Election day for the California primaries is tomorrow, June 2, and the gubernatorial election has been especially competitive this year. This article seeks to provide an introduction to each of the candidates.
Background
There are several candidates in the race for the California Governor. However, polls show that only four are in contention to win, consistently polling double-digit support. In rough order of popularity, these four are Democrat Xavier Becerra, Democrat Tom Steyer, Republican Steve Hilton, and Republican Chad Bianco.
Notably, two of the highest-polling candidates are Republicans, despite California being a deep-blue state. Republicans have two primary contenders, the aforementioned Hilton and Bianco, while the Democrats have been split, with over 20 Democrat names appearing on the ballot.
California has a jungle primary, which means that the two candidates with the most votes regardless of party affiliation become the candidates for election. This means that there is a real chance that the California ballot could be two Republican candidates if Democrats are not able to consolidate support.
Democrat support shifted after leading candidate Eric Swalwell dropped out of the race following sexual assault allegations. This led to a large increase in support for Becerra, who will be discussed later. However, since Swalwell dropped out of the race, no other Democrat candidate has emerged as a leader.
Democrat Xavier Becerra
(Jack Spark)
Attorney and politician Xavier Becerra is the first Democrat candidate on the ballot with double-digit polling support.
From 1990 to 1992, Becerra served one term on the California State Assembly. Following this, Becerra served from 1993 to 2017 as a congressman for California’s 30th and later 31st district after redistricting.
After serving 12 terms in the House of Representatives, Becerra served one term as California attorney general. Becerra’s most recent position has been as the U.S. secretary of health and human services under previous President Joe Biden.
One notable controversy was his response to a question about Chevron’s donations to his campaign.
Becerra said, “Chevron, that’s the problem with politics. They’re not the bad guy. Does everybody here drive an electric vehicle? You need Chevron. I need Chevron. My people of the state of California need Chevron … Chevron wants to give me a check, that’s — that’s their prerogative.”
This line has been used against him by political opponents to show him being beholden to “Big Oil”
Becerra is running on a campaign of lowering healthcare costs, reforming housing and investing in homelessness prevention.
Becerra’s official campaign website can be found here.
Democrat Tom Steyer
Billionaire Tom Steyer is generally considered the other leading Democrat candidate.
In 1986, Steyer founded San Francisco hedge fund Farallon Capital and left in 2012. Most of his estimated $2.4 billion net worth has come from this hedge fund.
In 2013, Steyer founded NextGen America, a progressive advocacy nonprofit and political action committee. In 2021, Steyer co-founded Galvanize, a climate-focused investment firm.
During Steyer’s time at Farallon Capital, hundreds of millions of dollars were invested into coal mines and coal-fired power plants.
Steyer is running on a campaign of building a million homes, enforcing taxes on corporations and the rich and building a system that provides affordable long-term care.
A full list of his campaign promises can be found on his official campaign website here.
(Jack Spark)
Republican Steve Hilton
Former Fox News host Steve Hilton is the leading Republican candidate for this election. He has received Trump’s endorsement.
Hilton is the co-founder of crowdfunding platform CrowdBlue, formerly known as Crowdpac, and was the Director of Strategy for the U.K. prime minister David Cameron for two years.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hilton argued that the shutdown would kill more people through economic loss than the virus would.
Hilton is promoting lowering housing, electricity and gas prices. He wants to reduce taxes, corruption and bureaucratic bloat within the state.
A full list of campaign promises can be found on his official campaign website here.
Republican Chad Bianco
Sheriff Chad Bianco is the other major Republican candidate on the ballot.
In 2018, Bianco was elected sheriff of Riverside County and re-elected in 2022, with a term expiring in 2028.
Bianco was a former member of the Oath Keepers, a far-right, anti-government militia. He left the group in 2014, but said that he was proud to have been one.
Bianco is running on a campaign of increasing resources for law enforcement, cutting taxes, decreasing over-regulation, increasing educational funding, securing the border and much more.
A full list of his campaign promises can be found on his official campaign website here.
