The 2026 California Gubernatorial Election

The beginning of the year marks the beginning of midterm election season - candidates for the House of Representatives and the US Senate have already begun declaring their candidacy before their respective party primaries. However, arguably the most consequential races this year are the governor’s races, many with incumbent candidates who are term-limited. This includes the current governor of California, Gavin Newsom.

To fill his place, dozens of candidates on both sides have declared candidacy in the 2026 California gubernatorial election. Candidates on the Republican side include pastor Che Ahn and Riverside-County Sheriff Coroner Chad Bianco, currently leading polls in the California gubernatorial race’s primary. Candidates who are Democrats include current US Representative Eric Swalwell, former US Representative Katie Porter, and billionaire Tom Steyer, among others.

The current polls are intriguing compared to previous ones, partially due to California’s nonpartisan top-two primary system. This has resulted in California having a decent chance of electing a Republican governor despite being one of the safest Democratic states in the country.

California’s gubernatorial electoral system allows members of all parties to vote together in a nonpartisan primary election. The top two vote-getters advance to the general election held in November. However, according to a poll from Emerson College, Republican Chad Bianco takes the lead with 13% of the total vote, with Democrat Eric Swalwell and Republican Steve Hilton neck and neck in polling at 12%. This is due to polling amongst Democratic candidates being split between Swalwell, Porter, and the other candidates, many of whom have held high roles, including the current vice chair of the California Democratic Party and the former US Secretary of Health and Human Services. Therefore, it’s not that California has turned on the Democratic Party; rather, it has too many qualified individuals running as Democrats.

The elections are to be held in June; therefore, people should be educated on the importance of electing a governor who fits with their values. However, relatively few students were aware of the governor’s race when interviewed about it.

“Oh, I’ve heard of Ethan Agarwal,” said Thanisha Thambidurai (10). “I think he was on the New York Times front page recently. I’ve heard of Eric Swalwell as well, but that's it.”

At a time when politics is making the front pages every day, there is not much interest in political campaigns as expected.

“I research [political candidates],” said an anonymous teacher. “I vote for the people who I feel are the best, for what I feel is the best. And then as soon as I vote for them, I forget about them, and then I move on with my life.”

Even in the voting age population, there is a lack of interest in the campaign beyond voting; politics is often a part of the front page of a newspaper, and the lack of knowledge in politics points to a larger trend of disinterest in world affairs in general.

“Try to pick one news outlet and read a little bit for 5 minutes every day,” said Tycho Young (11). “Podcasts are also a great way to get news.”

A lack of voter turnout can result in the overriding of the majority’s will simply because they didn’t care much about it. To prevent extraordinary situations from occurring, it will be important for candidates to understand what is best for their soon-to-be constituents, as well as for voters to show up for the candidate they support.