Let the countdown begin: One year until the California governor and L.A. mayor primaries
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It’s June in California, which means the jacarandas are magnificently in bloom, joyous graduates overfill school auditoriums and the weather is utterly unpredictable.
Oh and one more thing: As of this week, we are exactly a year out from the 2026 primary election. Here’s what you need to know.
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California is a country within a country — a cultural and economic behemoth where the future happens first. And with term limits forcing Gov. Gavin Newsom out, the world’s fourth-largest economy will be picking a new leader at the end of 2026.
A very crowded race for governor
There is already a crowded field of prominent Democrats vying to replace Newsom. They include former state Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, businessman Stephen J. Cloobeck, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, former state Controller Betty Yee, former Rep. Katie Porter, state Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa). Two notable Republicans are also in the fight: Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and former Fox News commentator Steve Hilton.
The Kamala question
The biggest question mark remains whether former Vice President Kamala Harris will enter the race, a decision she plans to make by late summer.
That waiting game has stalled the Democratic field: Candidates are continuing their frenetic campaigning, but many activists, donors and elected officials are holding off on further endorsements until Harris makes up her mind. (Though some are growing more frustrated with Harris, and the implicit message that governing California is a consolation prize that she can toy with for months.)
The issues that will dominate
California’s affordability crisis — and varying views on how to solve it — will probably dominate the long slog of campaigning ahead.
But given the wilderness the national Democratic Party currently finds itself in, competition for California’s top job will also probably double as a referendum on the broader question of what a winning Democratic leader should sound like. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans nearly 2 to 1 in California.
And what about billionaire Angeleno Rick Caruso, a relatively recent entrant to the Democratic Party?
The Grove developer has been flirting with both a gubernatorial bid and another run at the Los Angeles mayor’s race but remains undecided. His personal fortune affords him the luxury of some extra time, though self-funding a statewide campaign will be far more expensive than a mayoral one. Still, there could be a lane for a business-friendly centrist running California’s sclerotic political system.
And speaking of Caruso, he also looms large over the 2026 Los Angeles mayor’s race.
Can an at-risk Karen Bass glide to reelection?
As of now, incumbent Mayor Karen Bass is the only serious candidate in the race, meaning the first-term mayor could glide to reelection.
But the former congresswoman has also taken a political beating in recent months. A catastrophic firestorm put her leadership under a national microscope, a bruising budget crisis left her in a no-win political puzzle and her strong-arm authority on homelessness has been threatened.
Which is a long way of saying that Bass could certainly be vulnerable if a real challenger gets into the race, be it Caruso, or someone else.
The nightmare scenario for Bass
The nightmare scenario for Bass is a landscape that looks less like her predecessor Eric Garcetti’s reelection romp in 2017 — where he ran virtually unchallenged and leapt to victory with more than 80% of the vote — and more like then-Mayor James K. Hahn’s reelection dogfight in 2005.
Hahn, a badly wounded incumbent, only barely eked his way into second place in the primary and ultimately rode a wave of voter discontent right out of City Hall, losing to Antonio Villaraigosa that May.
Beyond Caruso, a few other names have been bandied about as potential challengers to Bass.
As my colleague David Zahniser and I reported a few months ago, that list includes Councilmember Monica Rodriguez (an iconoclastic force who has been openly critical of Bass), L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath (another politician who has sparred with the mayor) and City Controller Kenneth Mejia (a digitally savvy leftist who, you guessed it, has also taken shots at the city’s current direction).
Whether any take the leap remains to be seen.
This week’s biggest stories
ICE raids
- Surprise U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement sweeps in downtown Los Angeles Friday prompted fierce pushback from elected officials and protesters, who decried the action as “cruel and unnecessary.”
- The sweeps were reported across L.A and led to a tense standoff downtown.
- David Huerta, president of SEIU California, was detained during the raids.
- Earlier this week, ICE agents with assault rifles tossed flash-bangs in a trendy San Diego neighborhood.
- Recent protests from San Diegans show that many are ready and willing to combat ICE agents to protect their communities.
- Speaking of ICE, an L.A. suburb is holding ICE detainees in its city jail, sidelining sanctuary rules.
Altadena for sale
- Developers are buying up burned lots in Altadena like crazy.
- Wildfire victims are uncertain about returning to their burned neighborhoods.
Roaming wolves
- Three more wolf packs have been confirmed in California as ranchers call for relief.
- Earlier this year, officials collared a dozen wolves to try to track the growing population.
- These wolves are beautiful and deadly.
- Killing them is a crime in California, but a rebellion is growing.
Halting high-speed rail
- The Trump administration sees ‘no viable path’ forward to finish high-speed rail project and moved to pull federal funding.
- Leaders of the high-speed rail project sounded the alarm over the project’s financial future last month.
Musk vs. Trump
- Musk’s breakup with Trump devolved into a war of insults.
- Trump’s bill is floundering in the Senate as Musk attacks intensify
More big stories
- Michele Kaemmerer, the first transgender LAFD captain, died at 80.
- Metro opened the long-awaited LAX station.
- Officials launched a sweeping review after nearly 6,000 California prisoners falsely tested positive for opioids.
- A transgender track athlete won gold at California’s state championships despite Trump threats.
- Gov. Newsom proposed an ‘asset test’ for low-income and disabled Medi-Cal applicants.
- A judge ordered the woman who accused ex-Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer of sexual assault to pay damages by default
This week’s must-reads
In ‘Super Agers: An Evidence Based Approach to Longevity,’ Dr. Eric Topol lays out how to stay healthy as you age. Here’s a peek at his actionable advice.
More great reads
- A gang bullet cut him down. The worst day of his life began a journey of faith and forgiveness.
- Is cream top getting to be too much? Two top L.A. coffee shops have recently removed the trendy add-ons from their menus.
For your weekend
Going out
- Go fishing: Recreational salmon fishing resumes in California this weekend (only for a limited time.)
- Theater: Robert O’Hara’s ‘Hamlet’ is playing at the Taper. But our review called it “an act of vandalism.”
- Eating out: Dine with history. Here are 17 restaurants that are at least 90 years old.
Staying in
- Read this poem: “For the Graduation [Bolinas, 1973]” by Robert Creeley
- Books: A Black reimagining of ‘The Great Gatsby’ spotlights a hidden L.A. history.
- Television: CNN will broadcast a Broadway performance of George Clooney in ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’ tonight.
- Recipes: Here’s are our 11 favorite taco recipes.
- Games: Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.
L.A. Timeless
Read some of the best stories from our archives
If you’re lonely in Los Angeles, you’re not alone. In this classic 2021 story — republished here as part of L.A. Timeless, a collection of some of the best stories from the Times’ 143-year archive — Julissa James encourages you to embrace your inner lone wolf.
Few stories published by the Times in recent years have hit a nerve as forcefully as Julissa James’ essay from 2021, “Lonely in L.A.? These 21 places and experiences will help you embrace it.”
Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team
Julia Wick, staff writer
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew J. Campa, reporter
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com. Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.
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