2026 California governor’s race: Democratic candidates vie for union support
The 2026 California governor’s race shifted into a higher gear Monday as seven Democratic candidates appeared at a labor event in Sacramento.
The candidates flashed union credentials and vied for speaking time during the one-hour “candidate salon” hosted by the California Federation of Labor Unions at the Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel.
During the fast-paced and oft-times rowdy event, candidates used green and red flags to weigh in on yes-or-no questions about regulating AI, building housing and the state’s transition away from fossil fuels.
Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa raised hackles among the crowd when he raised a red flag in response to a question that asked if candidates would sign a bill to allow workers on strike to gain unemployment benefits. Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill to do that in 2023, angering many labor advocates.
“I can’t say automatically that I would do that,” Villaraigosa said to boos from the audience, adding that he would consider it depending on “at what time (workers) file” and “the kind of employer.”
Other than that, candidates mostly raised green flags in support of union issues, such as using project labor agreements and prevailing wages for public projects and opposing a proposed 8% cut to higher education systems this year.
The Democratic candidates used their 90-second opening statements to talk about their past union membership and records in support of labor and working people.
Five candidates said they grew up in working class homes and had early experiences with unions: State superintendent of public Instruction Tony Thurmond, former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, former state Controller Betty Yee, former Senate pro Tem Toni Atkins and Villaraigosa.
Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis said she’s the only candidate who – as president of a development company founded by her father – has experience building housing. She was also one of the few candidates to mention President Donald Trump during the event and said as a former diplomat to Hungary, “I know sometimes you need to talk a bully down, and other times you need to punch him in the face.”
Former Congresswoman Katie Porter said as a single mom of young children, she knows “the price of groceries” and “a lot about bull... excuses.”
The candidate salon offered a preview of what could become a top issue during the upcoming election: California’s transition away from gas powered vehicles and rising prices at the pump. Villaraigosa again attempted to distance himself from some other Democrats by indicating that the state has gone too far in its fight against big oil companies.
“We’re putting this notion of just renewables on the backs of working people,” the former Speaker and mayor of Los Angeles said. “We’re talking about closing down refineries and that’s why we have the toughest, highest gas prices in the United States of America. The next governor has got to challenge that.”
Yee expressed a similar sentiment: “Frankly, I think it’s really offensive when we say all we have to do is retrain all the workers (to careers in renewable energy),” she said. “It’s not about retraining, it’s about expertise and how we’re going to continue to have oil and gas be part of how we get to a renewable” energy future.
Unity on artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence was treated as an enemy at the labor event. The first question asked candidates whether they would support regulating how employers use AI in the workplace, to which every person held up a green flag.
Thurmond quickly mentioned a bill he sponsored last year to put up guardrails regarding AI’s use in public schools.
“The first thing I did was call the Labor Federation to say, how do we work together on this,” the state’s schools chief said, adding to cheers and applause that one of the bill’s first lines “says that AI will never replace a worker.”
Labor unions hold heavy influence in California politics and spend millions on elections, largely in support of Democratic candidates. Unions were the top donors to Gov. Gavin Newsom during his 2021 recall campaign.
But in recent years Newsom has angered and disappointed labor groups by vetoing bills to regulate large AI models and self-driving big rigs.
“Working people care about regulating AI,” Labor Federation President Lorena Gonzalez said after the event, adding that the yes-no format put the candidates on record on a number of union priorities.
“I promise you that if somebody raised their flag and agreed to something, they’re going to hear from me” if they don’t follow through, Gonzalez said.
Porter and Becerra were the most recent candidates to announce their gubernatorial campaigns, and the Monday night forum was the first event of the 2026 campaign to feature the seven major Democratic hopefuls.
Former Vice President and Democrat Kamala Harris is also considering jumping into the race.
Republicans Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host, and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco are also running, along with billionaire Democrat Stephen Cloobeck.
This story was originally published May 12, 2025 at 9:34 PM.
