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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 next governor of California. The statewide top-two primary election will take place on June 2, 2026. Incumbent Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom will be term-limited and ineligible to seek reelection.
Over a dozen candidates have already declared a campaign, with the field of candidates expected to expand.
Statewide officials
State senators
State assemblymembers
Local officials
Labor unions
Organizations
U.S. representatives
State senators
State assemblymembers
Local officials
Federal officials
U.S. senators
U.S. representatives
State senators
State assemblymembers
Local officials
Notable individuals
State senators
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size [a] | Margin of error | Chad Bianco (R) | Rick Caruso (D) | John Cox (R) | Brian Dahle (R) | Steve Garvey (R) | Kamala Harris (D) | Eleni Kounalakis (D) | Katie Porter (D) | Antonio Villaraigosa (D) | Betty Yee (D) | Other | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Emerson College [44] [A] [b] | February 10–11, 2025 | 469 (RV) | ± 4.5% | – | – | – | – | – | 57% | 4% | 9% | 4% | 2% | 9% [c] | 15% |
– | – | – | – | – | – | 5% | 21% | 9% | 3% | 18% [d] | 44% | ||||
Capitol Weekly [45] | February 3–7, 2025 | 1,200 (RV) | – | – | 8% | 21% | – | – | 23% | 2% | 16% | 2% | 2% | 26% [e] | – |
– | 8% | 21% | – | – | – | 5% | 26% | 3% | 3% | 32% [f] | – | ||||
Breakthrough Campaigns [46] | November 22–26, 2024 | 1,228 (LV) | ± 2.8% | 6% | 5% | – | 9% | 18% | – | 8% | 21% | 3% | 3% | 15% [g] | 12% |
14% | 6% | – | – | 21% | – | 9% | 24% | 3% | 6% | 6% [h] | 11% | ||||
University of Southern California/CSU Long Beach/Cal Poly Pomona [47] | September 12–25, 2024 | 1,685 (LV) | ± 2.4% | 5% | – | – | 5% | – | 3% | 2% | 14% | 3% | 3% | 15% [i] | 50% |
Tulchin Research (D) [48] [B] | August 8–12, 2024 | 800 (LV) | ± 3.5% | – | – | – | 13% | – | – | 10% | – | 13% | 7% | 18% [j] | 40% |
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Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn | ||||||||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 [49] | Solid D | January 23, 2025 |
Inside Elections [50] | Solid D | February 6, 2025 |
Partisan clients
Ms. Porter will drop out of the race if Ms. Harris runs, a spokesman confirmed.
Developer Rick Caruso...now tells Puck's Peter Hamby he's considering a campaign for California's open governorship.
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.
Following Gibson's signing on Monday, many have now also called on him to run for Governor
McCarthy dismissed a run for California governor in 2026
Official campaign websites