At the California Democratic Party’s state convention in San Francisco this weekend, the Republicans loomed large. 

The 5,000-person event, held this year at the Moscone Center downtown, is the party’s major endorsement event. The point was to emerge with a consensus as to which Democrat to back in the race to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom. Yet what was most clear after the weekend of schmoozing was how split the party still is, as nine Democrats vie with two main Republicans to make it to the gubernatorial ticket in the general election. 

“If there are two Republicans in the general election, they’ll come looking for the chair of the party. That’s usually how this works,” said Rusty Hicks, the chair of the California Democratic Party, during a press availability on Friday evening. He was referring to potentially being in the hot seat in his role as the leader of California’s Democrats if two Republicans lead the nonpartisan primary in June, which would shut Democrats out of the general election. 

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LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis, left, sits with activists Dolores Huerta, Rachel Kirk and Reina Schmitz during the California Democratic Party State Convention at the Moscone Center in San Francisco on Feb. 21, 2026. 

With less than four months to go until the June primary, the weekend event ended with no official endorsement of a candidate, leaving continued questions about who will lead California Democrats — and maybe California overall — going forward. But the prospect of a Democratic shutout in the governor’s race was a looming topic of conversation over the weekend, even while the party chair shrugged it off as a nonissue this early on.

“I think it’s also important for me to reiterate that I’m aware of, but not worried about that dynamic,” Hicks continued. At another point, he emphasized that he was “appropriately concerned” — as in to say, not overly so.

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Yet a poll released last week revealed that two Republicans — Steve Hilton, a British-born former Fox News host, and Chad Bianco, the Riverside County sheriff — have a significant edge in the race. Hilton garnered 17% of support, and Bianco got 14%, which tied him with the leading Democrat, Rep. Eric Swalwell, a multi-term congressman who represents the Bay Area. In California’s nonpartisan, ranked-choice primary system, the top two vote-getters in June regardless of party will move on to the general election in November.

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Rep. Eric Swalwell addresses his crowd of supporters at Local Edition bar in San Francisco during the California Democratic Party State Convention on Feb. 20, 2026.

The Republican edge is, in large part, because the remaining nine Democrats are splitting the support. 

After Swalwell, the next most-supported Democrats in the February poll from Emerson College were former Rep. Katie Porter, who received 10% support, and Tom Steyer, the billionaire and former presidential candidate, who received 9%. After that was a........

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