SACRAMENT- Despite a plea from the head of the California Democratic Party for underperforming candidates to drop out of the gubernatorial race, all but one of the party's top contenders rejected the request.
Party leaders fear the growing possibility that the crowded field will split the Democratic electorate in the June primary between the state's top two and result in two Republicans advancing to the November election, ensuring that a Republican governor is elected for the first time since 2006.
His advice largely ignored, state party Chairman Rusty Hicks said Thursday that the fate of a Democratic victory now depends directly on the gubernatorial candidates who spurned him.
“Gubernatorial candidates now have the opportunity to show a viable path to winning,” Hicks said in a statement Thursday.
Eight leading Democratic candidates filed official paperwork to appear on the June ballot after Hicks released a letter Tuesday urging those “who cannot show significant progress toward victory” to drop out of the race. Friday is the deadline to apply to appear on the primary election ballot.
“He seemed like someone who had his head in the sand,” former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said of Hicks' open letter. “[Most] of us submit within 24 hours of receiving that letter. It created some press but not much else. did not impact [most] of the candidates and it certainly did not affect my candidacy.”
Democratic strategist Elizabeth Ashford said it was appropriate for Hicks and other Democratic leaders to make a public plea rather than holding such discussions solely behind closed doors.
But the response demonstrated the limited power of today's party bosses.
“It's definitely not Tammany Hall,” Ashford said, referring to the historic Democratic political machine that controlled New York City politics for nearly a century. “The party and Rusty are influential and helpful, and that's their role. I don't think anyone is comfortable with open, public pressure on specific candidates.”
Ashford, who worked for former governors. Jerry Brown and Arnold Schwarzenegger, along with former Vice President Kamala Harris when she served as the state's attorney general, added that the minimal power of the state Republican Party is likely a factor in the dynamics of Democrats' decision to stay in the race. Registered Democratic voters outnumber Republicans by a nearly 2-to-1 margin in the state, and Democrats control all elected offices statewide and hold supermajorities in both chambers of the California Legislature.
“If there was a strong, viable opposition, if the Republican Party was really relevant in California, I think that would force greater unity among Democrats,” he said.
Only one of the top nine Democrats paid attention to the party president's message. Ian Calderon, a former Los Angeles-area assemblyman who consistently polled near the bottom of the field, dropped out of the race and endorsed Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin) on Thursday.
Candidates cannot remove their name from the ballot once they officially file to run for office, raising some fears that even if other candidates drop out of the race, a crowded primary vote could still split California's liberal votes.
“I'm disappointed that most of them are on the ballot,” said Lorena González, head of the California Federation of Unions, which will announce whether it will endorse the gubernatorial race on March 16. But “I still think you can get people to drop out of the race or make it viable. I think there are candidates who know that viability is a real thing that they have to prove in the coming weeks” before ballots start being mailed to voters.
Jodi Hicks, CEO and president of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, said she is “still concerned” about the prospect of two Republicans winning the top two spots in the June primary, leaving Democrats out of any chance of winning the governorship in November.
“I didn't have any details about who wanted to do what,” he said. “I am very, very concerned and there is a lot at stake right now and it seems to be getting worse by the day.”
Republican candidate Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host, said he is “confident I will be in the top two” along with a Democratic candidate. “I find it very difficult to believe that the Democratic Party would simply hand over California and allow two Republicans to be in the top two.”
Hilton made the comments Thursday after a governors' forum in Sacramento hosted by the California Conference. of real estate agents focused on housing and home ownership. Also in attendance were Villaraigosa, former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and former Rep. Katie Porter. Swalwell, who is currently in Washington, joined the panel virtually.
During the panel, candidates broadly agreed on the need to reduce barriers and costs to building more housing in California, where the average single-family home costs more than $820,000. Many also backed proposals to discourage private investment firms from buying homes, as well as a $25 billion bond proposed by former Sen. Bob Hertzberg to help first-time home buyers pay down payments.
“This really isn't a debate because we agree so much with each other,” Hilton said at one point during the event.
That political alignment on one of the most pressing issues facing California may explain why voters have such a hard time deciding who to support.
A recent Public Policy Institute of California poll found that the five candidates leading the crowded field were within 4 percentage points of each other: Porter, Swalwell, Hilton, Democratic hedge fund founder Tom Steyer and Republican Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco. Previous polls had Hilton and Bianco leading, although many voters remained undecided.
Some candidates took issue with Hicks' push to eliminate the field, pointing out that most of the down-ballot candidates he asked to drop out are people of color.
“Our political system is rigged, corrupted by the political elites, the rich and the well-connected,” the state superintendent said. Public Instruction's Tony Thurmond, who is Black and Latino, said in a video posted on social media in response to the open letter. “The California Democratic Party is basically telling all people of color in the governor's race to get out.”
Villaraigosa argued that enough voters remain undecided and that it was too early for quality candidates to resign.
“Most people don't even know who is in the race,” Villaraigosa said. “It's premature to think about abandoning the race. I'm certainly not considering it and I don't feel any pressure.”
Apart from opinion polls, other indicators are gradually emerging as to who may emerge from the pool of candidates.
Although it wasn't enough to win the party's endorsement, Swalwell earned the support of 24% of delegates at the state Democratic convention last month, the most of any party candidate.
While spending is no guarantee of success, Steyer has donated $47.4 million of his own wealth to his campaign. Mahan, who recently entered the race and has the support of Silicon Valley leaders, quickly raised millions of dollars, as did two independent expenditure committees backing his candidacy.
Ashford said part of the candidates' decisions to stay in the race could have been driven by their long political careers, as well as the Democrats' landslide redistricting victory in November.
“In several cases, these are people who have won state-level office,” he said. “It's hard to feel like there won't be a sequel to that.”
Nixon reported from Sacramento and Mehta from Los Angeles.
