The most unexpected California governor’s race in recent history took another shocking turn Monday, with former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra jumping on the bandwagon after former Rep. Eric Swalwell dropped out amid sexual harassment and misconduct allegations and former state Comptroller Betty Yee ended her bid.
The race to replace ousted Gov. Gavin Newsom is the first in a quarter century with no clear contender and a vast field of candidates vying for the attention of Californians, who are beginning to pay attention to the campaign just two weeks before ballots arrive in their mailboxes.
“I certainly couldn’t have imagined the twists and turns this race has taken,” Yee said in announcing her exit. “But through it all, my values and my vision for California have never wavered.”
A poll released Monday by the state Democratic Party — the first since Swalwell (D-Dublin) dropped out — showed Becerra’s support rising nine points to 13%, putting him tied with billionaire hedge fund founder turned environmental crusader Tom Steyer. Former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter got a slight boost, from 7% to 10%, while the remaining Democrats in the race were stuck in the low single digits.
The party commissioned the survey out of concern that Democrats might be out of the governor’s race because of California’s unique primary system, where the top two vote-getters in the June 2 primary advance to the November general election, regardless of political party.
“I believe there are a lot of Democrats in the field,” California Democratic Party Chairman Rusty Hicks told reporters on Monday. “My call for candidates to honestly assess the viability of their candidacies and campaigns still stands, especially if you are stuck in the single digits, watching financial resources dry up and/or failing to seek additional support.”
Hicks and other party leaders and allies had unsuccessfully urged low-polling candidates to reconsider their candidacies before the nomination deadline in an effort to clear the field and avoid scattering the Democratic vote. Although most did not name candidates whom they thought they should consider regarding their viability, it was widely believed that Yee was one of them.
Yee became emotional as she said Monday that she decided to withdraw from the race because she was not able to muster the resources needed to compete at state. She also said that the message of her qualifications and experience was not resonating among voters who were looking for a fiery foil to President Trump, not “Boring Betty”, as she called herself. Yee said she would assess the field before announcing whether she would endorse any of her fellow Democrats.
Becerra was another candidate who was believed to be the target of efforts by party leaders to narrow the field. But he persevered and apparently benefited from Swalwell’s downfall.
“I’m not the richest candidate, I’m not the smartest candidate, but I’m the guy who got you,” Becerra said while rallying supporters in Los Angeles on Saturday.
The audience was filled with members of labor groups that had long supported the politician, and Becerra told them he would serve as a “union guy” in the governor’s office.
Pro- and anti-Becerra forces clashed outside the town hall when two men, who declined to identify who they were working for, distributed leaflets highlighting critical media investigations of the US Department of Health and Human Services during the migrant crisis when Becerra led the agency.
Pro-Becerra attendees held up flyers and told people to leave, prompting a security guard to intervene.
The question is whether Becerra, who has also served as state attorney general, member of Congress and state Assemblyman, can raise the money needed to compete in a state with some of the most expensive media markets in the country. And he was tied in the state party polls with a billionaire who invested an additional $12.1 million of his own money in his campaign last week.
According to the California Secretary of State’s office, Steyer’s total investment in his bid reached $133 million. He also received the endorsement of Our Revolution, a progressive political organization founded by US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
“We have never supported a billionaire – but Tom Steyer is using his position to upset the system,” group posted on x On Monday. “As Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of Our Revolution, told @theintercept, ‘He has been a participant in the movement. Most billionaires have used their wealth and privilege to maintain the status quo. Tom is doing the opposite.'”
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, who is also running for governor, accused Steyer of hypocrisy for the hedge fund he founded profiting from investments in private prisons being used to hold ICE detainees, and Steyer called for the dismantling of ICE.
“Steyer got rich investment from ICE infrastructure he now wants to dismantle,” Mahan posted on Instagram.
Steyer, who sold his stake in the hedge fund in 2012, has said he ordered the company to separate from the private prison company and has repeatedly expressed regret about his former firm’s relationship with the detention company.
Mahan also appeared at a Hollywood production lot on Monday to announce a proposal for a special fund to lure sporting events, concerts and other productions to California as part of his plan to help the struggling film and television industry.
An independent effort in support of Mahan has also raised nearly $11 million since Swalwell left the race.
Mehta reported from Los Angeles and Nixon from Sacramento. Times staff writer Dakota Smith contributed to this report.
