Fearing the prospect of a Republican winning California’s gubernatorial race, state Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks on Tuesday urged his party’s candidates who lack a viable path to victory to drop out.
“It is imperative that every candidate honestly assess the viability of their candidacy and campaign,” Hicks wrote in an open letter to the politicians vying to replace termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom. “I recognize my suggestions are hard for many to contemplate and may be even viewed as overly harsh by some.”
Hicks did not name the Democrats he wants out of the race, but such a public admonishment by a party leader is rare in California politics.
Even though the odds are relatively low, California cannot risk having a Republican elected as the next governor at a time when President Trump is in the White House, Hicks said.
“[S]o much is at stake in our Nation and so many are counting on the leadership of California Democrats to stand up and speak out at this historic moment,” Hicks wrote. “California’s leadership on the world stage is significantly harder if a Democrat is not elected as our next Governor.”
Hicks urged Democrats languishing at the bottom of the field of candidates to drop out before the Friday deadline to officially file to run for governor — to ensure their names do not appear on the June primary ballot.
Within hours of the letter’s release former state Controller Betty Yee and state Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond — two of the candidates lowest in recent opinion polls — officially filed papers to run for governor.
Thurmond, who is Black and Latino, posted a video accusing the party of urging every person of color to drop out of the race.
“Bernie Sanders was right. Our political system is rigged, corrupted by the political elites, the wealthy and well connected,” he said in the video, which was posted on the social media platform X. “The California Democratic Party is essentially telling every person of color in the race for Governor to drop out.”
He said the party favored three flawed white candidates — billionaire Tom Steyer, Rep. Eric Swalwell and former Rep. Katie Porter.
“To me, this act doesn’t reflect the Democratic Party of 2026,” Thurmond said. “Aren’t we supposed to be the party who embraces democracy?”
Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who is expected to file papers to run later Tuesday, used Hicks’ letter to call on former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, a fellow Latino, to drop out of the race.
Villaraigosa’s campaign claimed that “the best way to avoid Republicans taking the top two spots in the runoff” is for Becerra to drop out. Becerra, who plans to file paperwork officially confirming his run on Wednesday, responded by mocking Villaraigosa on X for never winning a “statewide election before despite multiple attempts.”
Under California’s top-two primary system, the two candidates who receive the most votes in the June primary advance to the November general election, regardless of party.
With nine top Democrats running, the fear is that the candidates will splinter their party’s vote and allow the top two Republicans in the race to finish in first and second place. This is despite Democratic registered voters outnumbering Republicans in the state by almost 2 to 1, and no GOP candidate winning a statewide election since 2006.
Having two Republicans competing in the November election would be devastating to Democratic voter turnout and could hurt party candidates in pivotal down-ballot races.
“The result would present a real risk to winning the congressional seats required and imperil Democrats’ chances to retake the House, cut Donald Trump’s term in half, and spare our Nation from the pain many have endured since January 2025,” Hicks said in his letter. “We simply can’t let that happen.”
A recent poll by the Public Policy Institute of California found that five candidates lead the contest — former Rep. Katie Porter, Rep. Eric Swalwell and hedge fund founder Tom Steyer among Democrats and conservative commentator Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, both Republicans. Hilton and Bianco have led all candidates in other polls over the last few months. No other candidate received the support of more than 5% of likely voters.
The field of Republican candidates narrowed even more this week when Silicon Valley entrepreneur Jon Slavet announced he was dropping out of the governor’s race. Though Slavet was not well known around the state, his departure further consolidates GOP support behind Hilton and Bianco, probably adding to concerns among Democrats.
After Hicks issued his directive, three influential leaders in California Democratic politics said they shared his concerns.
Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas echoed Hicks’ words.
“It’s important that candidates don’t file if they aren’t ready or able to go the distance,” he said in a statement. “With respect, they know who they are.”
Lorena Gonzalez, the head of the California Federation of Labor Unions, said she worries that Democratic candidates who are drawing low single-digit support in the polls and remain in the race could tilt the election.
“You’re in a situation where a candidate who pulls 2 or 3% could make all the difference whether there’s two Republicans and anti-union folks in the runoff or if there’s not,” she said.
The federation began its endorsement process last week, and there were difficult conversations with gubernatorial candidates not only about their political beliefs but also about their viability. The umbrella group of unions is expected to make an announcement about any potential endorsement on March 16.
Jodi Hicks, chief executive and president of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, said it was imperative to block the “real possibility” of two Republicans advancing to the general election because of the deep cuts that the Trump administration has made to healthcare, including access to abortion.
“Given the severity of this moment, we urge candidates to consider how continuing their candidacy may put California’s values and reproductive freedom at risk,” she said. “The stakes are too high for all of us, but especially for immigrant communities, transgender individuals, the over 15 million patients enrolled in Medi-Cal, and the over 25,000 patients a week who access essential healthcare at Planned Parenthood health centers.”
Discussions about the need for some Democrats to exit the race took place at last weekend’s California Democratic Party convention.
But even before the letter came out, the politically thorny issue that nearly all of the Democrats lagging in the polls are people of color was raised by Becerra at a candidate forum Monday evening.
“There are people who are calling for candidates to get out of the race,” he said at the gathering hosted by Equality California and the Los Angeles LGBT Center at the Renberg Theatre in Hollywood. “Isn’t it interesting that the candidates they are asking to get out of the race are the candidates of color?”
Hicks, asked about the effect on minority candidates who have spent years or decades in public service, did not directly answer the question but lauded the field’s accomplishments.
“We have a number of strong candidates. They have incredible stories, and they are reflective of the diversity of our party. That being said, there are some political realities of where we are at this particular moment,” he said in an interview. “I’m not calling on any specific candidates to move in one direction or the other. I’m just calling on them to assess their campaign and determine if they have a viable [path], and if they don’t, to not file.”
Three of California’s most prominent politicians — former Vice President Kamala Harris, Sen. Alex Padilla and state Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta — considered running for governor but ultimately decided to forgo the race. They are also minorities and would have been viewed as front-runners.
During Monday’s forum, Porter said she is concerned about the prospect of two Republicans making the top two.
“I hear people say to me, it could never happen, but everybody said that about Trump too,” she said. “And I look at how much harm we’re suffering, and I think about all the political risks that people are facing every day, the risk of an immigrant to leave their home and walk on our streets, the risk of a kid who’s trans to try to play sports even in this state. And I just don’t think we can take any more political risks.”
Times staff writer Phil Willon contributed to this report.
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