加州圣巴巴拉——加州竞选州长的民主党人太多了吗?
加州共和党主席科林·兰金(Corrin Rankin)在上个月共和党全国委员会会议期间告诉美国广播公司新闻，“我认为民主党应该有更多的候选人。我说，如果你是民主党人，你想竞选州长?我说，跳进来吧。”
兰金的嘲讽反映了该州一些民主党人在2026年接替任期有限的州长加文·纽瑟姆的竞选中非常真实的焦虑。
加州采用停止两次初选，所有候选人不分党派都在同一张选票上，得票最多的两人进入大选。
预计一名民主党人和一名共和党人将会晋级，或者考虑到加州的蓝色倾向，两名民主党人将会晋级。但是，拥挤的民主党领域增加了两名共和党人而没有民主党人通过6月初选的机会。
“这是一种可能性，这一事实足以引起人们的关注，”加州民主党特工史蒂文·马维利奥告诉美国广播公司新闻。
加州民主党环境核心小组主席RL Miller告诉美国广播公司新闻，没有民主党人推进的情景有点“更像是一场学术演习”，但肯定是候选人在筹款电子邮件中讨论的事情。
民主党领域实际上被冻结了几个月，直到前副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯宣布她不会参加竞选。大约十几名民主党人，包括美国众议员埃里克·斯瓦尔韦尔、前众议员凯蒂·波特、前卫生部长哈维尔·韦塞拉和圣何塞市长马特·马汉，正在争夺提名。
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对于一些候选人来说，很难突破，但他们说他们想留在这里，因为他们觉得他们的经验意味着他们最适合这份工作。
前洛杉矶市长和前州议员安东尼奥·维拉莱戈萨在他曾经领导的城市最近一次候选人论坛的间隙告诉美国广播公司新闻，他指着自己是“一个被证明的问题解决者”...人们在寻找能力、常识，当然还有修正。他们希望下一任州长关注我们面临的挑战。”
当被更直接地问及他如何试图脱颖而出，以及他是否认为民主党领域需要在初选前进一步巩固时，维拉莱戈萨没有说任何人应该退出，而是再次指出了他的记录。
“我正在为加州设想，我们可以恢复加州梦...他说:“我是这场竞选中唯一一个担任过大城市行政长官的人。
Betty Yee，加利福尼亚州的前州审计员，在洛杉矶论坛的间隙告诉ABC新闻，她指出她的全州工作经验和金融头脑是她脱颖而出的一个原因。
Yee说:“我认为最终选民们真的想要一个能真正开始工作的人。”
她还补充说，鉴于去年11月的propose 50国会地图选举的焦点和哈里斯是否会竞选州长的不确定性，民主党候选人没有“漫长的跑道”可跑。
“所以现在，一切都过去了，我们现在把注意力集中在比赛上...在那段时间里，我所做的只是尽可能多地与选民直接接触，”Yee说。
在共和党候选人中，领先的史蒂夫·希尔顿和查德·比安科表示有信心他们中的任何一个都能在初选中进入前两名。
Hilton是一名企业主，也是前福克斯新闻频道主持人，他告诉ABC新闻，这是因为他所说的对加州高成本和其他挑战的反弹，加州多年来一直由州立法和行政部门的民主党人主导。
“大多数人，明显的大多数人，认为我们需要改变，这意味着民主党的改变，”他说。
河边县治安官比安科告诉美国广播公司新闻，他觉得民主党有一个拥挤的领域，因为纽森还没有培养出一个明显的继承人。
比安科说:“所以他下面的民主党完全处于混乱状态，这就是为什么你会看到十几个民主党人——杰出的民主党人——加入这场竞选，希望成为下一个明显的继承人，这必须有利于共和党人。”。
但是希尔顿对前两个州初选给共和党带来的好处表示怀疑。
希尔顿说:“现在在民主党这边，你是对的，有很多候选人，但我认为我们都已经看到了加州的事情是如何运作的。”她推测工会和捐助者将在某个时候团结在一个候选人周围。
但民主党战略家Maviglio警告说，捐赠者和工会因为拥挤的领域而退缩，特别是劳工团体在这个圈子里有多个盟友。
“它碎了，”马维格利说
Are too many Democrats running for governor in California? Republicans see an opportunity
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. --Are there too many Democrats running for governor in California?
Corrin Rankin, the chair of the California Republican Party, told ABC News on the sidelines of a Republican National Committee meeting last month, "I think the Democrats should have a few more candidates. I say, if you're a Democrat, and you feel like running for governor? I say, jump in."
Rankin's taunt reflects very real anxiety among some Democrats in the state in the 2026 race to succeed term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom.
California usestop-two primaries, in which all candidates regardless of party are on the same ballot and the top two vote-getters advance to the general election.
It's been expected that a Democrat and Republican will advance or, given California's blue tilt, two Democrats. But acrowded Democratic fieldincreases the chances that two Republicans and no Democrats make it past the June primary.
"The fact that it's a possibility at all is enough to raise eyebrows and generate concern," Steven Maviglio, a California-based Democratic operative, told ABC News.
RL Miller, who chairs the California Democratic Party's Environmental Caucus, told ABC News that the scenario where no Democrats advance is a bit "more of an academic exercise," but certainly something candidates are discussing in fundraising emails.
The Democratic field was effectively frozen for months until former Vice President Kamala Harrisannounced she would not run. Around a dozen Democrats, including U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter, former Health Secretary Xavier Becerra, and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, arevying for the nomination.
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For some candidates, it's been tough to break through, but they say they want to stay in because they feel their experience means they're best for the job.
Antonio Villaraigosa, a former mayor of Los Angeles and former state representative, told ABC News on the sidelines of a recent candidate forum in the city he once led that he's pointing to himself as "a proven problem-solver ... people are looking for competence, common sense and of course-correction. They want the next governor to focus on the challenges we face."
Asked more directly how he's trying to stand out and if he thinks the Democratic field needs to consolidate more before the primary, Villaraigosa did not say anyone should drop out but pointed again to his record.
"I'm running on a vision for California that says we can restore the California Dream... [I'm] the only one in this in this race who's been a chief executive of a large city," he said.
Betty Yee, California's former state controller, told ABC News on the sidelines of that forum in Los Angeles that she is pointing to her statewide job experience and financial acumen as a way she stands out from the pack.
"I think at the end of the day voters really do want somebody who can really just get on the job and begin to do the work," Yee said.
She also added that Democratic candidates have not had a "long runway" to run, given the focus on theProposition 50 congressional map electionlast November and the uncertainty over whether Harris would run for the governorship.
"So now, with all that behind us, we now have the focus on the race... what I did during that time was just to engage and just do as much direct voter engagement as I could," Yee said.
Among the Republican candidates, front-runners Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco are expressing confidence that either one of them will make it to one of the top two slots in the primary.
Hilton, a business owner and former Fox News host, told ABC News that's because of what he said is backlash to high costs and other challenges in California, which has been dominated by Democrats in the state legislature and executive branch for years.
"There's a majority, a clear majority, who think we need change, and that means a change from the Democrats," he said.
Bianco, the Riverside County sheriff, told ABC News that he feels there is a crowded Democratic field because Newsom has not cultivated an heir apparent.
"So the Democrat Party below him is just [in] complete disarray, which is why you see a dozen Democrats -- prominent Democrats -- jumping in this race, wanting to be the next heir apparent, and it has to benefit Republicans," Bianco said.
But Hilton expressed some skepticism about the benefits for the GOP of the top-two primary.
"Now on the Democrat side, you're right, there's a lot of candidates, but I think we've all seen how things work in California," Hilton said, speculating that unions and donors will at some point coalesce around one candidate.
But Maviglio, the Democratic strategist, cautioned that donors and labor unions are holding back because of the crowded field, and labor groups in particular have multiple allies in the ring.
"It's splintered," Maviglio said.
Some Democrats have pointed to the state party's upcoming convention in late February as a moment of truth -- since candidates may drop out afterwards if it becomes clear they don't have support to gain enough internal votes for the party's endorsement.
But no candidate is expected, at the moment, to clear the threshold for an endorsement.
