{"id":2571138,"date":"2026-02-18T15:30:01","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T20:30:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-may-be-gearing-up-to-elect-a-republican-governor\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T15:32:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T20:32:00","slug":"california-may-be-gearing-up-to-elect-a-republican-governor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-may-be-gearing-up-to-elect-a-republican-governor\/","title":{"rendered":"California May Be Gearing Up to Elect a Republican Governor"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcalifornia-may-be-gearing-up-to-elect-a-republican-governor%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2571138&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A new Emerson College Polling\/Inside California Politics survey released ahead of the June 2 nonpartisan primary shows republican Steve Hilton leading the governor\u2019s race with 17% support. Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell is at 14%, the same as Republican Sheriff chad Bianco, while former Democratic Rep. Katie Porter has 10% and Tom Steyer 9%; 21% of voters are undecided. The poll of 1,000 likely voters conducted Feb. 13\u201314 has a margin of error of \u00b13 percentage points.<\/p>\n<p>Under California\u2019s top-two primary rules, the two candidates who advance to the November <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/impossible-gop-picked-up-seats-in-house-picked-up-state-legislatures-picked-up-governorship-held-the-senate-but-sniffy-joe-won-not-a-chance\/\" title=\"IMPOSSIBLE: GOP Picked Up Seats in House, Picked Up State Legislatures, Picked Up Governorship, Held the Senate -- But Sniffy Joe Won?... NOT A CHANCE\">general election<\/a> could both be Republicans, though analysts say Democrats would likely try to ensure a Democratic candidate remains in the runoff. among Republicans, Hilton leads Bianco 38% to 37%, and Hilton also holds a plurality among independents at 22%.<\/p>\n<p>Since December, undecided voters have fallen from 31% to 21%, Hilton and Steyer have gained about five points each, Swalwell is up two points, Porter down one, and Bianco up one. The piece notes that Arnold Schwarzenegger was the last Republican elected California governor in 2006,highlighting the state\u2019s ongoing partisan dynamics.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>With more than three months to go before the June 2 nonpartisan primary that will determine which two candidates face off to succeed Democrat Gavin Newsom as governor of California, a Republican stands on top of the heap, according to a new poll.<\/p>\n<p>The Emerson College Polling\/Inside California Politics survey showed Republican Steve Hilton with the largest  of support at 17 percent, <a href=\"https:\/\/emersoncollegepolling.com\/california-2026-poll-hilton-swalwell-bianco-lead-nonpartisan-primary-for-governor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Emerson College Polling<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n<p>Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell received 14 percent support in the survey, the same support level as Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican.<\/p>\n<p>Former Democratic Rep. Katie Porter received 10 percent support, and tycoon Tom Steyer was at 9 percent support. The biggest chunk of responses were undecided voters, at 21 percent.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Republican Steve Hilton rockets to lead in California governor&rsquo;s race <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/1s4gf94wGl\">https:\/\/t.co\/1s4gf94wGl<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/PRbQzPHUb9\">pic.twitter.com\/PRbQzPHUb9<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; New York Post (@nypost) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/nypost\/status\/2024141649970975186?\">February 18, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadAnyclip() { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst container=document.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!container) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=\"https:\/\/player.anyclip.com\/anyclip-widget\/lre-widget\/prod\/v1\/src\/lre.js\"; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"pubname\", \"westernjournalcom\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"widgetname\", \"001w000001jULVcAAO_M12924\");  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ append inside the container so player shows in correct spot \t\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadAnyclip(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #anyclipvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#anyclipvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The Republican electorate in California is split between Steve Hilton (38 percent) and Chad Bianco (37 percent), while Hilton also picks up a plurality of <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >independent voter support<\/a> at 22 percent,&rdquo; Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Democratic voters have not yet clearly coalesced around one candidate: 23 percent of Democrats support Eric Swalwell, 14 percent support Porter, 12 percent Steyer and 22 percent are undecided,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p>The survey of 1,000 likely voters was conducted Feb.13 and Feb. 14 and had a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.<\/p>\n<p>Emerson noted that since a December survey, undecided voters dipped from 31 percent to 21 percent, while support for Hilton and Steyer increased by five points each. Swalwell saw a two-point increase while Porter&rsquo;s support dropped by a point. Bianco, who at 13 percent support was atop the December survey, gained one point in the new survey.<\/p>\n<p>Under California&rsquo;s rules, the top two candidates in the primary, regardless of party affiliation, will compete in November.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It is mathematically possible that you could have two Republicans finishing one&#8209;two in the primary,&rdquo; political analyst Matt Klink said, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/ktla.com\/news\/politics\/inside-california-politics\/california-governor-poll-february-2026\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">KTLA-TV<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;That said, I believe the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/steve-cuozzo-why-nyc-must-keep-its-markets-global\/\" title=\"Steve Cuozzo: Why NYC Must Keep Its Markets Global\">political brains<\/a> in the Democratic Party will get involved and say we need to make sure we get one of our candidates into the runoff because he or she will likely win the general election,&rdquo; Klink said, referring to the fact that enrolled Democrats far outnumber enrolled Republicans in California.<\/p>\n<p>The lack of a clear Democratic leader is worrying some.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The risk is that we have a situation where no Democrat makes the runoff. And if that happened, it would dramatically impact the general election,&rdquo; Paul Mitchell, a Democratic data expert, said, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/campaign\/5738343-california-democrats-primary-risk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Hill<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s six to eight Democratic candidates who are all splitting up the 60 percent of the vote that is going to go to Democrats, and then the 40 percent of votes that&rsquo;s going to go to Republicans is mostly being split by two candidates right now,&rdquo; Mitchell said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The chance is small, but it exists. &hellip; If you told me there was a 11 percent chance I could get hit by a car if I cross the street, I wouldn&rsquo;t cross the street,&rdquo; California Democratic strategist Steven Maviglio said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The threat is real, and there doesn&rsquo;t seem to be a whole lot of movement that could completely rule out the scenario of having two Republicans,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p>Arnold Schwarzenegger was the last Republican elected governor back in 2006, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/02\/18\/us-news\/steve-hilton-jumps-to-the-lead-in-california-governors-race\/?utm_source=referral&amp;utm_medium=offthepress&amp;utm_campaign=home\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New York Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here\u2019s a paraphrase of the article:<\/p>\n<p>More than three months before California\u2019s June 2 nonpartisan primary to decide the two candidates who will run for governor, a new Emerson College Polling\/Inside California Politics survey shows Republican Steve Hilton leading with 17% support. Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell has 14%, the same as Republican Sheriff Chad Bianco. Former Democratic Rep. Katie Porter is at 10%, and businessman Tom Steyer at 9%, while 21% remain undecided. The poll of 1,000 likely voters conducted Feb. 13\u201314 has a margin of error of \u00b13 percentage points. Since December, undecideds have fallen from 31% to 21%; Hilton and Steyer each gained five points, Swalwell rose two points, Porter slipped one point, and Bianco rose to 14% from 13%.<\/p>\n<p>Under California\u2019s top-two primary system, the two candidates with the most votes regardless of party advance to November, so it\u2019s possible two Republicans could face off in the runoff. Analysts warn that Democratic strategists will try to ensure at least one Democrat makes the runoff because Democrats outnumber Republicans in California. Some say the risk remains that no Democrat reaches the runoff, which could significantly affect the general election. Arnold Schwarzenegger was the last Republican governor, elected in 2006<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2571139,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Newsom-and-Swalwell.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[4045,6571,4173,5894,3911],"class_list":["post-2571138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-california","tag-elections","tag-governor","tag-politics","tag-republican"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Newsom-and-Swalwell.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2571138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2571138"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2571138\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2571142,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2571138\/revisions\/2571142"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2571139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2571138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2571138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2571138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}