The race to replace California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who terms out after this year, is ramping up with voters able to cast ballots soon. The stunning collapse of Eric Swalwell’s campaign has upended the wide-open contest where no Democratic candidate has emerged as a clear frontrunner and mail-in voting is scheduled to start in May California has an unpredictable top-two primary system that puts all candidates on one ballot, with only the top two vote-getters advancing to November, regardless of party. Despite their party’s dominance in the state, Democrats fear their crowded pool of candidates will divide the party’s vote and allow two Republicans to advance. Here’s a look at the prominent candidates: var pymParent = new pym.Parent('gov-cands', 'https://visuals.otsops.com/projects/ca-gov-cands-2026/index.html', {title: '', parenturlparam: '', parenturlvalue: ''}); Decision 2026 Apr 14 California governor candidates see opening after Swalwell's exit Decision 2026 Apr 1 A messy California governor's race raises Democratic fears of potential loss ...read more read less