Governor on the June 2 California primary ballot. The full candidate field, the guide's position, and the sources behind it.
The candidates drawing the most attention
Sixty-one candidates filed for the open governor seat as Gavin Newsom is termed out. Under California's top-two primary, the two highest vote-getters on June 2 advance to the November runoff regardless of party. The profiles below cover the candidates who have drawn the most coverage and polling; the full 61-name field is listed further down the page.
Xavier Becerra
Democratic
Former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary and former California Attorney General, where he filed dozens of lawsuits against the first Trump administration. Per CalMatters, he has led most public polling of the Democratic field, and at the May 14 CBS California debate the other candidates concentrated their attacks on him as the frontrunner.
Katie Porter
Democratic
Former U.S. Representative from Orange County, known for her whiteboard questioning in House hearings. Per CalMatters, her campaign lost momentum in the spring after viral videos that critics said raised questions about her temperament.
Tom Steyer
Democratic
Billionaire investor and climate activist who ran for president in 2020. Per CBS News, a CBS poll placed him near the top of the field alongside Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton.
Steve Hilton
Republican
Former Fox News host and onetime adviser to British Prime Minister David Cameron. Per CBS News polling, he is the leading Republican and clustered at the top of the field, positioning a possible Republican slot in the November runoff.
Ramsey Robinson
Peace and Freedom
The Peace and Freedom Party candidate, running from the left of the field on a working-class and anti-corporate platform. He is a long shot in polling, but his campaign is the clearest left alternative on the June 2 ballot.
A candidate does not need 50 percent to advance. The top two finishers on June 2 move to the November 3, 2026 runoff. The complete 61-candidate certified field is listed below.
Who is running
Akinyemi Agbede
Democratic
Alicia Olivia Lapp
Republican
Amanda Martin
No Party Preference
Anne Komarovsk
No Party Preference
Antonio Villaraigosa
Democratic
Barack D. Obama Shaw
Democratic
Betty T. Yee
Democratic
Brent Maupin
No Party Preference
Carolina Buhler
Democratic
Chad Bianco
Republican
Christine R. Sarmiento
No Party Preference
Daniel Mercuri
No Party Preference
David Zickefoose
Republican
Dawit Kellel
No Party Preference
Derek Grasty
Democratic
Don J. Grundmann
No Party Preference
Duane Terrence Loynes Jr.
No Party Preference
Elaine Culotti
No Party Preference
Eric Swalwell
Democratic
Erin "Zez" Zezulak
Democratic
Frederic C. Schultz
No Party Preference
Gary Howard Kidgell
Democratic
Gretha Solórzano
Republican
James Athans Jr.
Republican
Joel E. Jacob
Democratic
Jon Henderson
No Party Preference
Joseph Cabrera
No Party Preference
Katie Porter
Democratic
Larry Azevedo
Democratic
Leo Naranjo IV
Republican
Leo Samuel Zacky
Republican
Lewis Herms
No Party Preference
LivingForGod AndCountry DeMott
No Party Preference
Louis A. De Barraicua
Democratic
Lukasz Adam Filinski
No Party Preference
Margaret Trowe
No Party Preference
Matt Mahan
Democratic
Matthew Chase Levy
Democratic
Mauro Alberto Orozco
No Party Preference
Max Fomin
No Party Preference
Mohammad Arif
Democratic
Nancy D. Young
No Party Preference
Naomi Bar-Lev
No Party Preference
Patricia De Luca Basualdo
Republican
Rafael M. Hernandez
Republican
Raji Rab
Democratic
Ramsey Robinson
Peace and Freedom
Randeep S. Dhillon
Republican
Reza Safarnejad
No Party Preference
Sam Sandak
No Party Preference
Satish Rao
Democratic
Scott P Shields
Democratic
Serge Fiankan
No Party Preference
Sophia Edum-a-Sam
Democratic
Steve Hilton
Republican
Thunder Parley
Democratic
Tim Nelson
Republican
Tom Steyer
Democratic
Tom Woodard
Libertarian
Tony K. Thurmond
Democratic
Xavier Becerra
Democratic
In the news
Reporting on the open governor race ahead of June 2.
Debates. May 14, 2026: CBS News California and the San Francisco Examiner hosted a 90-minute debate at the Julia Morgan Ballroom in San Francisco. Participants: Xavier Becerra, Chad Bianco, Steve Hilton, Matt Mahan, Katie Porter, Tom Steyer and Antonio Villaraigosa. It aired live on KPIX, KCBS/KCAL and KOVR and streamed on CBS News 24/7 and YouTube. Details here. A separate 2026 California gubernatorial debate was also hosted at Pomona College.
The guide's position
The guide's pick on this race is in the Member Portal voter guide. Member access is free; email barriopower@gmail.com to request.
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This site is built from crowd-sourced and publicly available information. We work to publish only accurate information, but human error is possible, and when we get something wrong we make the public corrections needed. See the corrections log.