In a new poll by the party itself, two Republicans lead the race

Some of the contenders for the Democratic Party’s 2026 gubernatorial nomination, aka the clown car.

New internal polling from the California Democratic Party reveals the shocking reality that a pair of Republicans, including a MAGA adherent, currently in the number one and two spots in the rapidly approaching California gubernatorial primary elections.

This comes as a shock to precisely no one who’s been paying attention to California politics over the last 15 years, aka the Brown-Newsom Era.

To put it in perspective, Republicans have not led the California governor’s race since — wait for it — 1966, when Ronald Reagan was elected.

That’s 60 years.

That’s how horrific the condition millions of Californians feel the state is in today. If I said to you a decade ago that not just two Republicans, but two MAGA Republicans would be running first and second in the race for California governor, you’d have had me put on a 51-50 hold.

But here we are.

Unfortunately for the Democrats, they’re doing what they’ve been doing for 15 years: Blaming everyone and everything but themselves. They aren’t reading the poll and thinking, Good God, what have we done to get ourselves to this point?

No, it’s not them. It’s never them.

State Democratic Party Chairman Rusty Hicks said in a statement, “It’s yet another reminder of the undeniable fact that all candidates must honestly assess their viable path to win, and I continue to call for them to do so.”

As a purely mathematical matter, Hicks has a point. Though they’re in the one and two slots respectively, conservative political operative Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco combined only have around 35% support. That tracks with Republican performance in governor’s races over the last 15 years.

But that should come as cold comfort to the Democrats. Californians have been telegraphing their dissatisfaction with the party’s governance at increasing volumes over the last couple of years. Donald Trump actually performed better in California in 2024 than he did in 2016 — including in Los Angeles and San Francisco. In the race for Los Angeles mayor, Republican political neophyte and former reality TV star Spencer Pratt is nipping at Mayor Karen Bass’s heels.

Yes, California voters gave the Democrats and Gavin Newsom a win by passing Prop. 50 , a hilariously un-democratic proposition that likely will redistrict some of the few remaining Republican state legislators out of office in 2028.

But they also passed Prop. 36 overwhelmingly in 2022. That ballot measure undid much of Prop. 47, which was a signature Democratic criminal “reform” initiative that many people blame for unleashing near-anarchy on California’s streets.

Thanks to the California Democratic Party’s utter lack of self-awareness, one of these men may be the next governor.

In the coming weeks the also-rans will drop out. Former Mayor Antonio Villagragosa, who hasn’t held elected office since being termed out in 2014, likely will lead the pack, followed by State Superintendent of Schools Tony Thurmond, former Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Bacerra, and former State Controller Betty Yee.

Then again, between them they’re only polling at 8%. Another 24% are undecided, and will likely break for a Democrat.

Or will they?

After Hilton and Bianco, U.S. Representative Eric “Honeypot”Swalwell, billionaire Tom “oil money” Steyer, and former U.S. Representative Katie “Basic Bitch” Porter, all poll at 10%.

In other words, the two Republicans are slightly out-polling the three Democrats.

All three come with serious baggage. Swalwell infamously had an affair with a woman who turned out to be a Chinese spy. Steyer is trying to reinvent himself as a progressive climate crusader after making billions in fossil fuels. Porter was actually leading the race until videos surfaced of her cursing out a staffer and berating a local Sacramento TV interviewer.

The Democrats as a party are doing themselves no favors. Forty-eight hours ago USC was forced to suddenly cancel a planned gubernatorial debate after the four lowest-polling candidates were excluded. Since they all happen to be non-white, they, with mind-numbing, soul-crushing predictability, cried racism.

Not crappy campaigns. Not desultory candidates. Not political hacks desperately seeking their next paycheck.

Racism. On a college campus, of all places.

Because of course.

Yes, the Democrats will die on this hill.

The fact that there are so many no-names and non-contenders in the race in the first place reflects the discombobulated nature of the current California Democratic Party. It also reflects how few damns current Governor Gavin Newsom really gives about the state. He should have been grooming a successor for years now. Instead, he’s started a podcast, wrote a navel-gazing memoir, and jetsetted around the country pretending he’s not running for president while fooling precisely no one.

While millions of Californians are barely clinging to their homes, Newsom is busy winging over to the United Nations solely to grab 45 seconds of air time smack talking Donald Trump.

Rather than take a hard look in the mirror, rather than take a hard look at the realities on the ground for tens of millions of people in the state they’ve controlled for nearly two decades, the Democrats are blaming math. At the exact moment they should be asking hard questions of themselves and changing course, they’re double and tripling down on their worst instincts.

We may end up with a Republican governor yet.