Anxiety is growing among California Democrats as gubernatorial candidates resist calls to drop out

SACRAMENTO – Despite a request from the head of the California Democratic Party for candidates to drop out of the gubernatorial race, all but one of the party’s top hopefuls rejected the request.

Party leaders fear the crowded field will split Democratic voters in the June primary and second primary and lead to two Republicans advancing to the November election, ensuring a Republican governor for the first time since 2006.

His advice was not heeded, state party Chairman Rusty Hicks said on Thursday that the fate of the Democratic Alliance’s victory now rests heavily on the candidates for the position of governor who resigned.

“The candidates for Governor now have an opportunity to demonstrate an effective way to win,” Hicks said in a statement Thursday.

Eight top Democratic candidates filed formal papers to appear on the June ballot after Hicks issued a letter Tuesday urging those “who can’t show meaningful progress toward winning” to drop out. Friday is the deadline to apply to appear in the primary election.

“It sounded like a man with his head in the sand,” former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said of Hicks’ open letter. “[Most] Ours filed within 24 hours of receiving that letter. It created some newspapers but not much else. It had no effect [most] to the candidates and it did not affect my candidacy.”

Democratic strategist Elizabeth Ashford said it is appropriate for Hicks and other Democratic leaders to urge the public not to oppose and keep such discussions closed.

But the response showed the limited power of today’s club managers.

“It’s definitely not Tammany Hall,” Ashford said, referring to the Democratic Alliance political machine that dominated New York City politics for nearly a century. “The team and Rusty are influencing and helping and that’s their role. I don’t think anyone can be comfortable with the community strengthening certain people.”

Ashford, who worked for former Govs. Jerry Brown and Arnold Schwarzenegger, as well as former Vice President Kamala Harris while serving as the state’s attorney general, added that the small power of the state’s GOP is likely to influence the Democrats’ decision to stay in the race. Democratic voters outnumber Republicans by nearly a 2-to-1 margin in the state, and Democrats control every state elected office and hold major positions in both chambers of the California Legislature.

“If there was a strong opposition that existed, if the Republican Party was running in California, I think that would force a great deal of unity among the Democrats,” he said.

One in nine Democrats did not listen to the party chairman’s message. Ian Calderon, a former congressman from the Los Angeles area who always voted near the bottom of the field, withdrew from the race and endorsed Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin) on Thursday.

Candidates won’t be able to withdraw their names from the ballot once they’ve officially filed to run, leading to fears that even if some candidates drop out of the race, a full swing vote could split California’s vote.

“I’m disappointed that most of them will be voted out,” said Lorena Gonzalez, head of the California Federation of Labor Unions, which will announce whether it approves the gubernatorial race on March 16. But “I still think it can get people out of the race or win.

Jodi Hicks, CEO and president of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, said she remains “concerned” about the prospect of two Republicans winning the top two seats in June, closing Democrats out of any chance of winning the governor’s office in November.

“I had no idea what I wanted to do,” he said. “I’m very worried, and the numbers are really high now and they seem to be getting worse every day.”

Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host, said he is “confident I will be in the top two” with the Democratic candidate. “I find it very hard to believe that the Democratic Party is going to just give up on California and allow two Republicans to be in the middle of the night.”

Hilton made these comments Thursday after a summit in Sacramento hosted by the California Assn. of Realtors specializes in real estate and home ownership. Villaraigosa, former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and former Rep. Katie Porter was also there. Swalwell, who is based in Washington, joined the team at approx.

During the panel, the candidates were in broad agreement about the need to lower barriers and costs to build more housing in California, where the median single-family home costs more than $820,000. Many also endorsed proposals to stop private investment firms from buying homes and a $25 billion bond proposed by former Sen. Bob Hertzberg to help first-time homebuyers make lower down payments.

“This is not really a debate because we agree on a lot,” Hilton said at one point during the event.

That political consensus on one of California’s most pressing issues may explain why voters are having such a difficult time deciding who to support.

A recent poll by the Public Policy Institute of California found that the top five candidates in this crowded field were within 4 percent of each other: Porter, Swalwell, Hilton, Democratic hedge fund founder Tom Steyer and Republican Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco. Early polls had Hilton and Bianco in the lead, though many voters were undecided.

Some candidates opposed Hicks’ push to eliminate the field, noting that the majority of low-balloted candidates asked to be eliminated.

“Our political system has been strengthened, corrupted by politicians, the rich and the well-connected,” said Supt. of Public Instruction, Tony Thurmond, who is Black and Latino, said in a video posted on social media in response to the open letter. “The California Democratic Party is basically telling every person of color in the race for Governor to get out.”

Villaraigosa argued that not enough voters had decided that it was too early for the elite to repeal it.

“A lot of people don’t even know who’s in the race,” Villaraigosa said. “It’s too early to think about getting out of the race. I’m definitely not thinking about it and I’m not under any pressure.”

Apart from the opinion polls, other indications of who might emerge from the pack of candidates are slowly emerging.

Although it was not enough to win the party’s endorsement, Swalwell received the support of 24% of delegates at the Democratic Alliance state convention last month, the most of any party.

Although spending money is no guarantee of success, Steyer has contributed $47.4 million of his personal wealth to his campaign. Mahan, who is new to the race and is backed by Silicon Valley leaders, has quickly raised millions of dollars, as two independent spending committees have joined his bid.

Ashford said part of the candidates’ decisions to stay in the race may have been driven by their long political careers, as well as the Democrats’ victory in November.

“In most cases, these are people who have won national office,” he said. “It’s hard to feel like there might not be a sequel to that.”

Nixon reported from Sacramento and Mehta from Los Angeles.