{"id":2574085,"date":"2026-02-26T17:53:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T22:53:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/still-no-clear-front-runner-in-california-governors-race\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T17:55:59","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T22:55:59","slug":"still-no-clear-front-runner-in-california-governors-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/still-no-clear-front-runner-in-california-governors-race\/","title":{"rendered":"Still no clear front-runner in California governor&#8217;s race"},"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\">16<\/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%2Fstill-no-clear-front-runner-in-california-governors-race%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=2574085&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>California\u2019s gubernatorial race remains unsettled as a new PPIC poll indicates no <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/washington-post-top-10-for-24-dem-candidates-includes-aoc-warren-somebody-named-roy-asberry-cooper-iii\/\" title=\"Washington Post ... 10 For \u201924 Dem Candidates Includes AOC, Warren, Somebody Named Roy Asberry Cooper III\">clear front-runner<\/a>. Five leading candidates\u2014three Democrats (Katie Porter, Eric Swalwell, Tom Steyer) and two Republicans (Steve Hilton, chad Bianco)\u2014are within 4 percentage points of one another, all within the poll\u2019s 3.9% margin of error heading into the June primary. Hilton leads at 14%, followed by Porter at 13%, Bianco at 12%, Swalwell at 11%, and Steyer at 10%, with about 30% of voters spread among other candidates and 10% undecided. The results suggest a fractured field were name recognition and ideological lanes matter, and the top two vote-getters will advance to November nonetheless of party, perhaps setting up a general election with a Republican contender. Swalwell and Steyer joined the race later, with Swalwell emphasizing his national profile and Steyer pouring money into ads. Additionally, none of the democratic candidates secured the party endorsement at the california Democratic Party convention, underscoring ongoing intra-party divisions.  <\/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\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Two groups form in California governor&rsquo;s race, but still no clear front-runner<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2500916\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/california\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"60\">California&rsquo;s <\/a>gubernatorial race is beginning to show its first signs of shape for Democrats, though a new poll suggests the crowded contest is more competitive and unpredictable than many expected.<\/p>\n<p>Three Democrats &mdash; former Rep. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/katie-porter\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"10247\">Katie Porter<\/a>, Rep. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/eric-swalwell\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"2345\">Eric Swalwell<\/a> (D-CA), and billionaire <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/tom-steyer\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"2792\">Tom Steyer <\/a>&mdash; and two Republicans &mdash; former Fox News host Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco &mdash; are <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ppic.org\/publication\/ppic-statewide-survey-californians-and-their-government-february-2026\/\">within 4 percentage points of one another<\/a>, according to the nonpartisan&nbsp;Public Policy Institute of California survey. All five candidates are also within the 3.9% margin of error heading into the June primary, underscoring how unsettled the race remains.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/4473010\/cardi-b-endorses-jasmine-crockett-texas-senate-race\/\">Cardi B endorses Jasmine Crockett in Texas Senate race<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4472759\/gretchen-whitmer-stresses-bipartisan-achievements-final-state-of-state\/\">Gretchen Whitmer stresses bipartisan achievements in final State of the State: &#8216;Big Gretch out&#8217;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/finance-and-economy\/4472295\/abigail-spanberger-democrat-affordability-champion\/\">Democrats&rsquo; new affordability champion Spanberger has no record of cutting costs yet<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton, left, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), center, and former Rep. Katie Porter, right. (AP Photo\/Damian Dovarganes, File, AP Photo\/Jeff Chiu, and AP Photo\/Damian Dovarganes)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>There are more than a dozen candidates in the race. Hilton drew 14% of likely voters. Porter followed&nbsp;at 13%, Bianco at 12%, Swalwell at 11%, and Steyer at 10%, according to the poll, which was conducted of 1,657 California residents between Feb. 3 and Feb. 11. Ten percent of voters said they didn&rsquo;t know who they&rsquo;d vote for, while 30% spread their support among the other candidates.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >results complicate early assumptions<\/a> that a single Democratic front-runner would have emerged by now in&nbsp;the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-gop-rep-david-valadao-flips-california-house-seat-its-the-third-pickup-in-the-state-for-republicans\/\" title=\"Former GOP Rep. David Valadao flips California House seat. It&#039;s the third pickup in the ... for ....\">deep blue state<\/a>. Instead, the dynamics point to a fractured field, with name recognition, ideological lane-splitting, and a primary in which the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, move on to November&rsquo;s general election, which could result in a Republican advancing.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Three months out from the June primary, the top two slots in the gubernatorial race are up for grabs,&rdquo; Mark Baldassare, PPIC&rsquo;s survey director, said in a statement. &ldquo;Voters feel hammered by cost-of-living realities, so affordability will be a defining issue for them.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Swalwell and Steyer joined the race late last year, months after Porter, Bianco, and Hilton had already launched their campaigns. Since entering, Swalwell has leaned on his national profile in Congress as a prominent critic of President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"4\">Donald Trump,<\/a> while Steyer has relied on his personal fortune, pouring more than $27 million into blanketing the airwaves with ads.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco mingles through the crowd after announcing his bid for governor at Avila&rsquo;s Historic 1929 Event Center on Feb. 17, 2025, in Riverside, California. (Gina Ferazzi \/ Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;When [Swalwell and Steyer] entered the race, support for two Democrats declined: Katie Porter&rsquo;s support declined, and Xavier Becerra&rsquo;s support declined,&rdquo; Baldassare said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s where the movement has been.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Despite the&nbsp;clog at the top, the&nbsp;new survey shows the race splitting into two clear&nbsp;groups. The top five candidates each recorded double-digit support, peaking in the low teens, while a group of other Democratic candidates trailed with 5% or less.<\/p>\n<p>Over the weekend, none of the state&rsquo;s&nbsp;Democratic&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2026-election\/\">gubernatorial candidates<\/a>&nbsp;secured the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mark-kelly-could-be-democrats-secret-weapon-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Mark Kelly could be ...&#039; secret weapon - Washington Examiner\">state party&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/no-california-democratic-candidate-procures-endorsement-in-governors-race\/\" title=\"No California Democratic candidate procures ... in governor&#039;s ...\">highly coveted endorsement<\/a> at the&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/cdpconvention.org\/\">state convention<\/a>, falling well short of the 60% threshold.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4469927\/no-dem-candidate-party-endorse-california-governor\/\" type=\"post\" id=\"4469927\">NO CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE SECURES ENDORSEMENT IN GOVERNOR&rsquo;S RACE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Eight of the nine Democratic candidates vying for Gov. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/gavin-newsom\/\">Gavin Newsom&rsquo;s<\/a>&nbsp;(D-CA) seat made their pitches to thousands of delegates at the California Democratic Party convention in San Francisco, but failed to get the support of the 3,500 delegates needed for an endorsement.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Washington Examiner <\/em>reached out to the campaigns of some top-tier candidates, who said more high-profile endorsements were expected in the coming days and that these endorsements could further distinguish the candidates.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two camps in CA governor race; no clear frontrunner<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2646,"featured_media":2574086,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/MixCollage-16-Dec-2025-10-20-AM-8716.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[4045,70933,6571,74680,73452],"class_list":["post-2574085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-california","tag-california-politics-2","tag-elections","tag-front-runner-2","tag-governor-race-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/MixCollage-16-Dec-2025-10-20-AM-8716.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2574085","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\/2646"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2574085"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2574085\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2574089,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2574085\/revisions\/2574089"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2574086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2574085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2574085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2574085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}