California governor’s race reveals risks in the top-two system | Opinion
Monday morning’s news that former Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra is now the No. 2 candidate in the race for California governor — at least, according to new polling by the California Democratic Party — gave a welcome sigh of relief to many an anxious Democrat.
California’s “top two” primary system, sometimes called a “jungle primary,” means that whatever candidates in the top two spots get a pass to the general election. But it doesn’t guarantee that a member of each party will snag a spot.
That has put California in an incredibly undemocratic predicament.
Until Monday’s polling appeared, the top two candidates for California governor were both Republicans — former Fox News host Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.
Despite the fact that more than 60% of the state are solidly liberal voters, the Democratic Party failed to winnow its ranks before the primary. That means six candidates are splitting the state’s majority party’s voters, creating the very real possibility that two Republicans will advance to the November election.
It wasn’t until Monday when CADEM’s polling appeared to place Becerra in the top two, alleviating some of the party’s concern.
But there’s a relatively simple solution to this problem we’ve created for ourselves; and it’s something that other states already allow, but California doesn’t.
It’s too late for 2026’s election, but California legislators could prevent this trouble in the future by allowing write-in candidates in the general election.
Currently, California election law doesn’t allow for write-in candidates in the general election, only in the primary, thanks to the state’s “jungle primary” which sends the top two candidates to the general election regardless of party affiliation.
This “top two” system has already created some anti-democratic problems, particularly when a minority party finds itself offering two candidates while the majority has several — exactly the issue the governor’s race finds itself in right now.
Previously, this situation most notably occurred in 2022, when Democrats Marie Alvarado-Gil and Tim Robertson advanced to the general election in the conservative-leaning state Senate District 4, after a field of Republican candidates failed to coalesce enough votes. (Alvarado-Gil would go on to become the first sitting state senator in 80 years to switch parties in office, and is running this year to retain her seat as a Republican.)
Allowing for write-in candidates in all elections would offer the state’s voters, of any party, to course-correct in a top-two primary system where such scenarios are a real probability. And there’s already precedent: Washington state, the only other state with a jungle primary, allows for write-in candidates on all of its ballots.
According to the Secretary of State’s office, “a change in this process would require action by the state legislature,” by a “very attainable” two-thirds majority, as noted by the Times of San Diego. Changing or doing away with the Top Two Primary Act entirely would take a vote of the people, since it was a legislative constitutional amendment.
Someone in the legislature just needs to introduce the bill, and give us the highway off-ramp to save ourselves if we ever need it.
The 2026 governor’s race just proved that we do.
