The California political machine is officially in panic mode.
With the June 2026 primary fast approaching, a shocking new reality is setting in for the Golden State’s Democrat establishment: the very voting system they championed could shut them out of the Governor’s mansion completely.
Unlike most states that hold partisan primaries, California dumps all candidates from all parties into one single primary election.
The only rule?
The top two vote-getters advance to the general election
Party affiliation doesn’t matter
That means:
If Democrats split their vote among multiple candidates, and Republicans consolidate behind just one or two, it is entirely possible for two Republicans to advance to the November runoff, shutting Democrats out completely.
Democrats vastly outnumber Republicans statewide.
But polls now suggest that may not be enough this time.
While the Democrat field remains hopelessly fractured, conservative candidates are surging to the front of the pack, according to a brand-new Emerson College poll released this month.
The latest numbers show exactly why Democrats are sounding the alarm:
Steve Hilton (R): 17%
Chad Bianco (R): 14%
Eric Swalwell (D): 14%
Katie Porter (D): 10%
Tom Steyer (D): 9%
New York Post reported:
California Democrats are panicking as a crowded and uninspiring field of gubernatorial candidates is raising the real possibility two Republicans could advance out of the June primary.
The prospect of candidates waiting too long to drop out and creating “zombie campaigns” that lead to a Republican governor for the first time since Arnold Schwarzenegger left office in 2011 has created a “sh—show,” one Democratic state legislator told The Post.
“I’ve never seen a big race like this before,” the legislator said. “And I am worried that we’re going to have two really whacko Republicans.”
As hundreds gathered this weekend for the California Democratic Party convention in San Francisco, another state legislator took aim at the rudderless leadership of the Democratic Party under chair Rusty Hicks, who has said he has no intention of leaning on candidates to bow out. Only the top two candidates — regardless of party affiliation — will emerge out of what’s called a jungle primary to run in the general election in November.
“You would think the party chair would be actively doing something to prevent a catastrophe,” a second state legislator told The Post.
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