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| Elections in California |
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The 2026 California gubernatorial election will take place on November 3, 2026, to elect the governor of California. The nonpartisan top-two primary election will take place on June 2, 2026. Incumbent Democratic governor Gavin Newsom is term-limited and ineligible for election to a third term.
As of December 2025, over two dozen candidates have declared campaigns, and the field is expected to grow. Republicans have not won a statewide race in California since 2006 and have not held statewide office since 2011.
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size [d] | Margin of error | Xavier Becerra (D) | Chad Bianco (R) | Steve Hilton (R) | Katie Porter (D) | Tom Steyer (D) | Eric Swalwell (D) | Tony Thurmond (D) | Antonio Villaraigosa (D) | Betty Yee (D) | Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emerson College [117] | December 1–2, 2025 | 1,000 (LV) | ± 3.0% | 4% | 13% | 12% | 11% | 4% | 12% | 2% | 5% | 2% | 5% [e] | 31% |
| Lake Research Partners (D) [118] [A] | November 17–20, 2025 | 600 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 6% | 10% | 17% | 15% | 4% | 10% | 3% | 7% | 3% | 1% [f] | 22% |
| Public Policy Institute of California [119] | November 13–19, 2025 | 1,086 (LV) | ± 3.9% | 14% | 10% | 14% | 21% | – | – | 2% | 8% | 7% | 19% [g] | 5% |
| Tavern Research (D) [120] [B] | October 27–30, 2025 | 1,001 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 9% | 16% | 12% | 15% | – | – | 2% | 5% | 3% | 9% [h] | 29% |
| EMC Research (D) [121] [i] | October 22–26, 2025 | 1,000 (LV) | ± 3.1% | 9% | 14% | 20% | 16% | 3% | 11% | 3% | 5% | 3% | 3% [j] | 18% |
| Emerson College [122] | October 20–21, 2025 | 900 (LV) | ± 3.19% | 5% | 11% | 16% | 15% | – | – | 3% | 5% | 2% | 4% [k] | 39% |
| Bold Decision [123] | October 16–21, 2025 | 509 (LV) | ± 4.3% | 8% | 14% | 13% | 12% | 7% | – | 1% | 7% | 4% | 4% [l] | 29% |
| Emerson College [124] | April 12–14, 2025 | 899 (LV) | ± 3.2% | 3% | 4% | – | 12% | – | – | 2% | 5% | 3% | 17% [m] | 54% |
with Rick Caruso
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size [d] | Margin of error | Xavier Becerra (D) | Chad Bianco (R) | Rick Caruso (D) | Steve Hilton (R) | Katie Porter (D) | Antonio Villaraigosa (D) | Betty Yee (D) | Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berkeley IGS [125] [C] | October 20–27, 2025 | 8141 (RV) | ± 2.0% | 8% | 13% | 3% | 8% | 11% | 5% | 3% | 5% | 44% |
| Emerson College [126] | September 15–16, 2025 | 1000 (RV) | ± 3% | 5% | 8% | 4% | 10% | 16% | 4% | 3% | 10% [n] | 38% |
| Berkeley IGS [127] [C] | August 11–17, 2025 | 4950 (RV) | ± 1.5% | 9% | 10% | 4% | 6% | 17% | 4% | 2% | 9% [o] | 38% |
| True Dot/ Politico [128] | July 28–August 12, 2025 | 875 (RV) | ± 2.6% | 9% | 15% | 6% | 10% | 21% | 9% | 6% | 15% [p] | 9% |
| Emerson College [129] | August 4–5, 2025 | 1000 (RV) | ± 3% | 3% | 7% | 4% | 12% | 18% | 5% | 2% | 13% [q] | 38% |
with Alex Padilla
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size [d] | Margin of error | Xavier Becerra (D) | Chad Bianco (R) | Rick Caruso (D) | Steve Hilton (R) | Alex Padilla (D) | Katie Porter (D) | Antonio Villaraigosa (D) | Betty Yee (D) | Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emerson College [126] | September 15–16, 2025 | 1000 (RV) | ± 3% | 3% | 8% | 4% | 10% | 7% | 16% | 4% | 2% | 9% [r] | 36% |
with Kamala Harris
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size [d] | Margin of error | Xavier Becerra (D) | Chad Bianco (R) | Kamala Harris (D) | Eleni Kounalakis (D) | Kyle Langford (R) | Katie Porter (D) | Antonio Villaraigosa (D) | Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emerson College [124] | April 12–14, 2025 | 911 (LV) | ± 3.2% | 2% | 4% | 31% | 2% | 2% | 8% | 2% | 10% [s] | 39% |
with John Cox
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size [d] | Margin of error | Toni Atkins (D) | Xavier Becerra (D) | John Cox (R) | Kamala Harris (D) | Eleni Kounalakis (D) | Katie Porter (D) | Tony Thurmond (D) | Antonio Villaraigosa (D) | Betty Yee (D) | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capitol Weekly [130] | February 3–7, 2025 | 692 (RV) | – | 2% | 4% | 21% | 23% | 2% | 16% | 1% | 2% | 2% | 27% [t] |
| 1073 [u] | 3% | 5% | 21% | – | 5% | 26% | 2% | 3% | 3% | 30% [v] |
with Brian Dahle
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size [d] | Margin of error | Toni Atkins (D) | Xavier Becerra (D) | Chad Bianco (R) | Brian Dahle (R) | Steve Hilton (R) | Eleni Kounalakis (D) | Katie Porter (D) | Tony Thurmond (D) | Antonio Villaraigosa (D) | Betty Yee (D) | Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USC/CSU Long Beach/ Cal Poly Pomona [131] | September 12–25, 2024 | 1,685 (LV) | ± 2.4% | 1% | 3% | 5% | 5% | 4% | 2% | 14% | 1% | 3% | 3% | 9% [w] | 50% |
| Tulchin Research (D) [132] [D] | August 8–12, 2024 | 800 (LV) | ± 3.5% | – | – | – | 13% | 10% | 10% | 4% | 4% | 13% | 7% | – | 39% |
with Steve Garvey
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size [d] | Margin of error | Toni Atkins (D) | Xavier Becerra (D) | Chad Bianco (R) | Steve Garvey (R) | Eleni Kounalakis (D) | Katie Porter (D) | Tony Thurmond (D) | Antonio Villaraigosa (D) | Betty Yee (D) | Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breakthrough Campaigns [133] [E] | November 22–26, 2024 | 1,228 (LV) | ± 2.8% | 1% | 2% | 6% | 18% | 8% | 21% | 3% | 3% | 3% | 23% [x] | 12% |
| 3% | 6% | 14% | 21% | 9% | 24% | 2% | 3% | 6% | 1% [y] | 11% |
"Democratic Primary Poll" [z]
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size [d] | Margin of error | Toni Atkins (D) | Kamala Harris (D) | Eleni Kounalakis (D) | Katie Porter (D) | Tony Thurmond (D) | Antonio Villaraigosa (D) | Betty Yee (D) | Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emerson College [134] [F] | February 10–11, 2025 | 469 (RV) | ± 4.5% | 3% | 57% | 4% | 9% | 1% | 4% | 2% | 5% [aa] | 17% |
| 3% | – | 5% | 21% | 3% | 9% | 3% | 12% [ab] | 45% |
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn | ||||||||
| Atkins | Kounalakis | Thurmond | Yee | |||||
| 1 | Sep. 29, 2024 | National Union of Healthcare Workers Los Angeles Times , The Associated Press, Politico | Laurel Rosenhall Lisa Matthews Melanie Mason | YouTube | P | P | P | P |
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report [135] | Solid D | September 11, 2025 |
| Inside Elections [136] | Solid D | August 28, 2025 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball [137] | Safe D | September 4, 2025 |
| Race to the WH [138] | Safe D | December 7, 2025 |
Partisan and media clients
Attorney General Rob Bonta won't run for California governor in 2026, he told Playbook...instead, he'll seek reelection as AG and back former Vice President Kamala Harris if she jumps into the fray to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom.
'No, no. Definitely not,' Schiff said when NOTUS asked whether he would consider running [for governor in 2026]
McCarthy dismissed a run for California governor in 2026
Hilton's gubernatorial campaign already boasts endorsements from MAGA-aligned national Republicans, including Vivek Ramaswamy, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk and California Rep. Kevin Kiley, who lined up behind Hilton shortly after he launched his campaign in April.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)One of Swalwell's California colleagues, Rep. Ro Khanna, endorsed Tom Steyer in the governor's race on Tuesday, saying the billionaire climate philanthropist is "for taxing billionaires like himself. He's for getting all corporate money out of Sacramento. And he's for passing single payer." Khanna previously told Playbook he had talked with Steyer as well as former Rep. Katie Porter about the race, and was prioritizing finding someone who supported single-payer health care.
Thurmond has been endorsed by several former and current state lawmakers and U.S. Rep. Laura Friedman.
Betty Yee has been endorsed for Governor by Progressive Democrats of America – California (PDA-CA).
Attorney General Rob Bonta won't run for California governor in 2026, he told Playbook...instead, he'll seek reelection as AG and back former Vice President Kamala Harris if she jumps into the fray to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Official campaign websites