The most unpredictable California governor\u2019s race in recent history took another set of dizzying turns on Monday, with former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra surging after former Rep. Eric Swalwell dropped out in the face of sexual assault and misconduct allegations, and former state Controller Betty Yee ending her bid.<\/p>\n
The race to replace termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom is the first in a quarter of a century with no clear front-runner and a sprawling field of candidates who have been jockeying for the attention of Californians, who are just beginning to pay attention to the campaign two weeks before ballots arrive in their mailboxes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI certainly could not have imagined the twists and the disturbing turns that this race has taken,\u201d Yee said as she announced she was dropping out. \u201cBut through it all, my values and my vision for California has never wavered.\u201d<\/p>\n
A poll released Monday by the state Democratic Party \u2014 its first since Swalwell (D-Dublin) dropped out \u2014 showed Becerra\u2019s support jumped nine points to 13%, placing him in a tie with Tom Steyer, the billionaire hedge fund founder turned environmental warrior. Former Rep. Katie Porter of Orange County saw a slight bump to 10% from 7%, while the remaining Democrats in the contest were mired in the low single digits.<\/p>\n
The party began the surveys out of concern that Democrats could be shut out of the governor\u2019s race because of California\u2019s unique primary system, where the top two vote-getters in the June 2 primary move on to the November general election regardless of political party. <\/p>\n
\u201cI continue to believe there are too many Democrats in the field,\u201d California Democratic Party Chairman Rusty Hicks told reporters Monday. \u201cMy call for candidates to honestly assess the viability of their candidacy and campaigns still stands, especially if you are stalled in the single digits, seeing financial resources dry up and\/or are failing to pick up additional support.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hicks and other party leaders and allies had unsuccessfully urged low-polling candidates to reconsider their candidacies before the filing deadline in an attempt to cull the field and avoid splintering the Democratic vote. Though most did not name candidates who they thought should think about their viability, Yee was widely believed to be among them.<\/p>\n
Yee became emotional as she said on Monday that she decided to withdraw from the race because she wasn\u2019t able to raise the resources necessary to compete in the state. She also said her message of competency and experience wasn\u2019t resonating among voters who were seeking a fiery foil to President Trump, not \u201cBoring Betty,\u201d as she dubbed herself. Yee said she would assess the field before making an announcement on whether she would endorse one of her fellow Democrats.<\/p>\n
Becerra was another candidate believed to be a target of party leaders\u2019 efforts to shrink the field. But he held on and apparently benefited from Swalwell\u2019s downfall.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not the richest candidate, I\u2019m not the slickest candidate, but I am the guy that\u2019s got you,\u201d Becerra said, rallying supporters in Los Angeles on Saturday. <\/p>\n
The audience was filled with members of labor groups backing the longtime politician, and Becerra told them he\u2019d serve as a \u201cunion man\u201d in the governor\u2019s office.<\/p>\n
Pro- and anti-Becerra forces tussled outside the town hall after two people, who declined to identify whom they were working for, passed out fliers highlighting critical media investigations of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services during the migrant crisis when the agency was led by Becerra.<\/p>\n
Pro-Becerra attendees grabbed the fliers and told the men to go away, prompting a security guard to intervene.<\/p>\n
The question is whether Becerra, who also served as state attorney general, a member of Congress and a state Assembly member, can raise the funds necessary to compete in a state with some of the nation\u2019s most expensive media markets. And he was tied in the state party poll with a billionaire who dumped an additional $12.1 million of his own money into his campaign last week.<\/p>\n
Steyer\u2019s total investment in his bid reached $133 million, according to the California secretary of state\u2019s office. He also received the endorsement of Our Revolution, a progressive political organization founded by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).<\/p>\n