los angeles — With the polls closing, all eyes are on the race for governor of California.
With more than 40% of the vote, Republican Steve Helton and Democrat Xavier Becerra were neck and neck, with both candidates receiving about 26%. Tom Steyer came in third with 20%, followed by Chad Bianco with 11%. Each of the remaining candidates received less than 5% of the votes.
California’s gubernatorial race appears to have narrowed down to three leading candidates — two Democrats and one Republican — in what political observers say is the most competitive gubernatorial primary the state has seen in years.
Two polls released last week showed the same candidate in first place: former California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. But who will finish second in the runoff is up in the air.
It’s likely either former Fox News host Steve Hilton or billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer. For weeks, Hilton tried to convince the other Republican candidate in the race, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, to drop out of the race and endorse him. Bianco responded on social media, saying, “Clearly, Steve Hilton’s supporters should unite and support me. And while they’re doing that, the supporters of Becerra, Steyer, Porter, Mahan, Thurmond, and Villaraigosa should vote for me as well.”
There is still a chance that two Democrats could block Hilton from making it beyond June. Steyer has invested more than $216 million of his personal fortune in his campaign.
Here’s a look at the major candidates vying for governor of California
Antonio Villaraigosa (d)
Villaraigosa served as Mayor of Los Angeles from 2005 to 2013. He also served as co-chair of Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign and as chair of the 2012 Democratic National Convention.
Villaraigosa ran for governor in 2018, the year Gavin Newsom was elected.
Mayor Karen Bass endorsed Villaraigosa last September, praising his work on issues like children’s health and the environment.
“We have worked together across this city, focusing on the issues people care about — safe streets, clean neighborhoods, and equitable distribution of resources,” Villaraigosa said at the time. “We have stood together decade after decade.”
“But let’s be clear. This is not just about friendship. We are not here today because we are all friends. We are here today because these are difficult times. We face great challenges in this state,” Villaraigosa said. “We need a broad coalition of people in this state to meet these challenges. And I said, to whom much is given, much is expected.” I’m here today and that’s why I’m so proud to be here with all of you, I’m here today because there was a civil rights law. I’m here today because there was the Voting Rights Act. “I am here today because people fought to open this country to us.”
Chad Bianco (R)
Bianco, the Riverside County sheriff, is one of the two biggest names vying for the Republican ticket. He has been sheriff since 2019 and is a well-known figure in the law enforcement community.
“I’m the antithesis of California state government because I’m going to bring a nuclear bomb into that building and completely destroy everything they’re doing to us behind closed doors,” he told Eyewitness News during a recent interview.
Although he has been elected by voters twice, Bianco says he’s not a politician — which is why he believes his campaign for governor of California is resonating, as reflected in the polls.
“I’m the antithesis of California state government because I’m going to bring a nuclear bomb into that building and destroy everything they’re doing to us behind closed doors,” Chad Bianco told ABC7.
Katie Porter (D)
Porter is a former congresswoman from Orange County who served in Washington, D.C., from 2019 to 2025. She left to run for Senate, losing in the primary to Adam Schiff. Porter has a long career as a law professor and is a tenured professor at the UCLA School of Law.
She said that if she is elected governor, California will continue to act as a resistance to Trump, but she also said that the affordability crisis cannot be blamed on the administration alone.
“This is not a crisis just because of Donald Trump,” Porter told Eyewitness News. “His tariffs, economic instability, and unethical raids on Immigration and Customs Enforcement are exacerbating California’s housing crisis, but this is about our policy decisions.
“If California could build housing as quickly as our competing states, we could shave nearly 20% off the cost of housing.”
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Katie Porter said California will continue to act as a resistance to the Trump administration if she is elected governor.
Matt Mahan (D)
Mahan has been mayor of San Jose since 2023. Although he’s not well known in Southern California, he told Eyewitness News he plans to address that.
“I spend a lot of time here and I want to highlight the things we can do better to hold Sacramento and our cities and counties accountable, to make California work for our middle-class families,” Mahan told Eyewitness News last month. “What we saw…at Skid Row is a failure of public policy over decades. We failed to build the shelter and treatment capacity that our most vulnerable neighbors need. We also failed to enforce drug trafficking and create accountability for the people who come to their homes.”
The 43-year-old Democrat has seen success in San Jose on homelessness and crime with the rate of street homelessness falling by a third. In the first two weeks of his campaign, millions of dollars poured in from the technology community, which his rivals criticized.
It’s no surprise that San Jose is the largest city in Silicon Valley.
“I believe the governor must once again be a fighter for our values as well as solving our problems,” Mahan said. “In San Jose, I showed that I can do both. In the long run, fixing our problems will be the best resistance imaginable.”
Although San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan is well known in Northern California, that is not the case in Southern California.
Steve Hilton (R)
Hilton is a former Fox News host and a vocal Trump supporter. He was born in the United Kingdom, where he served as Director of Strategy for former Prime Minister David Cameron, then moved to California in 2012.
He became a US citizen in 2021.
Hilton blames climate change policies for California’s housing and affordability crisis, saying the policies have made construction more expensive. He added that he did not believe climate change played a role in last year’s devastating and deadly wildfires.
“It’s a complete failure of Democratic policies, and to put all the blame on climate change is an insult to everyone who lost their home,” Hilton said.
Eyewitness News asked Hilton if he supports Trump’s immigration enforcement tactics, and he said, “Everyone supports them.”
“I can’t imagine a single person who doesn’t support what’s been done to close our southern border and stop this terrible undermining of the law that we’ve seen in the Biden years,” Hilton said. “I’m a legal immigrant, and I’ve said many times, I’m the Legal Immigrant Community’s candidate for the Legal Immigrant Community.”
Leading in some polls in California’s wide-open gubernatorial race heading into the June primary is Republican and former Fox News host Steve Hilton.
Tom Steyer (D)
Steyer is a billionaire who wants billionaires to pay their fair share. He said California would not lose its competitiveness even if billionaires left to protect their private wealth.
He also addressed a proposed one-time 5% wealth tax that has yet to be voted on.
“In theory, I’m in favor of it, and I’ll wait and see what happens before I decide specifically whether there’s a wealth tax on the ballot,” he said.
Steyer also wants to hold a special election to rewrite Proposition 13 tax limits for commercial real estate.
“Large companies that own huge office buildings and huge shopping malls have been in a tax loophole for more than 40 years, and it doesn’t make sense,” Steyer said.
He added that the state remains an excellent place to start and grow businesses, but said controlling housing and health care costs plays a role.
“If we can control housing costs, if we can control health care costs, that will make this a much easier place to do business,” he said.
California gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer explained his positions on health care, homelessness and his approach to the Trump administration.
Tony Thurmond (D)
Thurmond is California’s superintendent of public instruction. He was elected statewide twice, in 2018 and most recently in 2022, when he received 63.7% and 5,681,318 votes.
Prior to his work as California Superintendent of Public Instruction, Thurmond served in the State Assembly, and before that on the Richmond City Council and the West Contra Costa School Board.
In response to Hicks’ request for candidates who vote in single digits to withdraw, Thurmond said the party is “essentially asking every candidate of color … to withdraw.”
“This action does not reflect the Democratic Party of 2026,” he said in a video posted by his campaign on social media. “Aren’t we supposed to be the party that embraces democracy? A party of and for the people. Well, the establishment may not be, but our campaign is, and that’s why we’re in this race to win it.”
Javier Becerra (d)
Becerra served as Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Biden, the first Latino to hold the position. Becerra also served as California’s attorney general from 2017 to 2021, and before that was a congressman.
Former US Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra announced on Wednesday that he will run for governor next year.
He said some of his top priorities include building more housing, health care and education.
“I am not running on exaggerated promises,” he said in a press conference. The video was posted on his X account. “I’m running on my record. Now, I can tell you, I’ve stood up to a reckless federal government. I’ve stood up to ruthless corporations. I’ve stood up for workers’ wages. I’ve stood up for women’s reproductive rights. I’ve stood up for immigrant rights across the state of California.”
ABC News and the Associated Press contributed to this report.