California’s 2026 gubernatorial race just got more crowded

As we inch closer and closer to next year’s Midterm Election, more candidates are throwing their hat in the ring to be considered for California’s top seat.

U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell and billionaire liberal donor Tom Steyer are the latest to join an already crowded race to succeed Governor Gavin Newsom. All in all, about 10 high-profile candidates are vying for the position so far.

Swalwell, 45 and a seven-term Congressman for the 14th district, announced his campaign during a Jimmy Kimmel interview last week. While he hasn’t yet revealed specific policy plans, Swalwell pointed to his experience as a planning commissioner and Dublin city councilmember as to how he can be the “fighter and protector” the state needs.

“I’m ready to bring this fight home,” said Swalwell before announcing his campaign in front of the Los Angeles studio audience. The congressman’s main message so far seems to be affordability.

“We can say that we’re the fourth largest economy in the world - and we are, and I love to brag about that - but what does that mean if you can’t afford to live here?” Swalwell said during his announcement.

Swalwell’s involvement in the second impeachment of President Trump and his tendency to “troll” the administration on social media have made him a target during Trump’s online tirades. His outspokenness about the president also recently landed Swalwell in a mortgage fraud investigation, alongside several prominent Democrats. 

Swalwell hit back on Tuesday against the investigation by filing a lawsuit against a Trump administration official who Swalwell says “abused his position” throughout the investigation.

Steyer, a prominent billionaire investor and activist, announced his campaign just one day before Swalwell. Steyer, 68, ran for president in 2020 but dropped out after a disappointing South Carolina primary. 

The businessman announced his campaign in a short video, promising to keep the state a business hub while also bringing down prices for Californians by making corporations “pay their fair share.”

“I walked away from it because I wanted to give back to California,” Steyer said of his hedge fund, Farallon Capital, which made him billions of dollars. In his video, Steyer also touched on building more housing and tackling utility monopolies that drive up costs. 

The Democrat megadonor also stood out in the lead-up to the Nov. 4 special election, where Californians voted to approve Proposition 50 and redraw the state's Congressional maps. Steyer donated nearly $13 million to reach Californians through various advertising campaigns.

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Xavier Becerra, former California attorney general, congressman and Health and Human Services secretary under President Joe Biden, has been running an affordability and health care campaign for governor. In recent weeks, he has been engulfed by a fraud scandal that involves his closest aides. Becerra is not accused of any wrongdoing.

A recent indictment of two of his top advisors, Dana Williamson and Sean McCluskie, revealed that over $225,000 was stolen from a dormant Becerra campaign account. Williamson was Newsom’s former chief of staff and a political advisor for Becerra since 2017. McCluskie was Becerra’s chief of staff and had worked with the secretary for nearly 20 years.

“The news of formal accusations of impropriety by a long-serving trusted advisor is a gut punch,” Becerra said in a statement to CALÓ News. “I have voluntarily cooperated with the U.S. Department of Justice in their investigation, and will continue to do so. As California’s former Attorney General, I fully comprehend the importance of allowing this investigation and legal process to run its course through our justice system.”

The latest UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll showed Becerra toward the top of the pack, with 8% of registered voters saying they’d vote for him. At the time the poll was conducted in late October, 26% of voters had a favorable opinion of Becerra, higher than what they thought of the other candidates. 

Alongside former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Becerra is one of two Latino candidates running for governor. Despite 40% of its population being Latino, California has not had a Latino governor since Romualdo Pacheco held the office in 1875.