2026 California Primary Voter Guide

GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA

THE RACE

With Governor Gavin Newsom term-limited, California faces its most wide-open gubernatorial primary since 1998. There are 61 candidates on the ballot.

• Steve Hilton (R) — Former Fox News host, policy entrepreneur, Trump-endorsed
• Chad Bianco (R) — Riverside County Sheriff
• Xavier Becerra (D) — Former U.S. HHS Secretary, former CA Attorney General
• Tom Steyer (D) — Billionaire climate activist
• Katie Porter (D) — Former U.S. Congresswoman

The latest polling shows Becerra leading at 23%, Hilton at 20%, Steyer at 15%, Bianco at 13%, and Porter at 12%.

The Math: California's top-two primary creates a paradox — the only way Republicans win the governorship is if both Hilton and Bianco advance to November by splitting the vote nearly evenly. This makes every Republican vote for either candidate consequential. Ironically, the fact that the GOP has a shot in this has started to make Sacramento ponder its jungle primary benefits.

VOTE STEVE HILTON (R)

HILTON'S PLATFORM — "CALIFORDABLE"

• $3 gas via expanded oil production and refinery capacity
• Electric bills cut in half through deregulation
• First $100K income tax-free, flat 7.5% above that — explicitly "pro-worker" framing
• End taxpayer-funded healthcare for undocumented immigrants
• Deregulate housing — cap CEQA lawsuits, cut builder fees
• Slash spending to pre-pandemic levels, audit $80B in estimated annual fraud and waste
• Proposed that California should be the future for crypto and digital finance.

MY THOUGHTS

Let's be honest — neither Republican is perfect for California.

• Bianco brings a genuine executive record and law-enforcement credibility. But his tone plays better at a rally than in a swing district. In a state where image shapes electability, coming across as rough-and-tumble alienates the very Chamber of Commerce Republicans and soft independents we need to win in November.
• Hilton has never held elected office here and only became a U.S. citizen in 2021. Fair criticisms. His fiscal proposals also lack detailed cost scoring — something Sacramento Democrats will weaponize immediately.

So why Hilton?

• He wants to lower gas prices, cut income taxes for working and middle-class Californians, and open land for housing — suburban, single-family homes. That's a message that sells beyond the base.
• His personal relationships with Trump's cabinet give California something it desperately needs — a governor who can actually pick up the phone in Washington.
• His presentation is polished, his framing is optimistic, and in California, tone is policy. A Republican who sounds like he wants to govern for California — not just punish Sacramento — has a far better shot at building the coalition we need.

ATTORNEY GENERAL

VOTE: MICHAEL GATES (R)

• Former trial attorney and Huntington Beach city attorney for a decade — he actually went toe-to-toe with Sacramento on criminal justice and housing mandates at the city level.
• Running on law-and-order, local control, cracking down on crime and homelessness enforcement, and aligned with the Hilton ticket.
• Incumbent Rob Bonta has spent his tenure filing lawsuit after lawsuit against the federal government rather than prosecuting California's actual crime wave. That's not an AG — that's a political activist.

Endorsements FOR: CA Republican Party, Steve Hilton Against: All the usual Sacramento suspects

SECRETARY OF STATE

VOTE: DON WAGNER (R)

• OC Supervisor, former Irvine Mayor, former State Assemblymember — real executive background running on election integrity.
• Pushing voter ID, cleaning voter rolls, faster certifications, and modernizing the antiquated business filing system that burdens small businesses, including eliminating the $800 LLC fee.
• Incumbent Shirley Weber presided over the permanent expansion of universal mail-in voting with zero meaningful accountability measures. If you believe elections should be easy to vote in and hard to cheat in, Wagner is your candidate.

Endorsements FOR: CA Republican Party, former Gov. Pete Wilson (honorary chair) Endorsements AGAINST: Sierra Club, teachers unions

CONTROLLER

VOTE: HERB MORGAN (R)

• Incumbent Malia Cohen won in 2022 by just 55-45% — the closest statewide race that year — making this one of the most winnable statewide offices for Republicans in November.
• The Controller is California's chief fiscal officer and auditor. After years of $35B+ deficits, fraudulent pandemic spending, and zero accountability on homelessness funds, we desperately need someone who treats the state's books like they actually matter.
• Morgan is a San Diego-based Republican — not a household name, but the right race to support to build toward November.

Endorsements FOR: CA Republican Party

TREASURER

VOTE: JENNIFER HAWKS (R)

• Silicon Valley executive, retired businesswoman — not a career politician, which she wears proudly. Running to provide a fiscal check on three decades of Democratic control of the state's checkbook.
• Platform: transparency, accountability, audits, and protecting public money from political agendas.
• The CA Republican Party endorsed Hawks over fellow Republican David Serpa.

INSURANCE COMMISSIONER

VOTE: STACY KORSGADEN (R)

• Korsgaden advocates free-market fixes — reducing regulatory burdens, encouraging new carriers via a proposed New Business Division, and streamlining rate approvals.
• This office has never mattered more. After the Palisades fire and the mass exodus of insurers from California, the question isn't just political — it's whether your neighbors can get homeowner's insurance at all.
• The Democratic field (Ben Allen, Jane Kim, Steven Bradford) all want to expand the government's role. Korsgaden wants to fix the market conditions that drove insurers out in the first place. One of these actually solves the problem.

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR

VOTE: GLORIA ROMERO (cross-endorsed)

• The Lt. Governor race has no traditional Republican in the top tier. However, Gloria Romero — a former Democratic State Senate Majority Leader who has broken sharply from the party on education and parental rights — is running aligned with the Hilton/Gates ticket.
• The Lt. Gov role is largely ceremonial, but the office matters when the Governor is out of state, and the signal of who holds it matters.
• For voters aligned with our philosophy on school choice and parental rights, Romero is the pragmatic vote in a field otherwise full of Newsom loyalists.

SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION (Nonpartisan)

VOTE: SONJA SHAW

• President of the Chino Valley Unified School Board — a mom who ran for office when Sacramento started sidelining parents, not a career politician.
• Platform: literacy, school choice, parental rights, and stripping radical ideology out of the classroom.
• Already survived a lawsuit from AG Rob Bonta for her parental rights policies at Chino Valley — and won. That's not a résumé line, that's a battle scar.
• Analysts predict she advances to November because the Democratic vote splits across a crowded field of Sacramento insiders. This is winnable.

Endorsements FOR: CA Republican Party, Chad Bianco, Corey DeAngelis (school choice champion), former U.S. Asst. Secretary of Education

STATE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION — DISTRICT 4

VOTE: DENIS BILODEAU (R)

• Taxpayer advocacy leader backed by Carl DeMaio's Reform California organization and endorsed by the Republican Party of Orange County.
• The BOE oversees property tax practices, utility valuations, and taxpayer appeals statewide. With three Democrats splitting the vote, Bilodeau has a real shot at advancing to November.

ORANGE COUNTY RACES

State Senate

• SD-30 — Bob Archuleta (D) (Best available — Army vet, 82nd Airborne, former police reserve, pro-business committee assignments. Not your guy ideologically, but the most grounded option in a Dem-only field. His challenger, Araceli Martinez, is further left.)
• SD-32 — Kelly Seyarto (R) (Your ballot — hold the seat)
• SD-34 — Rhonda Shader (R)
• SD-36 — Tony Strickland (R) (Incumbent — hold)
• SD-38 — Laura Bassett (R) #1 FLIP TARGET

State Assembly

• AD-59 — Phillip Chen (R) (Your ballot)
• AD-64 — Raul Ortiz Jr. (No party preference — CRA endorsed him over incumbent Blanca Pacheco. Best available in a D-heavy district.)
• AD-67 — Paulo Morales (R)
• AD-68 — Mayra Ruiz (R)
• AD-70 — Tri Ta (R)
• AD-71 — Kate Sanchez (R)
• AD-72 — Gracey Van Der Mark (R)
• AD-73 — Urson Russell (R)
• AD-74 — Laurie Davies (R) (Incumbent)

Congressional

• CA-40 — Young Kim (R)
• CA-46 — David Pan (R)
• CA-47 — Jenny Rae Le Roux (R)

OC County Offices

• Supervisor D4 — Tim Shaw (R)
• Supervisor D5 — Diane Dixon (R)
• Clerk-Recorder — Hugh Nguyen (R)
• Auditor-Controller — Andrew Hamilton (R)
• Treasurer-Tax Collector — Shari Freidenrich (R)
• Assessor — Claude Parrish (R)
• County Supt. of Schools — Stefan Bean (R)

LOS ANGELES RACES

LA Mayor

VOTE: SPENCER PRATT

• Lost his family home in the January 2025 Palisades fire while Karen Bass was overseas. Turned his platform into a megaphone for wildfire victims, demanding transparency on $100M+ in relief funds.
• Campaigning on public safety, homelessness, and government accountability, with Bass's fire mismanagement as the central indictment of his campaign.
• Yes, he's from The Hills. So what. Joe Rogan backs him. He did the All-In Podcast. He has an 8-year plan. More importantly, he's a Palisades resident who lost everything and refused to accept the cover-up, which is exactly the kind of personal accountability the LA establishment hasn't faced in decades. Bass had her chance, and people burned.

LA State Senate — Competitive Seats to Watch

• SD-20 (San Fernando Valley — 50/18 Dem/Rep split) — No Republican filed. Caroline Menjivar (D, incumbent) is the least progressive of the field,, moderate enough on business issues. Best available.
• SD-26 (Open seat) — Deep blue field of Democrats. No endorsement
• SD-28 (South LA) — Deep blue. No endorsement.