2026 California gubernatorial election

The 2026 California gubernatorial election will take place on November 3, 2026, to elect the governor of California, with the statewide nonpartisan top-two primary election scheduled for June 2, 2026. Incumbent Democratic governor Gavin Newsom is term-limited and cannot seek re-election to a third term.

Over two dozen candidates have declared, though Republicans have not won a statewide race in California since 2006 or held statewide office since 2011. While California is heavily Democratic, the fragmented Democratic field in this year's top-two primary could allow two Republicans to advance to the general election. The California Democratic Party has urged low-polling candidates to drop out to prevent this outcome.

• Akinyemi Agbede, mathematician and educator

• Mohammad Arif, immigrants organizer

• Larry Azevedo, businessman

• Xavier Becerra, former secretary of health and human services (2021–2025) and attorney general of California (2017–2021)

• Carolina Buhler, UCLA student

• Louis A. De Barraicua, teacher and business owner

• Sophia Edum-a-Sam, project manager

• Derek Grasty, San José school district trustee (2024–present)

• Joel E. Jacob, business owner

• Gary Howard Kidgell, building consultant

• Matthew C. Levy, physicist

• Matt Mahan, mayor of San Jose (2023–present)

• Barack D. Obama Shaw, business owner

• Thunder Parley, software engineer

• Katie Porter, former U.S. representative from California's 47th congressional district (2019–2025) and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2024

• Raji Rab, pilot and perennial candidate

• Satish Rao, professor

• Scott P. Shields, executive director

• Tom Steyer, founder of Farallon Capital and candidate for president in 2020

• Eric Swalwell, U.S. representative from California's 14th congressional district (2013–present) and candidate for president in 2020

• Tony Thurmond, California State Superintendent of Public Instruction (2019–present)

• Antonio Villaraigosa, former mayor of Los Angeles (2005–2013) and candidate for governor in 2018

• Betty Yee, California Democratic Party vice chair (2021–present) and former California State Controller (2015–2023)

• Erin "Zez" Zezulak, consultant

• Ethan Agarwal, tech entrepreneur (running for U.S. House)

• Toni Atkins, former president pro tempore of the California State Senate (2018–2024) from the 39th district (2016–2024) and former speaker of the California State Assembly (2012–2016) from the 78th district (2010–2016) (endorsed Steyer)

• Ian Calderon, former majority leader of the California Assembly (2016–2020) from the 57th district (2012–2020) (endorsed Swalwell)

• Stephen Cloobeck, founder of Diamond Resorts (endorsed Swalwell)

• Zoltan Istvan, founder of the Transhumanist Party, Libertarian candidate for governor in 2018, and Republican candidate for president in 2020

• Eleni Kounalakis, lieutenant governor of California (2019–present) (running for state treasurer)

• Fiona Ma, California state treasurer (2019–present) (running for lieutenant governor)

• Michael Younger, vice president of Calbright College (2021–present) and former deputy secretary of the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency (2019–2021)

• Rob Bonta, California Attorney General (2021–present) (running for re-election)

• Laphonza Butler, former U.S. senator (2023–2024)

• Rick Caruso, founder of Caruso and runner-up for mayor of Los Angeles in 2022 (endorsed Mahan)

• Kamala Harris, former vice president of the United States (2021–2025), former U.S. senator (2017–2021), and nominee for president in 2024

• Alex Padilla, U.S. senator (2021–present)

• Adam Schiff, U.S. senator (2024–present) (endorsed Swalwell)

• Buffy Wicks, state assemblymember from the 14th district (2018–present)

• James Athans Jr., real estate agent

• Chad Bianco, Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner (2019–present)

• Patricia De Luca Basualdo, real estate broker

• Randeep S. Dhillon, businessman and farmer

• Rafael M. Hernandez, businessman

• Steve Hilton, political commentator and former adviser to UK prime minister David Cameron (2010–2012)

• Alicia Olivia Lapp

• Leo Naranjo IV, veteran

• Tim Nelson, diplomat

• Gretha Solórzano, retired nuclear engineer

• Ebony Taylor, business owner

• Leo Zacky, vice president of Zacky Farms and candidate for governor in 2021 and 2022

• David Zickefoose, real estate investor

• Ché Ahn, pastor

• Brandon Jones, marketing agency founder

• Jimmy Parker, former judge

• Sophia Brink, legislative aide to San Mateo County supervisor David Canepa (endorsed Hilton)

• Kyle Langford, construction manager (ran for CA-26 as a Democrat)

• David Serpa, real estate business owner and runner-up for California's 39th congressional district in 2024

• Jon Slavet, tech entrepreneur

• Mel Gibson, special ambassador to Hollywood (2025–present), actor, and filmmaker

• Richard Grenell, special presidential envoy for special missions (2025–present) and executive director of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (2025–present)

• Kevin McCarthy, former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (2023) from California's 20th congressional district (2007–2023)

Declared

• Butch Ware, associate professor and nominee for vice president in 2024, (write in)

• Tom Woodard, retired CEO

Not on primary ballot

• Nicholas Thompson, college student

• Art Olivier, former mayor of Bellflower

• Ramsey Robinson, school social worker

• Naomi Bar-Lev, musician

• Joseph Cabrera, administrator

• Elaine Culotti, entrepreneur

• LivingForGod AndCountry DeMott, chaplin

• Serge Fiankan, real estate broker

• Lukasz Adam Filinski

• Max Fomin, business owner

• Don J. Grundmann, chiropractor

• Jon Henderson, business owner

• Lewis Herms

• Dawit Kellel

• Anne Komarovsk, communications executive

• Duane Terrence Loynes Jr., nominee of the American Solidarity Party

• Amanda Martin, entrepreneur

• Brent Maupin, civil engineer

• Daniel Mercuri, author, Republican candidate for governor in 2021 and 2022, and candidate for California's 25th congressional district in 2020

• Mauro Alberto Orozco, business owner

• Reza Safarnejad, business owner

• Sam Sandak, filmmaker

• Christine R. Sarmiento, public health nurse

• Frederic C. Schultz, human rights attorney

• Margaret Trowe, hospitality worker

• Nancy D. Young, businesswoman

Not on primary ballot

• Leonard Jackson, shipping company CEO

• Ryan Tillman, police officer

• David Thelen, blogger

• Nicole Shanahan, attorney and running mate of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the 2024 presidential election

Another debate was originally scheduled to take place on March 24, 2026, hosted by the USC Center for the Political Future, KABC-TV, and KMEX-DT. Using a formula developed by USC political science professor Christian R. Grose based on fundraising and polling data, only six candidates were invited to participate: Republicans Bianco and Hilton; and Democrats Mahan, Porter, Steyer, and Swalwell. This led to accusations of discrimination because none of the nonwhite candidates qualified. The selection of Mahan was especially criticized because his high fundraising numbers made up for his lackluster poll numbers. USC and at least 50 scholars from across the country defended the formula. Unable to reach an agreement to expand the number of candidates, USC decided to cancel the debate just hours before the scheduled start time.

• 2026 California elections
• 2026 United States gubernatorial elections

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