California Governor 2026
Election day is November 3, 2026. A statewide contest in California.
Who is favoured in California Governor?
Run the forecaster to pull current reporting on this race, score it issue by issue, and see who it favours.
What the California Governor election decides
State government decides most of what touches daily life directly: schools, roads, policing, public health, utilities regulation, and the state's share of healthcare programs. A governor's veto and budget proposal set the boundaries of what a legislature can do.
A governor signs or vetoes state law, proposes the state budget, commands the state's emergency response, and in most states shapes how elections themselves are administered. California decides this alongside its 52 House seats. Governors are judged on results inside the state rather than on national mood alone, which is why governor's races often break differently from federal contests held the same day.
How California votes
California is the largest prize in American politics, anchored by the Bay Area and Los Angeles with a more conservative interior. Housing costs, wildfire, water and the technology economy dominate its statewide debates, and Democrats have held a durable statewide advantage. That backdrop is the ground any California campaign fights on, and it is what the Electorate HQ simulation reads first when it weighs a ticket's platform against this contest.
About this race
An election was held in the U.S. state of California on November 3, 2026, to elect the next governor of California. The nominees were Democratic former secretary of health and human services Xavier Becerra and Republican political commentator Steve Hilton. Democratic incumbent Gavin Newsom was ineligible to seek re-election to a third term.
The statewide top-two primary election was held on June 2, 2026, with Becerra and Hilton advancing to the general election among the 61 candidates on the ballot. Republicans have not won a gubernatorial race in California since 2006.
Candidates
Latest coverage of the California Governor race
It’s official: California picks Xavier Becerra to replace Gavin NewsomDemocrat Xavier Becerra wins California governor's race, defeating Republican Steve HiltonCalifornia 2026 Election ResultsXavier Becerra Wins California Governor’s RaceWho are the California governor candidates?Democrat Xavier Becerra's lead over Republican Steve Hilton widens in California governor's race, new poll showsWho Is Ahead in the California Governor's Race? Latest 2026 Election PollsRepublican candidate for governor Steve Hilton on why California needs ‘common sense practical change’The rest of the California ballot
Every California House district, the counties inside each one, and an address lookup that resolves your exact districts are on the California state page.
Analysis covering California
Ten whole congressional districts fit inside Los Angeles County
Seventy-nine of the 435 districts sit entirely within a single county. Ten of them are in one county in California.
How the county lists on this site are computed, and where the method breaks
A methods note. Two public boundary files, one point-in-polygon test, 436 districts, and five cases where it returns nothing.