California’s Governor Race: A Crowded Stage, A Wide-Open Primary, and Nobody Quite Breaking Through

With two weeks left before California’s June 2 primary, the race for governor is exactly what it’s been all year: complicated, loud, and without a clear front-runner.
Last Thursday’s debate in San Francisco — hosted by CBS News California and the San Francisco Examiner — was the last one before voters finalize their ballots. Seven candidates shared the stage: Democrats Xavier Becerra, Tom Steyer, Katie Porter, Matt Mahan, and Antonio Villaraigosa, alongside Republicans Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco. The format allowed candidates to question each other directly, which mostly meant everyone questioning Becerra.
Becerra, the former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services and California Attorney General, entered the debate as the polling leader after a surge in recent weeks. That made him the target. Republican Steve Hilton told him bluntly he shouldn’t be on the stage and should be preparing a criminal defense — a reference to Becerra’s former political strategist Dana Williamson, who is facing a legal matter in Sacramento. Becerra pushed back, citing a statement from the prosecutor’s office confirming no gubernatorial candidate has been implicated in the case. “Don’t take my word for it,” Becerra said. “Take the words of the U.S. Attorney.”
It was one of the sharper moments of the night. But sharp moments haven’t translated into clarity in this race.
The core issue — affordability — has dominated every debate this cycle, and Thursday was no different. California has the highest average gas prices in the nation, sitting at $6.15 a gallon as of last week. Unemployment is tied for the worst in the country. Housing remains unaffordable for working and middle-class families across the state. The candidates all acknowledged the problem. What they disagree on is who caused it and what comes next.
Becerra blamed the federal government — specifically President Trump’s Iran war and tariff policies — for driving up costs. Steyer argued that taking on special interests in healthcare and energy is the path forward. Katie Porter, who has consistently positioned herself as the fighter in the field, said California needs to change course, not just change faces. Moderate Democrat Matt Mahan, the Mayor of San Jose, has staked his campaign on the idea that the Democratic establishment has failed California and that voters want accountability, not just loyalty to the party line.
On the Republican side, Hilton campaigned on making California “Califordable” — cutting utilities and expanding homeownership for younger Californians. Bianco, the Riverside County Sheriff, has been blunt about his view that the progressive agenda in Sacramento is what’s destroying the state. Neither Republican is likely to win outright, but California’s top-two primary means the top two vote-getters — regardless of party — advance to November. If Democrats stay too fragmented, two Republicans could make the general election ballot. The California Democratic Party has spent months quietly urging lower-polling candidates to drop out for exactly that reason.
The primary date is June 2. Ballots began arriving by mail in early May, and some voters have already cast them. With the race still genuinely unsettled — multiple recent polls have all the top candidates within the margin of error — Thursday’s debate may have been the last real opportunity for someone to separate themselves from the pack.
Whether anyone did is a matter of perspective. What’s not in dispute is that whoever wins in November will inherit a state with real problems and a public that’s growing impatient for answers.
California, by most measures, is still the fifth-largest economy in the world. It shouldn’t be this hard to make it work for the people who actually live here