With current governor Gavin Newsom term-limited, ending his second term in 2026, the next governor of the most populous U.S. state will take office in January 2027.
It’s unlikely the next California governor will be a Republican since no Republican candidate has held statewide office since 2011. In fact, Kamala Harris leads a recent poll of top names.
So far the list of declared Democrats seeking the state office is a long one, according to a story by The Hill. It includes Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis; Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond; former U.S. representative Katie Porter; Xavier Becerra, the former U.S. Health and Human Services secretary; former State Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins; former state controller Betty Yee; and Antonio Villaraigosa, the former Los Angeles mayor.
One possible Democrat who could upend the primary is Kamala Harris, the former vice president, who is undecided about running for governor in the same state where she served as U.S. senator and state attorney general.
In fact, according to The Hill story, a voter poll shows her defeating a generic Republican candidate 41%-29% in the gubernatorial race.
Harris also holds a double-digit lead over other Democrats, both declared and hypothetical candidates. She had a lead of 24% over any other name, with Rick Caruso running second at 9%.
On the Republican side, which is a much thinner bench of candidates, the two leading contenders appear to be Fox News commentator Steve Hilton (pictured above right) and Chad Bianco, the sheriff of Riverside County.
Kevin McGary is chairman of the Frederick Douglas Foundation of California. He tells AFN that Hilton might have “big money” behind him to help the GOP candidate run a decent statewide race in the massive state.
“There's some other monies that he may have access to. He'll be able to fully fund his campaign,” McGary advises.
Hilton, 55, a native of Great Britain, worked as a political advisor to that country’s Conservative Party and to Prime Minister David Cameron. He became a U.S. citizen in 2021 and is likely best known in the U.S. for hosting “The Next Revolution,” a weekly Fox News show that ran through 2023.
Looking beyond the party primaries, McGary flatly predicts “brain-dead” California voters will choose the “brain-dead” Kamala Harris over any Republican candidate.
“If it's a blue ballot, all the brain-dead Democrats will vote for her,” McGary predicts.
During her run for president, Harris was infamous for her grating laugh, for making nonsensical comments, and for telling stories like she is talking to children.
Newsom, who won his second term in 2022, defeated Republican candidate Brian Dahle 59%-40%. He had survived a recall attempt in 2021.
