Villaraigosa Warns Crowded Democratic Field Hands California Governor's Race to Republicans

Eight Democrats and two Republicans filed officially to run for California governor by the deadline, creating a crowded field that could give GOP candidates a significant boost. Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, one of those eight Democrats, appeared on "The Takeout" to sound the alarm: with liberal votes fractured across so many candidates, the state's own primary mechanics may deliver the governor's office to the Republican Party.

Californians haven't elected a Republican governor since Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006. But in this year's race, opinion polls are suggesting the unthinkable for Democrats: a potential two-man showdown in November in which both candidates are from the GOP. Under the state's electoral rules, only the top two finishers in the June 2 primary appear on the general election ballot, regardless of party.

The most recent PPIC statewide survey placed Republican Steve Hilton at 14% and Republican Chad Bianco at 12%, with Democrats Katie Porter at 13%, Eric Swalwell at 11%, and Tom Steyer at 10%, while Villaraigosa himself sat at 5%. In a separate poll, Bianco led with 20%, followed by Villaraigosa at 19% and Hilton at 18%, surveying 919 likely voters in November with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.

An Emerson College Polling survey found Republican Chad Bianco at 13%, Republican Steve Hilton at 12%, Democrat Eric Swalwell at 12%, and Democrat Katie Porter at 11% leading the June 2026 primary, while 31% remained undecided. The consistent thread across surveys: no Democrat has broken away from the pack while the two Republicans hold steady near the top.

California's top-two primary creates a paradox for Republicans: the only way they win the governorship is if both advance to November, but neither Hilton nor Bianco is playing nice, with polls showing them statistically tied with 16% and 14%, respectively, in a survey released by the California Democratic Party.

President Donald Trump's endorsement of Hilton, a former aide to British Prime Minister David Cameron, came at the expense of the other major GOP candidate, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco. Trump's endorsement could coalesce the Republican vote around one major candidate, while the Democratic vote still appears fragmented among more than half a dozen significant candidates. Villaraigosa had anticipated exactly this dynamic, telling CalMatters that "When that happens, that person is going to surge up and the other (Republican is) going to go down."

The leader of the California Democratic Party called on candidates who "do not have a viable path" to the general election to drop out of the state's crowded gubernatorial race. With the June 2 primary closing in and no Democrat commanding a commanding plurality, Villaraigosa's warning carries the weight of arithmetic: in California's jungle primary, a unified Republican minority can outrun a divided Democratic majority.