Inside California’s Wild, Unpredictable Governor’s Race

You can watch this episode of Right Now With Perry Bacon above or by following this show on YouTube or Substack. You can read a transcript here.

California’s gubernatorial race has never had a clear front-runner, says David Dayen, the executive editor of The American Prospect and a resident of the state. In the latest edition of Right Now, Dayen explains why the race has been so unpredictable and confusing. Kamala Harris opted not to run, meaning that there was no obvious person for the party establishment to anoint. Former Representative Katie Porter has struggled to overcome videos of her treating staffers poorly. Eric Swalwell was forced to leave both the gubernatorial race and Congress amid numerous sexual misconduct accusations. Republican Steve Hilton, a former Fox News commentator, will likely finish in the top two in the primary and advance to the general election largely because he was endorsed by President Trump. The big question, Dayen says, is which Democrat will be his rival. That will likely either be venture capitalist turned philanthropist Tom Steyer or Xavier Becerra, who has been California’s attorney general, a member of the U.S. House, and the secretary of the federal Department of Health and Human Services. The party establishment is ideologically closer to Becerra, according to Dayen, but views him a weak leader. Progressives like many of Steyer’s stances but are wary of backing a billionaire.