{"id":47161,"date":"2026-03-12T13:08:26","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T20:08:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=47161"},"modified":"2026-03-12T13:35:20","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T20:35:20","slug":"california-democrats-unveil-new-effort-to-nudge-governor-candidates-out-of-the-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/03\/12\/california-democrats-unveil-new-effort-to-nudge-governor-candidates-out-of-the-race\/","title":{"rendered":"California Democrats unveil new effort to nudge governor candidates out of the race"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Joe Garofoli<\/a>, Political Columnist March 10, 2026 (SFChronicle.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gift Article<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

California Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks speaks earlier this year during a press conference at the state convention at Moscone Center in San Francisco.Lea Suzuki\/S.F. Chronicle<\/em><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

California Democratic Party leaders are so worried about the rising chance that Democrats will be shut out of the governor\u2019s race that they\u2019re spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on polling in an attempt to publicly shame the lower-ranking candidates to bow out of the race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most polls show two Republicans \u2014 Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and former Fox News commentator Steve Hilton \u2014 leading the race, with the top eight Democrats splitting the remaining support. The top two finishers, regardless of party, advance to the general election in November. The lack of a Democratic candidate in the state\u2019s top race could depress turnout for key House races in California, hurting the party\u2019s chances to retake control of the House and put a check on President Donald Trump\u2019s power. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The chances of two Republicans advancing is now 24%, according to an online tool<\/a> developed by political data expert Paul Mitchell that runs thousands of simulations of the race. Despite that number, California Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks said at a press conference Tuesday that \u201cI take issue with the term \u2018freak out,\u2019\u201d asserting that \u201cI sleep very well at night.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Hicks appears to be sleepless enough that he announced the party is spending \u201cmultiple six figures\u201d to conduct and post six surveys of the race. Hicks also bristled at my suggestion that this was a genteel, transparent form of public shaming \u2014 information that donors and voters could use to pressure lower-performing candidates out of the race, thus increasing the chance that at least one Democrat advances to November. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf people are afraid of information, you have to ask why,\u201d Hicks said. \u201cThis is simply conducting credible, real time publicly available information. And if you feel shamed by information and data that\u2019s available, then I think everyone has to inquire exactly why. So I will leave that to others to determine how it makes them feel. Certainly, that\u2019s not my intention.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is the latest step Hicks has taken to try to winnow the field. On March 3, days before the deadline for candidates to file to be on the June 2 ballot, Hicks wrote an open letter<\/a> to the Democrats in the race, telling them \u201cit is imperative that every candidate honestly assess the viability of their candidacy and campaign.\u201d Only one candidate, former Assembly Member Ian Calderon, heeded Hicks\u2019 imperative. Other candidates pushed back aggressively. Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, the only Black candidate in the race, accused party leaders of trying to push out candidates of color, who are the lowest performers in most public polls<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBernie Sanders was right. Our political system is rigged,\u201d Thurmond said<\/a> in a video posted on social media. \u201cThe California Democratic Party is essentially telling every candidate of color in the race for governor to drop out. Instead, they want a billionaire<\/a>, a man who doesn\u2019t even bother showing up<\/a> for work in Congress, and a person who tears into<\/a> her staff and reporters on the regular \u2014  all white candidates \u2014  to stay in the race,\u201d referring to opponents Tom Steyer, Rep. Eric Swalwell and former Rep. Katie Porter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hicks said the letter \u201cspeaks for itself, and a response, even from a superintendent that I respect, doesn\u2019t change its message. It also doesn\u2019t change the facts and the reality of the race.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thurmond received 2% of the vote in a Public Policy Institute of California survey<\/a> last month, while former Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former Controller Betty Yee all received 5%. None of the candidates received more than 15%. Ten percent of the respondents didn\u2019t support any candidate, and 48% of the respondents said they weren\u2019t following the race closely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thurmond and other lower-polling candidates responded to the polling effort with the same defiance they displayed toward Hicks\u2019 letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis seems like another misguided attempt from the party to put their thumb on the scales in this race in favor of D.C. Democrats or billionaires,\u201d Thurmond said of the polling effort. \u201cThere will be plenty of public polling. For the hundreds of thousands of dollars the party is spending on this, they could instead be working to flip a congressional seat red to blue to help us win back the House and impeach Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Becerra said, \u201cNow the race is on, and I\u2019m not surprised that the party is engaging. \u2026 I\u2019ve won a statewide race election in California (as attorney general) and will do it again by meaningfully engaging voters across our great state.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Villaraigosa\u2019s campaign manager, Ajay Mohan, said the state party \u201cwould be better off spending money winning back the House after passing Prop 50 instead of running another needless poll in the governor\u2019s race.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yee agreed, saying that even though there is no shortage of polling, the state party \u2014 which she was formerly vice chair of \u2014 commissioned another costly poll \u201cclearly aimed at narrowing the field. This unprecedented tactic raises legitimate concerns about the construction of the poll and its potential interpretations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The candidates also ignored a letter<\/a> signed by two dozen Democratic Party county chairs last week, echoing Hicks\u2019 missive: \u201cIf you do not have a clear, viable path to advancing to the general election as one of the top two finishers, withdraw your candidacy in order to consolidate our strength and secure a Democrat in the general election.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Tuesday, the author of that letter, San Diego County Chair Will Rodriguez-Kennedy, said he supported Hicks\u2019 plan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think that Chair Hicks is doing a good thing here. The more information we have is better for all of us,\u201d Rodriguez-Kennedy said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rodriguez-Kennedy said that as an Afro-Latino, he is \u201csensitive\u201d to Thurmond\u2019s charge that the party is trying to purge its candidates of color. But given that his letter asked all candidates to evaluate their viability, he said, \u201cthat kind of falls flat.\u201d Hicks said the state party\u2019s polling will be done by California\u2019s largest Black- and Latina-led polling firm and will over-sample Black, Latino and AAPI voters to ensure their voices are heard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only reason that candidates are likely to drop out at this point is the same reason they\u2019d ever drop out: They run out of money, said Nancy Tung, chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party. She supported Hicks\u2019 plan Tuesday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think more information is always going to help people make better decisions,\u201d Tung said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The freak-out level among top donors is \u201cabout a middle level,\u201d said Joe Cotchett, a prominent Burlingame attorney and Democratic fundraiser. Mark Buell, another Democratic fundraiser, said the biggest question he hears from fellow top donors is, \u201cWho are you supporting? And I turn around and ask, \u2018Who are you supporting?\u2019 There is no buzz of any consequence with any of the candidates.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Rodriguez-Kennedy predicted that donors will be looking at the public polls closely.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt some point, donors are going to look at this and (say to candidates), \u2018This doesn\u2019t look like it\u2019s working out,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hicks nudged California\u2019s most prominent and powerful Democrats \u2014 Gov. Gavin Newsom and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi \u2014 to help persuade some Dems to leave  the race. Newsom has waffled on whether he would get involved, telling CBS t<\/a>hat while he agreed with Hicks\u2019 letter, he wasn\u2019t ready to \u201cput his thumb on the scale\u201d yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think we all share a responsibility, every party leader, every endorser, everybody who\u2019s standing on the sidelines, who cares about California\u2019s leadership, both at home and abroad, has a responsibility to be a part of what ultimately happens here,\u201d Hicks said. \u201cSo certainly, having the leader of California, the current governor of the state being a part of that. I think he sees himself in that space. I certainly believe he is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

March 10, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Joe Garofoli<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senior Political Writer<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joe Garofoli is the San Francisco Chronicle\u2019s senior political writer, covering national and state politics. He has worked at The Chronicle since 2000 and in Bay Area journalism since 1992, when he left the Milwaukee Journal. He is the host of \u201cIt\u2019s All Political,\u201d The Chronicle\u2019s political podcast. Catch it here: bit.ly\/2LSAUjA<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has won numerous awards and covered everything from fashion to the Jeffrey Dahmer serial killings to two Olympic Games to his own vasectomy \u2014 which he discussed on NPR\u2019s \u201cTalk of the Nation\u201d after being told he couldn\u2019t say the word \u201cballs\u201d on the air. He regularly appears on Bay Area radio and TV talking politics and is available to entertain at bar mitzvahs and First Communions. He is a graduate of Northwestern University and a proud native of Pittsburgh. Go Steelers!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Joe Garofoli, Political Columnist March 10, 2026 (SFChronicle.com) Gift Article California Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks speaks earlier this year during a press conference at the state convention at Moscone Center in San Francisco.Lea Suzuki\/S.F. Chronicle California Democratic Party leaders are so worried about the rising chance that Democrats will… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47161"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47161"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47161\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47164,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47161\/revisions\/47164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}