So many Democrats are competing for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s job that the California Democratic Party couldn’t even agree on who should get the party’s endorsement. At a convention in San Francisco over the weekend (Feb. 21-22), eight gubernatorial hopefuls (eight!) tried to woo thousands of delegates with bitter words against President Donald Trump and trite ideas, but not one reached 60% of the vote, the threshold required to secure the party’s endorsement. Their crowded primary field, however, is causing a much bigger problem.
California Chaos
California’s jungle system combines all candidates from both parties into a single primary, with the top two finishers competing in the general election. If the state’s gubernatorial primary were held today, the two Republican candidates, former Fox News host Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, would probably face each other in November without a Democratic contender.
Based on the polling averages at RealClearPolitics, Hilton and Bianco are tied for the lead spot with 15.5%. Third is Rep. Eric Swalwell with 12.5%; fourth is former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter with 10.5%; fifth is billionaire Tom Steyer with 8.5%; the rest remain below 5%. But the Democrats collectively account for 41.5% of the vote, compared to 31% for the two Republicans. Still, for the blue team to consolidate those votes into potential winning candidates, they need fewer people in the race. The most sensible move here would be for the candidates polling poorly to graciously withdraw from the race, since their chances of advancing past the primary are slim to none. But some of them can’t seem to let go.
“I’m not dropping out,” said former State Controller Betty Yee at a Saturday gathering, “and I don’t think any candidate should go out.” Only 2% of 1,000 likely voters supported Yee in the latest primary poll from Emerson College.
“At the end of the day, everybody has a right to run,” said former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, speaking to The New York Post. “The notion that two Republicans can win [the primary] is poppycock.” The left expressed a similar attitude nearly a decade ago when it thought Trump would never become president. Asked if he seriously thought he could win, Villaraigosa said, “Without question.” He consistently comes in at the bottom of polls, usually with around 3%.
Katie Porter called on long-shot candidates to drop out and said she would exit the race if she fell in the polls. But, even though she isn’t far behind Swalwell, it seems highly unlikely she would beat him, especially with her caustic attitude. Many people probably remember a video that went viral months ago showing her berating her staff. So it’s not too surprising that when she got on stage at the convention, she held up a whiteboard that read “F— TRUMP” to little applause from the crowd.
“Together, we’re gonna kick Trump’s a– in November,” she said. “I’ll stand up to Trump and his cronies just like I did in Congress, with or without my whiteboard.” Democrats just can’t seem to help themselves. They spent more time at the convention bashing Trump than discussing affordability and other local issues. When Swalwell got his chance with the microphone, he said the California governor’s most important job should be to “keep Donald Trump and ICE out of our streets and out of our lives.”
What about Californians, the rampant fraud in social programs, the unaffordable housing, the sky-high gasoline prices, the high-speed rail to nowhere, and the excessive homelessness?
Mimics and Gimmicks
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) pushed back against the idea that two Republicans could win the top two gubernatorial spots in June. “That’s not going to happen,” she said in an interview after speaking at a reception on Friday. “And everything that you should know about the Democrats this year is we are unified.”
