Less than six months remain before California’s gubernatorial primary. Meet the candidates
Your morning catch up: Candidates are lining up to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom, UCLA got its new football coach in Bob Chesney and more big stories
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Californians have crossed the sixth-month threshold for the June 2 primary election for governor, with the numbers of candidates continuing to swell to replace termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The Times politics desk, led by my colleagues Phil Willon and Seema Mehta, has constructed a list of current declared candidates.
Let’s jump into their work.
Xavier Becerra (67, Democrat)
Top job: U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services
Highlights: Becerra has said among the Biden administration’s top accomplishments was getting 700 million COVID-19 vaccination shots into the arms of Americans. He also touted the administration’s efforts, where he served as HHS director, to expand access to healthcare under the Affordable Care Act.
Setbacks: Becerra’s former chief deputy in the California attorney general’s office, Sean McCluskie, who, along with two high-profile Democratic political strategists, was indicted on allegations of conspiring to bill Becerra’s dormant campaign account for bogus consulting services. Becerra is not accused of wrongdoing.
Chad Bianco (58, Republican)
Top job: Riverside County Sheriff
Highlights: During the 2024 election, Bianco supported Proposition 36, the ballot measure approved by voters to reverse course on progressive criminal justice reform, cracking down on theft and the use of the deadly drug fentanyl.
Setbacks: Bianco faced scrutiny after a data leak revealed that in 2014 he was a member of the Oath Keepers, a far-right, anti-government group whose members took part in the pro-Trump insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Ian Calderon (40, Democrat)
Top job: Former Assembly majority leader
Highlights: Calderon created the Blockchain Working Group to oversee regulation of cryptocurrency and other technology, and authored legislation to prohibit full-service restaurants from handing out plastic straws to customers unless requested.
Setbacks: The family name was tarnished after two uncles, former state Sen. Ronald Calderon and former Assemblymember Tom Calderon, served prison time for crimes related to a bribery scheme. Ian Calderon was not accused of wrongdoing.
Steve Hilton (56, Republican)
Top job: Senior adviser to British Prime Minister David Cameron
Highlights: Hilton was credited with modernizing the British conservative movement, remaining true to free-market ideals while also supporting liberal social policy, such as backing gay rights and fighting climate change.
Setbacks: Hilton had to part ways in 2018 with the nonpartisan political fundraising site he co-founded, Crowdpac, due to his support for Trump.
Katie Porter (51, Democrat)
Top job: Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Orange County
Highlights: Porter clashed with former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) in 2021 over committee assignments, and Pelosi was initially cool to Porter’s support to ban members of Congress from trading individual stocks. Her resoluteness helped transform Porter into a standout national political figure.
Setbacks: Porter caught heat after she tangled with a television reporter during a contentious interview in October, an incident that rival candidates used to question her temperament.
Jon Slavet (58, Republican)
Top job: Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur
Highlights: He strongly opposed Proposition 50, a rare mid-decade redrawing of California’s congressional districts to boost the number of Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Passage of the initiative, he said, prompted him to enter the gubernatorial race.
Setbacks: The one-time Democrat, who registered as a Republican in recent years, has little name recognition to the average voter.
Tom Steyer (68, Democrat)
Top job: Billionaire hedge fund manager
Highlights: After flirting with runs for governor and U.S. Senate and then backing off, Steyer ran for president in 2020. He dropped out after spending nearly $342 million on his campaign, which gained little traction.
Setbacks: Steyer made his fortune as founder of Farallon Capital Management, one of the nation’s largest hedge funds. He was criticized for the firm’s investments in a giant coal mine in Australia and a company that ran migrant detention centers on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Eric Swalwell (45, Democrat)
Top job: Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Highlights: After attending law school, he served on the Dublin planning commission in the Bay Area as the city grew its housing stock and improved schools and community services, in part by leveraging developers who sought to build there.
Setbacks: Since he became a frequent face on cable news shows criticizing Trump, he believes the administration forwarded a charge of mortgage fraud against him to the Department of Justice.
Tony Thurmond (57, Democrat)
Top job: California Superintendent of Public Instruction
Highlights: Thurmond opposed textbook bans attempted by conservative school boards in California and was forcibly removed from a Chino Valley Unified school board meeting in 2023.
Setbacks: He faced allegations of a turnover problem in the state’s Department of Education amid accusations that he was running a toxic workplace. Voters overwhelmingly reelected Thurmond in 2022 despite criticism of his handling of schools during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Antonio Villaraigosa (72, Democrat)
Top job: Los Angeles mayor
Highlights: As mayor, he brought the number of LAPD officers to more than 10,000, an effort he credited for a 48% drop in violent crime. Villaraigosa also helped fund the construction of mass transit rail lines through South Los Angeles, the San Gabriel Valley and the Westside.
Setbacks: Villaraigosa drew national attention for his high-profile missteps, including an extramarital affair with Telemundo reporter and anchor Mirthala Salinas that led to the breakup of his marriage of two decades.
Betty Yee (68, Democrat)
Top job: California controller
Highlights: Her audits and investigations from the controller’s office, she said, found more than $4 billion in misused funds. She won reelection in 2018, and her second term ended in January 2023.
Setbacks: A 2022 Times report detailed how Yee gave behind-the-scenes advice to a politically-connected company seeking a $600-million no-bid government contract to provide COVID-19 masks and raised questions about her involvement.
Check out the full article here.
The week’s biggest stories
Trump policies and reactions
- The feds almost certainly won’t listen after L.A. County moves to ban masked immigration agents.
- Alarm grows in Europe over what is seen as Trump’s ‘betrayal’ of Ukraine.
Celebrity and media news
- What to know about the $82.7-billion Netflix-Warner Bros. deal that will reshape Hollywood.
- Oh, honey! ‘Sex and the City’ star Kim Cattrall ties the knot with Russell Thomas.
- Michael Jordan testifies in his racing team’s antitrust suit against NASCAR. Here’s how it came to this.
- Vanity Fair and Olivia Nuzzi, journalist who had alleged affair with RFK Jr., part ways.
- ABC News correspondent Matt Gutman heads to CBS.
Crime, courts and policing
- ‘Kissing Club’ at private L.A. school leads to bullying and sexual assault, lawsuit says.
- San Diego to pay $30 million to family of 16-year-old shot by police.
- Fight between father and son ends with both dead in Lake Balboa home.
Olympic and World Cup news
- L.A. City Council president moves to delay full Olympic wage boost for tourism workers for years.
- Who will play World Cup matches in L.A.? Iran, Belgium, Switzerland and others join U.S.
What else is going on
- California’s wet winter brings La Niña, El Niño confusion.
- Plans to raise the Vincent Thomas Bridge rejected.
- Jo Ann Boyce, Clinton 12 member and civil rights trailblazer, dies at 84.
- Halle Berry declares Gavin Newsom ‘should not be our next president’ after he vetoed menopause care bill.
Must reads
Patrick Galvani has been arrested and charged with murder in connection with the death of his wife, Nancy Galvani, in 1982. The 81-year-old is set to appear in court this week.
Other meaty reads
- Christmas Tree Lane will light up in fire-ravaged Altadena, carrying on beloved tradition.
- He has 400 movies to his name. And he says now is ‘the most difficult’ time to make one.
- Opinion: The American experiment isn’t what’s failing.
- Opinion: The American West’s most iconic tree is disappearing.
For your downtime
Going out
- Sunday Funday: Iconic actor Andy Garcia’s ideal Sunday includes coffee, yoga and hitting the links at Burbank’s Lakeside Golf Club.
- Historic architecture: Here are 11 fascinating Frank Gehry buildings in Los Angeles.
- Local fun: This must be Santa Clarita.
- Check out a new ride: The L.A. Auto Show ends today. Here are new EVs you can buy.
- Film fun: The 10 best movie screenings you can only catch in L.A. this month.
- Movie review: Vaguely fantastical without ever being fantastic, ‘100 Nights of Hero’ is less than magical.
Staying in
- TV time: The best TV shows of 2025.
- Don’t have to leave your couch: The 10 best movies of 2025 — and where to find them.
- Memories of a legend: six writers remember Joan Didion, L.A.’s literary prophet who ‘remains full of surprise.’
- 🥗 Here’s a recipe for Ligia Rossi’s alfajores.
- ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and jigsaw games.
L.A. Affairs
Get wrapped up in tantalizing stories about dating, relationships and marriage.
He looked 20 years older than he did four years ago. In my head, I thought, ‘This makes sense. The ugliness within him has deteriorated his physical body.’
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Jim Rainey, staff reporter
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, fast break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew J. Campa, weekend writer
June Hsu, editorial fellow
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
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