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California governor’s race is filled with plot twists

Politico EU Sunday 31 May 2026, 11:35 UTC By Natália Delgado 1 min read
Key Points

SACRAMENTO, California — The field vying to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom may lack star power, but the race itself has delivered no shortage of plot twists. After waiting in vain for a heavyweight candidate like former Vice President Kamala Harris or Sen. Alex Padilla, Democratic leaders began to panic over a nightmare scenario: so many Democrats splitting the vote that both leading Republicans, former Fox News host Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, could...

SACRAMENTO, California — The field vying to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom may lack star power, but the race itself has delivered no shortage of plot twists.

After waiting in vain for a heavyweight candidate like former Vice President Kamala Harris or Sen. Alex Padilla, Democratic leaders began to panic over a nightmare scenario: so many Democrats splitting the vote that both leading Republicans, former Fox News host Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, could advance from the top-two primary on June 2 — raising the once-unthinkable prospect of a GOP governor in deep-blue California.

California (LOCATION) SACRAMENTO (LOCATION) Gavin Newsom (PERSON) Kamala (PERSON) Alex Padilla (PERSON) Democratic (ORG) Democrats (ORG) Republicans (ORG) Fox News (ORG) Steve Hilton (PERSON) Riverside County (LOCATION) Chad Bianco (PERSON) GOP (ORG)
Originally published by Politico EU Read original →

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