California Democratic chair warns crowded governor race could hand GOP a top-two win

LOS ANGELES - Californians will elect a new governor this year. 

With just a few months till the Primary Election, the chair of the California Democratic Party is urging candidates without a clear path to victory to reconsider running — warning that failure to consolidate could hand Republicans a spot in the General Election and potentially impact control of Congress.

Democratic Party chair asks candidates to assess campaign viability

What they're saying:

California Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks penned an open letter saying California Democrats chose not to endorse a candidate for governor during their recent State Convention and instead raised concerns over the crowded field of candidates. 

Hicks is now calling on all candidates to "honestly assess the viability of their candidacy and campaign" and if they do not have a viable path to make it to the General Election, then they shouldn't file their name on the Primary Election ballot. 

He also warned candidates that if they do file, to be prepared to suspend their campaign and endorse another candidate on or before April 15.

"I recognize my suggestions are hard for many to contemplate and may be even viewed as overly harsh by some. But I do so for the following reasons: First, so much is at stake in our Nation and so many are counting on the leadership of California Democrats to stand up and speak out at this historic moment. California’s leadership on the world stage is significantly harder if a Democrat is not elected as our next Governor. 

But the impact goes far beyond the race for the next Governor. In 2025, we all helped pass Proposition 50 to create the opportunity to win at least 48 congressional seats and a chance to retake the House of Representatives in 2026. If in the unlikely event a Democrat failed to proceed to the General Election for Governor, there could be the potential for depressed Democratic turnout in California in November. The result would present a real risk to winning the congressional seats required and imperil Democrats’ chances to retake the House, cut Donald Trump’s term in half, and spare our Nation from the pain many have endured since January 2025. We simply can’t let that happen," Hick's letter read. 

Villaraigosa calls on Xavier Becerra to drop out 

In response to Hick's letter, Democratic candidate and former LA mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, released a statement urging Xavier Becerra to drop out of the race. 

Villaraigosa cited data from Paul Mitchell’s "Top Two Twins Primary Simulator," which showed that if Becerra drops out, the odds of two Republicans in the top two drops to only 8% but if Becerra stays in the race, the odds of Republicans in the top two jumps to 27.6%

"Becerra’s lackluster fundraising – coupled with significant vulnerabilities – demonstrates no viable path to victory. 49.5% of Becerra’s funding was transferred from two dormant political committees. $1.3 million from the committee at the center of the scandal involving payments to Becerra’s chief of staff and $1.2 million from dormant Congressional committee. Unlike 2018, Xavier Becerra neglected to file a candidate statement in the CA Gov, a key sign that he is considering dropping out of the race," Villaraigosa's campaign wrote in a statement. 

Latest poll data 

By the numbers:

An Emerson College Polling/Inside California Politics survey released February 18, 2026, showed Republican Steve Hilton in the lead with 17%. Following him was Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell at 14%, Republican Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco at 14%, former Democratic Rep. Katie Porter at 10%, and Democrat Tom Steyer at 9%.  

Twenty-one percent of voters remain undecided.