According to the latest compilation of polls by 270toWin, Republicans Steve Hilton (pictured above) and Chad Bianco continue to outpace the other major gubernatorial candidates.
Hilton, a former Fox News host, received the endorsement of President Donald Trump on Sunday.
Some polling suggests that could lessen the chance that Hilton and Bianco, the Riverside County sheriff, finish first and second in the June 2 "jungle primary."
The top two vote-getters advance to the general election, regardless of party.
"If we can have the top two being the two Republicans that are running, that would ensure a Republican governor here in California," explains Kevin McGary of The Frederick Douglass Foundation of California. "I think a Republican governor in California will bring about a tremendous amount of change for California."
He says that will be great for the people of the Golden State, which has not had a Republican governor since Arnold Schwarzenegger (2003-2011), who was praised for his climate leadership and bipartisan governance but criticized for ongoing budget deficits, clashes with the legislature and limited long-term fiscal fixes.
McGary still regards Chad Bianco as "a notable second," and he believes the president's endorsement holds some sway in the deep-blue state and will help the Republican Party.
"Basically, it will allow the California conservatives and Republicans to rally around a single candidate that supposedly reflects America first," he tells AFN. "I think that both of these gentlemen are running on a platform that reflects conservativism and republicanism and America first."
He says either of them will be an upgrade from what Californians have had to endure under Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is term-limited after holding the office for eight consecutive years and surviving a recall election in 2021.
