With just over a month until California\u2019s primary election, The Sacramento Bee hosted a live webinar on Monday to answer questions about the tumultuous race for governor and our coverage of the contest.<\/p>\n
The Zoom event featured political reporters Ben Paviour<\/a> and Lia Russell<\/a> in a discussion, moderated by Assistant Managing Editor for Politics & Investigations Grace Wyler, about the remaining candidates shaping the race.<\/p>\n Swalwell\u2019s out. How has the race for California governor shaken up since then?<\/p>\n \u201cNobody has really emerged as a clear frontrunner,\u201d Russell said, noting how unusual the competitive race has been. After leading Democratic candidate Eric Swalwell bowed out of the governor\u2019s race \u2013 and resigned<\/a> from Congress \u2013 following sexual assault allegations, the candidates for governor now include six Democrats and two Republicans.<\/p>\n For a time, Swalwell seemed likely to break through the crowded field of contenders, having consolidated support from powerful Democrats like Sen. Adam Schiff, organized labor groups and a strong base of fundraisers.<\/p>\n \u201cNow that has completely fractured since he has dropped out and resigned from office,\u201d Russell said. \u201cCandidates who are left (in the race) are scrambling to pick up endorsements from groups that have since unendorsed Swalwell.\u201d<\/p>\n While Swalwell never received an endorsement from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, she brought him on as a manager during President Donald Trump\u2019s impeachment trial, and he worked closely with her peers and Gov. Gavin Newsom behind the scenes.<\/p>\n California uses a top-two primary system, or a jungle primary, which means the top two vote-getters advance to the general election, regardless of their party. What does this mean for Democrats?<\/p>\n What Democrats need is for Republicans to pick a candidate, Paviour said. In a state as blue as California, the question on who remains unanswered.<\/p>\n \u201cPolling<\/a> has consistently shown two Republicans, Steve Hilton, a British former Fox News host, and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, at the top of the polls, albeit by 1 to 3%,\u201d Paviour said.<\/p>\n Despite Trump\u2019s endorsement<\/a> of Hilton, \u201cwe haven\u2019t seen yet in polling that that\u2019s made a huge difference among who Republicans for,\u201d Paviour added. Meanwhile, Bianco received more votes at the Republican Party convention earlier this month.<\/p>\n The easiest way for Republicans to win in California\u2019s governor\u2019s race at this point would be for two GOP candidates to advance to the general election \u2013 though that possibility remains unlikely, Paviour said.<\/p>\n What should we expect in the next few weeks until the June 2 primary election?<\/p>\n While the usual 24-hour political news cycle is unpredictable, \u201cno one predicted the rise of the \u2018Becerramentum<\/a>,\u201d Russell said, noting a surge in support for former Attorney General Xavier Becerra since Swalwell\u2019s exit. The most popular theory for his current success includes Swalwell\u2019s digital advertising team switching to work under Becerra. \u201cWe\u2019re seeing a proliferation of Becerra ads and memes online … I think that\u2019s pushing him to the top of a lot of people\u2019s minds,\u201d Russell said.<\/p>\n However, it is not certain how sustainable Becerra\u2019s strategy is given his latest campaign financial disclosures. \u201cHe raised a million dollars, but spent 4 million and only has about $500,000 cash on hand, it\u2019s not clear to me that this is going to last for long,\u201d Russell said.<\/p>\n Becerra is now considered a top Democratic contender alongside Tom Steyer and Katie Porter based on recent polling<\/a>.<\/p>\n