Election 2026 California Governor

California is heading toward an election with its two marquee races defined by uncertainty, while two outsider candidates are looking to crack open the state’s durable Democratic hierarchy. In Los Angeles, Democratic Mayor Karen Bass is tightly clustered with two rivals in her bid for a second term, one positioned on her political left and the other to her right. Democrats Xavier Becerra and Tom Steyer, and Republican Steve Hilton are all candidates in the governor’s race. They have broken away from the field and are contending for two spots on the November ballot with no clear leader.