
Antonio Villaraigosa talked with LAist AirTalk host Larry Mantle about wide-range of issues facing the next governor of California, and why he's suited to take on the job.
More candidates
Candidates who suspended their campaigns after ballots were printed will still appear, including Eric Swalwell and Betty Yee.
Akinyemi Agbede
Party: Democratic
Occupation: Mathematician
Mohammad Arif
Party: Democratic
Occupation: Immigrants Organizer
James Athans Jr.
Party: Republican
Occupation: Real Estate Agent
Larry Azevedo
Party: Democratic
Occupation: Businessman
Naomi Bar-Lev
Party: No Party Preference
Occupation: Musician/ Proprietor/ Writer
Louis A. De Barraicua
Party: Democratic
Occupation: Teacher/ Business Owner
Patricia De Luca Basualdo
Party: Republican
Occupation: Real Estate Broker
Carolina Buhler
Party: Democratic
Occupation: Civil Rights Advocate
Joseph Cabrera
Party: No Party Preference
Occupation: Business Administrator
Elaine Culotti
Party: No Party Preference
Occupation: Entrepreneur/ Farmer/ Developer
LivingForGod AndCountry DeMott
Party: No Party Preference
Occupation: Logistical Professional/ Chaplain
Randeep S. Dhillon
Party: Republican
Occupation: Economist/ Farmer/ Businessman
Sophia Edum-a-Sam
Party: Democratic
Occupation: Project Manager
Serge Fiankan
Party: No Party Preference
Occupation: Real Estate Broker
Lukasz Adam Filinski
Party: No Party Preference
Occupation: Father
Max Fomin
Party: No Party Preference
Occupation: Business Owner/ Father
Derek Grasty
Party: Democratic
Occupation: District Trustee/ Educator
Don J. Grundmann
Party: No Party Preference
Occupation: Doctor of Chiropractic
Jon Henderson
Party: No Party Preference
Occupation: Business Owner
Lewis Herms
Party: No Party Preference
Occupation: No Ballot Designation
Rafael M. Hernandez
Party: Republican
Occupation: Businessman/ Songwriter/ Author
Leo Naranjo IV
Party: Republican
Occupation: Retired Military Sergeant
Joel E. Jacob
Party: Democratic
Occupation: Business Owner/ Entrepreneur
Dawit Kellel
Party: No Party Preference
Occupation: Father
Gary Howard Kidgell
Party: Democratic
Occupation: Building Consultant
Anne Komarovsk
Party: No Party Preference
Occupation: Communications Executive
Alicia Olivia Lapp
Party: Republican
Occupation: No Ballot Designation
Matthew Chase Levy
Party: Democratic
Occupation: Entrepreneur/ Physicist
Duane Terrence Loynes Jr.
Party: No Party Preference
Occupation: No Ballot Designation
Amanda Martin
Party: No Party Preference
Occupation: Mother/ Builder/ Entrepreneur
Brent Maupin
Party: No Party Preference
Occupation: Civil Engineer
Daniel Mercuri
Party: No Party Preference
Occupation: Father/ Author/ Businessman
Tim Nelson
Party: Republican
Occupation: Diplomat/ Rights Advocate
Mauro Alberto Orozco
Party: No Party Preference
Occupation: Small Business Owner
Thunder Parley
Party: Democratic
Occupation: Market Analyst
Raji Rab
Party: Democratic
Occupation: Aviator/ Educator/ Entrepreneur
Satish Rao
Party: Democratic
Occupation: Professor
Ramsey Robinson
Party: Peace and Freedom
Occupation: School Social Worker
Reza Safarnejad
Party: No Party Preference
Occupation: Small Business Owner
Sam Sandak
Party: No Party Preference
Occupation: Filmmaker
Christine R. Sarmiento
Party: No Party Preference
Occupation: Public Health Nurse
Frederic C. Schultz
Party: No Party Preference
Occupation: Human Rights Attorney
Barack D. Obama Shaw
Party: Democratic
Occupation: Business Owner
Scott P Shields
Party: Democratic
Occupation: Chief Executive Officer
Gretha Solórzano
Party: Republican
Occupation: Retired Nuclear Engineer
Eric Swalwell
Party: Democratic
Occupation: Former U.S. Representative
Margaret Trowe
Party: No Party Preference
Occupation: Hotel Worker
Tom Woodard
Party: Libertarian
Occupation: Retired CEO
Betty T. Yee
Party: Democratic
Occupation: Family Care Navigator
Nancy D. Young
Party: No Party Preference
Occupation: CEO/ Businesswoman/ Pastor
Leo Samuel Zacky
Party: Republican
Occupation: Farmer/ Businessman/ Broadcaster
Erin “Zez” Zezulak
Party: Democratic
Occupation: Consultant/ Nurse/ Businesswoman
David Zickefoose
Party: Republican
Occupation: Real Estate Investor
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