Democrats still uneasy as Republicans lead governor’s polls
California Democratic Party chair Rusty Hicks repeated his call for low-polling candidates to drop out of the governor’s race to prevent the possibility of a Republican advancing out of the June 2 primary.
On Monday, former state controller Betty Yee withdrew from the race, citing a lack of resources and voter disinterest in competency or experience, which she had built her platform around. She had been polling in the low single digits since launching her campaign two years ago.
Hicks told reporters on a media call that more Democratic candidates should follow suit as a party-commissioned poll showed a plurality of voters were undecided (20%) or favored the two major Republicans, Fox News pundit Steve Hilton (16%) and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco (14%).
The poll showed billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer and former Attorney General Xavier Becerra tied at 13% support, followed by former Rep. Katie Porter (10%), San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan (5%) and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (2%).
Yee and State Superintendent Tony Thurmond both were polling at 1%, along with former Rep. Eric Swalwell, whose campaign collapsed after five women accused him of sexual misconduct. The survey of 1,200 likely voters was conducted last week via phone and web, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.83 points.
Yee had previously resisted calls for her to step aside, saying the field was unsettled, while Thurmond, who is Black, said such calls were targeting candidates of color.
Becerra had also been polling at low digits until he received a recent boost from polls, social media attention and as members of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s political team reconsidered his campaign. Hicks said he had no regrets about asking lagging candidates to drop out.
In a state where Democrats vastly outnumber Republicans and have held a legislative supermajority for a decade, Hicks said it was a “desperate times, desperate measures” moment for the party to coalesce around a frontrunner.
Newsom has so far declined to endorse a successor after he is termed out of office at the end of this year. CNN reported his reservations with the current field, including concerns about Becerra’s performance as Attorney General, worries that Porter would drive business away from the state and that Steyer held too wildly divergent political positions to govern effectively.
Hicks said he was hearing from a variety of people within the party and holding “no shortage of conversations” to force a shift in dynamics.
“As the old saying goes, ‘if it wasn’t for the last minute, nothing would get done,’” he told reporters. “I do think that we are moving closer to seeing candidates move into leading positions. Certainly, this race looks a lot different than it looked like two weeks ago or even six weeks ago when we first begin this process, and so I expect it to change in coming weeks.”
He said candidates were just starting to spend resources and voters were beginning to pay attention in “new and different ways,” paving the way for the field to shift again.
“I am aware, I am concerned, and (I am) certainly taking the appropriate steps to ensure that we send a strong Democrat into the general election, and I believe that’s what we’ll do,” Hicks said.
This story was originally published April 20, 2026 at 2:51 PM.
