Who’s running for California governor? Meet the 10 candidates

The race for governor in California is buzzing with excitement as a diverse field of candidates, including eight Democrats and two Republicans, compete to replace Governor Gavin Newsom. As the June 2 primary approaches, Californians are beginning to weigh their options and consider who might best address the state’s pressing issues. The challenges facing California are vast, ranging from the ongoing housing crisis and homelessness to the high cost of living that has prompted many residents to leave the state.

Each candidate is eager to stand out by proposing unique solutions to these problems, though their effectiveness varies. Among the contenders, Congressman Eric Swalwell is drawing attention, albeit for reasons that may not entirely pertain to the governor’s race. Although there are questions about his residency in California, Swalwell has made headlines by positioning himself as a staunch opponent of former President Donald Trump, echoing Governor Newsom’s approach.

He has focused his campaign on resisting Trump’s policies, particularly in areas like immigration and trade tariffs. All of the candidates are trying to carve out a lane with distinctive policy positions, some with varying results. Here’s how the candidates say they’ll lead California into the future.

Eric Swalwell Voters could be forgiven for thinking the lefty East Bay congressman — who may not actually live in California — is running against President Trump in the race for governor. Like Newsom, Swalwell has been carrying the resistance baton by framing himself as the strongest candidate to fight back against Trump’s policies on immigration and tariffs. He’s vowed to ban ICE agents from state employment and even bar them from getting California divers’ licenses.

But while he brands himself as a fighter, Swalwell seems just as comfortable playing the victim, repeatedly noting he faces death threats and his children can’t even play outside — while he frequently posts social media videos of his children, sometimes playing outside. The 45-year-old former Alameda County prosecutor was first elected to the House in 2012, when he surprisingly knocked out 20-term incumbent Pete Stark through an attack line accusing the then-congressman of not focusing on local issues and failing to live in the district. It’s an ironic full circle moment for Swalwell, whose own neighbors say they have never seen him in the nine years he has claimed to live on their small cul-de-sac in Livermore.

Swalwell missed more votes than any active member of Congress last year, and much of that time was spent hitting up A-list celebrities for campaign cash. He’s used that money to blast out platitudes on the affordability crisis, which he says would be his second priority as governor. The campaign has been light on economic policy beyond tax hikes on corporations, tax breaks for small business and a pledge to build more affordable homes — a goal that many Californian support but has proven to do little in tackling the issue when the math on constructing such projects rarely pencils out.

Democratic Party insiders have expressed anxiety over Swalwell being the Democratic frontrunner. His policy chops beyond hitting Trump on TV and social media is one concern, but some worry the congressman may have more baggage than just his residency issues and still-unexplained connection to a Chinese honeytrap spy named “Fang Fang.” Steve Hilton The former Fox News host, who more than a decade ago served as an adviser to then-U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, sits on the opposite end of the political spectrum from Swalwell.

Hilton is bald, British and has embraced the Make America Great Again agenda. His campaign has released hundreds of policy papers detailing how he intends to DOGE California’s government and root out waste, fraud, and abuse. The plans not only include slashing the state’s bloated budget — California’s total spending has grown by about $150 billion since Newsom took office — but Hilton also has detailed policies to eliminate environmental regulations to increase state oil production and reduce gas prices.

Beyond that he wants to crack down on crime with harsher penalties and more privatized prisons, and work hand in glove with the White House on immigration enforcement. Hilton’s signature economic policy would eliminate California’s income tax on the first $100,000. He also wants to cut gas costs to $3 a gallon and remove red tape on housing construction.

Hilton has embraced his lane as an unconventional gubernatorial candidate in a state that has been under one-party rule since Arnold Schwarzenegger left the governor’s office in 2011. He argues that California has become unaffordable, overregulated and poorly governed, and an outsider is better positioned to shake things up than another career Democrat. Polling has shown Hilton’s message is resonating, as he often places first or second.

But it’s still a long shot deep-blue California will rally around an unabashed MAGA candidate in the runoff. The 68-year-old progressive billionaire ran a hedge fund to make his fortune, and now he’s casting himself as the only candidate strong enough — and wealthy enough — to take on other billionaires. Such a campaign slogan is a tightrope to walk when many Californians are turning on the wealthy elite, but Steyer has leaned on support from the far left and gained ground in the polls, consistently finishing in the top three of Democratic candidates along with Swalwell and former Congresswoman Katie Porter.

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe s How’s he doing it? Money talks, and Steyer never stops talking. He has already plunked down $88.3 million into his campaign to fund an avalanche of ads — it’s almost as if he’s paying his campaign based on the word count.

But few, if any, of the Democratic candidates in the race have stayed on message as doggedly as Steyer, who continues to bang the table on affordability, housing and utility costs. He has promised to build one million affordable homes by lowering construction costs, unlocking land and investing in subsidized housing. (For what it’s worth, Newsom once vowed to help build 3.5 million new homes, only to walk back the number as an “aspirational” goal.) Steyer’s campaign has stressed the need to end utility monopolies to lower electric bills, while also calling for climate investment and a more aggressive state role in regulating technology and artificial intelligence.

Earlier this month, Steyer floated a “Golden State Sovereign Wealth Fund” that would place stricter regulations on AI and data centers to help fund education, training and job opportunities. Steyer’s backstory has its holes, of course. He founded Farallon Capital in 1986 and turned it into a pioneering hedge fund making big investments in the fossil fuel industry before stepping down in 2012.

He then reinvented himself as a climate activist and Democratic mega-donor, and he launched a failed presidential campaign in 2020 that cost him $343 million. (That was frugal compared to Michael Bloomberg blowing a billion dollars the same year.) The golden elephant in the room is how much cash Steyer is willing to burn in his quest to be California governor, and whether that number will begin to turn off voters if they think he is buying the race.