Your Last Minute Voter Guide To The 2026 California Governor's Race

Democratic and Republican candidates vying to switch Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom person been sparring connected televised debates and exchanging run attacks since April to garner nan attraction of voters statewide.

The candidates see a Riverside County sheriff, a erstwhile elder advisor to British Prime Minister David Cameron, a erstwhile Los Angeles mayor, a billionaire hedge money laminitis and 2 erstwhile members of nan U.S. House of Representatives.

Recent polls showed that nan starring Democratic campaigner is Xavier Becerra, a erstwhile U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services whose run is focusing connected affordability and lodging for what he calls “working Californians.” Vying for 1 of nan apical 2 spots successful nan June 2 superior are Republican contender Steve Hilton, a erstwhile Fox News commentator who was endorsed by President Trump, and Democratic billionaire Tom Steyer, a hedge money laminitis turned biology warrior.

Here is what nan apical candidates person said connected important topics specified arsenic immigration, lodging and homelessness, affordability and nan intermezo industry.

Immigration and ICE

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids that began successful California past summertime person been hotly debated by Democratic and Republican candidates.

Here is what nan candidates said during a statement successful May aliases stated connected their websites, arsenic good arsenic immoderate disapproval they person faced during nan campaign.

• Xavier Becerra vowed to protect and lead nan authorities against nan Trump administration’s attacks connected immigrants and marginalized communities. Becerra’s rivals person accused him of failing to protect migrant children erstwhile he served arsenic Health and Human Services caput nether nan Biden administration.
  
• Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco opposes “sanctuary city” laws that artifact section rule enforcement from assisting national migration agents, calls for nan deportation of criminal forbidden immigrants and says nan separator must beryllium secured. But he has besides faced disapproval from chap Republicans for supporting a pathway to citizenship for lawful, moving undocumented group and telling his constituents that his deputies were not taking portion successful Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids.
  
• Former Fox News big Steve Hilton, who legally immigrated to nan United States from nan United Kingdom, opposes California’s authorities and section sanctuary policies, and said nan authorities must cooperate pinch nan national authorities because nan governor’s occupation is to enforce laws, whether nan politician agrees pinch migration enforcement activity aliases not.
  
• San José Mayor Matt Mahan plans to request ICE officers beryllium unmasked, vows to spell aft agents and migration agency activity erstwhile they break nan constitution and shield communities from unwarranted harassment.
  
• Former Congresswoman Katie Porter said California should enforce its sanctuary laws statewide, “so we don’t person crazy cowboys taking nan rule into their ain hands.”
  
• Billionaire hedge money laminitis Tom Steyer wants to fortify California’s laws to guarantee rule enforcement agents can’t floor plan Californians based connected their race, ethnicity, language, business aliases location. He besides wants authorities that will assistance nan authorities lawyer wide nan authority to clasp ICE agents accountable for convulsive and forbidden acts connected nan job. He supports abolishing ICE. But he has faced power connected nan run way for his erstwhile hedge fund’s finance successful nan Corrections Corp. of America, now known arsenic CoreCivic, which operates backstage prisons astir nan federation that are lodging group picked up by national migration agents. Steyer has many times expressed remorse astir his erstwhile firm’s ties pinch nan institution and said he personally ordered nan divestment from backstage prisons earlier he sold his liking successful nan hedge fund.
  
• State Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond says he plans to levy a caller taxation connected companies that run ICE detention centers, conflict to abolish ICE, protect California’s sanctuary laws and activity pinch Congress to found a pathway to citizenship.
  
• Former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa supports helping law-abiding immigrants and said convulsive criminals person been deported nether nan state’s sanctuary laws, contempt claims to nan contrary by Republican candidates.

Housing and homelessness

Here’s what each campaigner said astir nan request to reside nan state’s lodging shortage and its stubborn bum problem:

• Becerra said he plans to trim “unnecessary reddish tape” and velocity up “approvals for projects that meet affordability and biology standards.” On homelessness, Becerra said he wants to found a $150-million yearly homelessness prevention money to salary rents and conflict eviction aliases foreclosure.
  
• Bianco said he wants to extremity “overregulation of our building industry” and destruct nan California Environmental Quality Act, nan California Coastal Commission and nan California Air Resources Board. On homelessness, he wants cities to clear encampments and prioritize intelligence wellness and constituent maltreatment treatment. He wants to unit group to judge supplier curen “when necessary.”
  
• Hilton proposes to betterment nan California Environmental Quality Act truthful that only authorities prosecutors tin sue, preventing backstage individuals and organizations from stopping aliases delaying caller lodging projects. He besides said he believes rent power measures trim nan inducement to build lodging and wants to restructure aliases destruct them. On homelessness, Hilton wants to build much low-cost group shelters alternatively of imperishable housing.
  
• Mahan said he wants to little developer fees and taxes for infill housing. Mahan besides said much homes should beryllium built off-site successful California-based factories, making them cheaper than building them connected site. On homelessness, Mahan wants to make nan state’s Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention assistance imperishable and money it astatine $1 cardinal a year.
  
• Porter said she would “greenlight innovative building strategies, shred unnecessary reddish portion and create incentives” to build needed housing. On homelessness, Porter wants much interim housing, emergency rental assistance and accelerated rehousing programs.
  
• Steyer is pledging to make it harder for ample corporations to bargain up nan state’s lodging banal and wants to promote cheaper methods of location construction. On homelessness, Steyer wants to grow interim lodging options and bum services.
  
• Thurmond said he wants to build 2 cardinal caller homes for “working Californians,” connected 75,000 acres of surplus onshore that section schoolhouse districts own. On homelessness, Thurmond wants to summation nan number of lodging units that see intelligence wellness and constituent maltreatment services.
  
• Villaraigosa said he wants to trim improvement fees and betterment CEQA to velocity lodging development, peculiarly for infill housing. On homelessness, Villaraigosa wants to double nan state’s finance successful Newsom’s Homekey programme to build an further 10,000 units of imperishable supportive lodging complete 5 years.

A broad guideline connected nan candidate’s afloat views connected lodging and homelessness is here.

What nan candidates person said astir affordability

The candidates offered their ideas for making California much affordable during debates successful April and May arsenic good arsenic connected their websites.

• Becerra said he will guidelines up to value gouging and unjustified complaint hikes and usage nan powerfulness of nan authorities to little prices “where nan marketplace has failed.”
  
• Bianco says he wants to trim taxes for moving families and businesses, extremity nan “over-regulation connected California’s economy,” support occupation maturation and unleash nan state’s power resources to little nan value of state and utilities.
  
• Hilton said he wants to destruct income taxes connected group who gain little than $100,000 and connected nan first $100,000 for Californians who gain much than that. He besides wants to extremity California’s existent taxation connected tips to guarantee tipped workers support much of their earnings.
  
• Mahan said he wants to enact a “Gas Tax Holiday” that ends aliases reduces nan taxation connected gas. He besides wants to region barriers to building affordable lodging by putting a headdress connected fees charged for caller lodging construction.
  
• Porter supports single-payer healthcare, providing free kid attraction and assemblage tuition and making able corporations salary their “fair share” successful taxes. To salary for it, Porter would enforce a progressive firm tax, meaning much profitable businesses and corporations would salary a higher rate. She besides supports ending income taxes for those who gain little than $100,000.
  
• Steyer called himself nan only campaigner who is “willing to return connected nan firm typical interests” that thrust up nan costs of surviving successful nan state. He said he would for illustration to little state prices arsenic good arsenic streamline permitting, betterment zoning and enforce laws to build affordable homes faster. He besides supports single-payer healthcare.
  
• Thurmond wants to supply a taxation in installments to make it easier for Californians to salary for nan rising costs of gas, groceries and housing. He plans to found a cosmopolitan childcare programme and supply low-cost loans to thief mini businesses make improvements astatine their firms.
  
• Villaraigosa plans to support a California Fuel Affordability Guarantee to headdress state prices for moving families.

The intermezo industry

Here’s what immoderate candidates person listed connected their run websites astir their ideas to support California’s intermezo industry.

• Becerra supports authorities requirements that instruction productions disclose really AI is being used, cutting nan “bureaucratic friction” of getting a filming location licence and vows to uphold nan authorities request that ensures integer platforms stock meaningful capacity information pinch nan cast, writers and directors.
  
• Hilton wants to restore California’s competitory edge arsenic a spot for productions by creating financial incentives for movie productions, screen nan first and method costs associated pinch nan improvement of a movie aliases tv task and reserve backing for independent and mid-budget projects.
  
• Mahan said he plans to expand and modernize accumulation incentives, make them much competitory and guarantee nan protections are for everyone who useful connected a movie aliases tv task from nan method unit to writers, board and actors.
  
• Steyer said he would for illustration to block firm mergers successful entertainment, take sides and grow movie taxation credits and destruct nan regulations and hurdles for permitting and logistics that “slow down productions.”

Times unit writers Seema Mehta, Nicole Nixon and Andrew Khouri contributed to this report.