The 5 Worst Candidates for California Governor!

With California’s primary election coming up fast on June 2nd, voters are being asked to decide who should have a real shot at governing California. Yet, the field has not narrowed; several candidates have remained in the running, despite low polling. There are ten candidates running for Governor – two of whom are Republicans and the rest Democrats – and the reality is, most people can barely keep track of who’s even running, let alone where they all stand on various issues. But one thing is clear: most of them are not great options for bringing real reform to our state.

It’s probably not a surprise that I see candidates like Chad Bianco or Steve Hilton as the strongest options in this race. But that raises a more important question – out of everyone else, who are the worst candidates for California governor and why should we avoid them at all costs?

#5 – Betty Yee

First up, in 5th place for the worst candidate for California Governor, is Betty Yee. Who is Betty Yee?

Yee is a longtime California Democrat and career government official who has spent decades working inside our state’s financial system. She’s best known for her role as California State Controller, which she served in from2015 to 2023. The state controller is basically the state government’s top accountant, responsible for managing state funds, auditing agencies, and overseeing billions in public spending. So, unlike some candidates, Yee isn’t coming from the private sector or an outsider perspective – she has been deeply embedded in California’s political and financial establishment.[1]

Yee has some good qualities that I think are worth mentioning. Because of her experience as State Controller, she is opposed to waste, fraud, and abuse, and believes that leaders should be held accountable for how they are spending the public’s money. That’s great! I applaud her for those views. This is the major headline of her campaign. She claims that her audit team identified more than $7.25 billion in waste, fraud, and abuse of public funds since her time taking the role in January of 2015.[2] The slogan for her campaign is “competent, accountable leadership,”[3] and of the candidates, she is definitely the most fiscally competent, and likely to be the most accountable.

Yet, while she touts fiscal accountability, she still supports many of the mainstream Democrat policies that require big government spending and higher taxes. For example, Yee is platforming on the idea of being the “affordability governor” and she promises to bring affordability back to our state. To do this in housing, she prefers "rent stabilization programs and rent subsidy programs"[4] as the solution – or put another way, rent control and government subsidies. We have talked before about how just on a pure economic level, rent control reduces housing supply over time by discouraging new construction and causing landlords to convert or sell units. So, she can say she wants accountability, but she is still advocating for the same policies that have put us in a housing crisis in the first place. 

Or take healthcare. Yee supports a single-payer system – which is where the government would pay for healthcare for all residents, covering essential services through taxes rather than private premiums.[5] But this universal healthcare was estimated to cost California roughly $400 billion per year when the legislature looked at it seriously in 2017, more than twice the state's entire annual budget at the time.[6]

Worst of all, Yee supports the wealth tax we talked about a few weeks ago, and she wants to protect temporary tax increases set to expire before 2030.[7] This is truly insane – California already has the highest marginal tax rate across the nation. Yee knows this – she's a self-proclaimed budget expert – but her answer to the budget deficit California is currently in is to raise taxes further, rather than structurally reforming government spending.

So, while she is less radical in the sense that she wants spending to be audited and for programs to be accountable, she still supports the government spending that has put our state in the position it’s in today. She believes in all the Democrat programs that have led to California’s decline, she just wants those programs run more competently. This puts her at #5 – for sure not the worst candidate, but not someone who will really change and fix California.

#4 – Xavier Beccera

Next up in spot #4 is Xavier Beccera.

You’ve likely heard his name, because Beccera has been in government or government-adjacent roles for essentially his entire adult life. He spent 24 years in Congress before Governor Jerry Brown appointed him as California Attorney General from 2017 to 2021. Then he spent four years as President Biden's Secretary of Health and Human Services until January 2025.[8] His track record for the issues he prioritized and the way he served in those roles pretty much speaks for itself, but let’s go through it.

His campaign rationale is almost entirely built on two things: fighting Trump and his healthcare credentials. As California’s Attorney General, he sued Trump 122 times, and he frames himself as the only candidate with experience to tackle "the man-made crises of the Trump Administration on Day One."[9] On policy, he says he'd be the "healthcare governor,"[10] emphasizing his work on the Affordable Care Act and drug pricing. As HHS Secretary, he claims to have negotiated discounts of 38% to 79% on 10 high-cost drugs, estimating having saved Medicare $6 billion in 2023.[11] He plans to bring that expertise to California’s healthcare system.

Now, here’s the thing about Becerra: his tenure at HHS was widely seen as a failure. The coverage during his time as HHS Secretary was relentlessly negative, and notably, the harshest critics weren't conservatives but were his own colleagues in the Biden administration. The Washington Post reported that White House officials grew so frustrated with Becerra's handling of the pandemic that they openly discussed replacing him.[12] Centrist Democratic commentator Josh Barro argued bluntly that Becerra got the HHS job not because of his qualifications, but because Biden needed to satisfy the Congressional Hispanic Caucus after a PR problem with Latino appointments – that’s coming from a Democrat! In his morning pandemic briefings, Becerra was described as someone who "mostly listens to updates without offering input or asking probing questions."[13]

But his failures get even worse. In December 2020, state district attorneys faulted Becerra for not taking leadership to stop unemployment fraud during COVID-19, described as "the biggest taxpayer fraud in California history."[14] By January 2021, investigators said total fraud exceeded $11 billion, with $19 billion in claims still under investigation, and prosecutors said most of the money would likely never be recovered.[15] That's a spectacular oversight failure on his watch as California's top law enforcement officer!

Perhaps the most self-aware thing Becerra has said: in an interview with KQED, he said he didn't necessarily have any "big ideas" to set him apart from the other candidates.[16] In a race where California is facing housing, homelessness, budget, and regulatory crises that have worsened under decades of Democratic governance, that is a remarkable thing to volunteer about yourself!

Becerra is in many ways the purest expression of the Democratic establishment candidate: credentialed, inoffensive, tied to every major policy failure of the last decade at both the state and federal level, and running almost entirely on the premise that fighting Trump is a governing philosophy. The question for us as voters is whether experience in government is the same thing as effective governance. In Becerra's case, the evidence suggests it isn't, putting him at #4 on our worst candidates list.

#3 – Tony Thurmond

Now for #3, Tony Thurmond. The strongest part of Thurmond’s campaign is his personal story. By age six, he and his brother were orphans. He grew up on public assistance – food stamps, free school lunches, etc. – and credits public education with giving him a path forward.[17] In 2018, he won the race for State Superintendent of Public Instruction, backed heavily by the California Teachers Association, and has been Superintendent ever since.[18] That means he leads the California Department of Education and is the chief advocate for the public school system. 

Unlike both Betty Yee and Xavier Becerra, Thurmond is positioning himself as a working-class outsider, someone who has not been largely involved in politics and would represent the average Californian. What does that mean for his policies? His stated priorities include raising the minimum wage, a $10 billion affordable housing plan, tax credits for working and middle-class Californians to help with the cost of gas, groceries, and housing, fully funded public schools, and higher teacher pay.[19] He's also open to a wealth tax and has proposed an inheritance tax on large inheritances as a revenue source.[20] So, none of that sounds great, or largely different from the governance we have had for decades. 

The biggest distinction he is pushing is that he would be the first Black person to become California's governor.[21] He played this card when others were calling on the lower-polling candidates to drop out of the race for Governor, saying the Democrat party was essentially telling every candidate of color to leave the race.[22]

Why is Thurmond #3 on my list? Well, he's been the head of our nation's largest public school system for six years, and by nearly every measurable outcome, it has gotten worse on his watch. Less than 50% of California students were found to be proficient in math and English Language Arts during the 2021–22 academic year.[23] In fact, California ranks in the bottom half of states by K-12 test scores. That's the record of the man who wants to be governor!

On COVID school closures, his answer when asked directly if California kept schools closed too long was: "It's hard to say."[24] That three-word non-answer, when confronted with the data that states which reopened sooner saw less learning loss, is one of the most revealing things any candidate in this race has said. He does not take responsibility or accountability for the state of our school system, even though he is the primary person in charge of overseeing it.

Education policy analyst Tom Loveless called Thurmond a "Teflon candidate"[25] – noting that he survived significant criticism for his leadership style and the state's extended school closures and still won reelection easily, only because the union money and power behind him is nearly impossible to beat in a Democratic primary. So, although Thurmond is trying to paint himself as just like you and me, he is really just another career politician whose entire rise was funded by the same institutional interests whose protection has come at the direct expense of the students and families those institutions are supposed to serve. Add to that the fact he has no real policy positions for how he will improve California, and we have a really bad candidate on our hands.

#2 – Katie Porter

And yet, as bad as the previous three candidates have sounded, none has been as egregious as the woman who has perhaps gotten the most attention in this race – Katie Porter.

I’ve mentioned Porter before, but to remind you, she was elected to Congress in 2018 as part of a Democratic wave in Orange County, flipping the 45th congressional district – historically Republican territory. She served three terms before leaving her seat to run for Senate.[26] She positioned herself as the rare member of Congress who was genuinely uncorruptible by corporate money. Her stated identity was a single mom of three, who drives a minivan, and knows the price of groceries, and therefore can't be bought.

She left her seat in 2023 to run for Senate but lost to Adam Schiff and Steve Garvey, with less than 15% of the vote.[27] Then, last March, she announced her bid for California Governor. Her campaign pitch is entirely anti-Trump, plus add in some populist economics. Her launch video positioned her as someone who "first ran for office to hold Trump accountable" and promised to "never back down when Trump hurts Californians."[28]

Now, what makes Katie Porter so dangerous is not just that she’s a radical liberal – which she is – but more than that, she’s a giant hypocrite…in nearly every area. Take housing as an example. Porter has made housing affordability a central campaign theme for years, railing against the system that keeps ordinary Californians priced out of the market. She herself purchased a four-bedroom, three-bathroom home in UC Irvine's exclusive University Hills faculty community for $523,000. Keep in mind that Irvine's median home price is $1.3 million.[29] The development was designed to help recruit faculty who couldn't otherwise afford Orange County housing.

The interesting part is that eligibility to live in the subsidized housing requires full-time university employment. But Porter took unpaid leave from her teaching job – where she is paid $258,000 per year, mind you – when she was elected to Congress in 2018, and she has been on that leave ever since. Yet she continued living in the below-market housing even as she worked in Congress.[30] This raises questions about her ethics and transparency with the people she wants to elect her to represent.

But this is just one among many incidents that call her character into question:

-        In July of 2021 Porter was caught yelling at a female staffer – a video clip that has since surfaced and circulated quite a bit last year. Porter did not outright apologize for the exchange, but instead said she holds her staff to a high standard.[31]

-        Text messages from 2022 showed Porter once again abusing a staff member who had come down with COVID, and she even blamed her for getting Porter sick.[32]

-        Sasha Georgiades, a Navy veteran and Wounded Warrior Fellow who served in Porter's office from 2020 to 2022, described Porter as a "Jekyll and Hyde" boss, saying "if anything went wrong, she would flip on a dime.”[33]

-        Porter's own ex-husband Matthew Hoffman alleged in divorce records that she would verbally abuse him, throw objects at him, and once poured burning-hot mashed potatoes on him during a fight.[34] Now, obviously with a messy divorce, there will be allegations from both sides that may not be the full truth – but the account seems to fit a pattern that has been exposed by staff and by news media for years at this point.

-        Just last year, Porter threatened to walk out of a CBS News interview after a reporter asked what she would say to Californians who voted for Donald Trump.[35] The clip went viral. Her inability to engage that question diplomatically in an interview, not a hostile ambush, is a significant tell about temperament.

Why does all this matter? Porter’s entire political identity rests on three things: holding powerful people accountable, being a champion of the voiceless and vulnerable, and being morally superior to the corrupt system she rails against. Her staffers – who allege her abuse toward them – are exactly the kind of people Porter campaigns for, yet she treats them poorly behind closed doors. She has proven time and time again that she does not respond well to being questioned, corrected, or held to her own stated standards. That's a significant character trait in anyone seeking executive power over 40 million people. She would, quite frankly, be an awful governor.

#1 – Eric Swalwell

And in first place, as the absolute WORST candidate running for California Governor: Eric Swalwell.

Swalwell has been in Congress for 13 years,[36] and is most well-known in politics for his involvement in Trump's second impeachment trial in 2021.[37] He briefly ran for President in 2019, but that did not catch on, leading him to drop out. He actually announced his campaign for Governor on the Jimmy Kimmel show back in November,[38] which tells just about how serious of a candidate he really is.

His campaign message is similar to his competition – he too wants to push back against President Trump. Swalwell differentiates himself by saying he is the only one actively doing that right now in Congress. And honestly, that is the only differentiation, because on matters of policy Swalwell is vague, and his solutions for the problems our state is facing are undefined. He talks about affordability, wages, and housing in broad strokes but has offered nothing approaching the specific plans that even Yee or Thurmond have put forward.

But that isn’t the worst part of Swalwell. Back in 2020, it was reported that Eric Swalwell had past contact with a woman named Fang Fang, who U.S. intelligence officials later identified as a suspected Chinese intelligence operative. Fang Fang – also known as Christine Fang – was active in California political circles in the early 2010s. She fundraised for local politicians, built relationships with elected officials, helped place interns in political offices, and all this included interacting with Swalwell when he was a rising local politician and then a member of Congress.[39]

The story broke in 2020, when Swalwell was a high-profile Trump critic, previously a presidential candidate, and serving on the House Intelligence Committee. A sitting member of Congress having a relationship with a suspected foreign agent is inherently serious. Swalwell has consistently said that he cooperated fully with the FBI, he ended contact as soon as he was warned, and he did nothing improper or illegal. But it still raises real questions about judgment, awareness, and vulnerability at the highest levels of government. If you’re running for governor of the largest state in the country – if you’re sitting on the House Intelligence Committee – you shouldn’t need the FBI to tell you that someone in your orbit might be a foreign intelligence asset. If this is how he handled influence at the national level… why should Californians trust him to handle it at the state level?

That isn’t the only problem with Swalwell. There are also serious questions about his eligibility for the position. Swalwell represents California’s 14th congressional district, which is based in the East Bay. But reports over the years have pointed out that he spends significant time living in the Washington, D.C. area, where his family is based, and has used that as his primary residence for day-to-day life. Additionally, the New York Post reported that Swalwell's neighbors in Livermore couldn't identify him when shown his picture, despite him claiming to have lived on the same cul-de-sac since 2017.[40] This doesn’t technically disqualify him, as it is normal for members of Congress to split their time. But, the question is about perception. Voters expect their representatives to actually live in the communities they represent, be present and engaged locally, and to connect to the people they are supposed to represent.

And of course, when it comes to the issues that matter most Swalwell is as progressive as they come  - he supports gun control, abortion rights, immigration sanctuary policies, anti-corporate regulation, and the list goes on. His campaign platform is so focused on Trump that it barely engages with California-specific governance at all. He has essentially no record on housing, homelessness, the state budget, water policy, or the regulatory environment that has made California unaffordable. He's a national-politics guy running for a state-level job, and it shows.

Where Polls Stand Today

So, there you have it! The worst possible candidates to lead our state!

Where do the polls stand today? As of just last week, multiple polls show both Republicans Hilton and Bianco in the lead ahead of the Democrats in the race. The top tiers are: Steve Hilton at 17%, Chad Bianco at 16%, Eric Swalwell and Katie Porter both at 13%, and Tom Steyer (another Democrat) around 10%.[41] Clearly there is not one dominant front-runner, with a large percentage still polling as undecided. That could switch around the leaders in the race drastically. BUT, the vote is so split among Democrats – including Becerra, Yee, and Thurmond all polling below 5% - that if the election was based on recent polls, a Democrat would be locked out of the November ballot entirely.

I believe that is due to a lack of good candidates and real leadership from the Democrat Party. This is California, it should be easy to poll ahead of Republicans! But looking at these candidates, their promises for how they will improve California all fall short. Even liberal voters know that our state needs some help, and anyone who thinks about it even for a second realizes we can’t just double down on the same policies that have gotten us to this point. There is no Democrat candidate who is willing to break away from party politics to try to address the heart of the issues we are all feeling. That could – and should – end up taking power away from them altogether, in favor of someone who promises real solutions.

It may seem silly to spend so much time talking about candidates who we know are bad – but it’s important to understand what exactly each candidate is proposing for how to govern our state and be able to identify where they go wrong. It’s also important to know exactly who we are dealing with – people who are inconsistent, hypocritical, and clearly unfit to lead our state.

It’s time to make that message ever clearer to our fellow Californians. If we want change, we cannot afford to hand this state over to more of the same failed leadership. We deserve better than this field, and come June 2nd, we should vote like it.

References:

[1] National Union of Healthcare Workers. “Betty Yee - APA Heritage Month Profiles,” April 25, 2023. https://nuhw.org/betty-yee/.

[2] California State Controller’s Office, and Jennifer Hanson. “Controller Issues HCD Rental Assistance Review Findings.” Press Releases, August 17, 2022. https://sco.ca.gov/eo_pressrel_23759.html.

[3] Betty Yee for Governor 2026. “Why I’m Running - Betty Yee for Governor 2026,” December 23, 2025. https://bettyyee.com/why-im-running/.

[4] Gamson, Benjamin. “Betty Yee Outlines Her Policy Vision for California if Elected Governor.” Annenberg Media, November 17, 2025. https://www.uscannenbergmedia.com/2025/11/17/betty-yee-outlines-her-policy-vision-for-california-if-elected-governor/.

[5] California Black Media. “Q&a With Betty Yee: Fiscal Responsibility, Expanded Opportunity for Californians Top Her Agenda for Governor.” The San Diego Voice & Viewpoint, March 17, 2026. https://sdvoice.info/qa-with-betty-yee-fiscal-responsibility-expanded-opportunity-for-californians-top-her-agenda-for-governor/.

[6] Aguilera, Elizabeth. “Universal Health Care for California: Closer to Reality, but Big Hurdles Remain.” CalMatters, July 7, 2019. https://calmatters.org/health/2017/07/universal-health-care-california-closer-reality-big-hurdles-remain/.

[7] California Black Media, “Q&a With Betty Yee: Fiscal Responsibility, Expanded Opportunity for Californians Top Her Agenda for Governor.”

[8] Xavier Becerra. “Meet Xavier Becerra - Xavier Becerra,” February 12, 2026. https://www.xavierbecerra2026.com/bio/.

[9] Xavier Becerra. “Xavier Becerra - Build, Protect, and Lead California,” March 18, 2026. https://www.xavierbecerra2026.com/.

[10] “The Race for Governor 2026: Xavier Becerra,” February 4, 2026. https://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/archive/video/race-governor-2026-xavier-becerra.

[11] Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. “Negotiating for Lower Drug Prices Works, Saves Billions.” CMS, March 3, 2026. https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/negotiating-lower-drug-prices-works-saves-billions#:~:text=The%20negotiated%20prices%20range%20from%2038%20to,in%20their%20personal%20out%2Dof%2Dpocket%20costs%20in%202026.

[12] Diamond, Dan. “White House Frustrations Grow Over Health Chief Becerra’s Handling of Pandemic.” The Washington Post, January 31, 2022. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/01/31/becerra-hhs-pandemic-response-leadership/.

[13] Barro, Josh. “Fire Xavier Becerra.” Very Serious (blog), August 12, 2022. https://www.joshbarro.com/p/fire-xavier-becerra.

[14] Chabria, Anita, Patrick McGreevy, and Richard Winton. “California Is Not Stopping Jobless Benefits Fraud, D.A.s Say - Los Angeles Times.” Los Angeles Times, December 3, 2020. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-12-03/california-unemployment-benefits-fraud-newsom-becerra.

[15] Pitofsky, Marina. “California Officials Confirm Over $11 Billion in Unemployment Fraud During Pandemic.” The Hill, January 25, 2021. https://thehill.com/homenews/news/535796-california-officials-confirm-over-11-billion-in-unemployment-fraud-during/.

[16] Shafer, Scott. “Xavier Becerra Run.” LAist, April 2, 2025. https://laist.com/brief/news/politics/xavier-becerra-enters-california-governors-race.

[17] Digital Democracy, CalMatters. “Tony Thurmond - Digital Democracy | CalMatters,” December 16, 2025. https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/officials/tony-thurmond-4.

[18] CBS News. “California School Superintendent Tony Thurmond Launches 2026 Run for Governor,” September 26, 2023. https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/california-school-superintendent-tony-thurmond-2026-run-for-governor/.

[19] Jack, Fisher. “Q&a With Gubernatorial Candidate Tony Thurmond: ‘California Needs a Governor Who Listens and Leads’” EURweb | Black News, Culture, Entertainment & More, March 5, 2026. https://eurweb.com/tony-thurmond-california-governor-2026/.

[20] The Sacramento Observer. “California Needs a Governor Who Listens and Leads.” The Sacramento Observer, March 4, 2026. https://sacobserver.com/2026/03/qa-with-gubernatorial-candidate-tony-thurmond-california-needs-a-governor-who-listens-and-leads/.

[21] The Associated Press, “California Education Chief Tony Thurmond Says He Is Running for Governor in 2026,” September 26, 2023, https://www.capradio.org/articles/2023/09/26/california-education-chief-tony-thurmond-says-he-is-running-for-governor-in-2026/.

[22] ABC7 Los Angeles. “Who’s Running for California Governor? See List of Candidates for 2026 Election,” March 12, 2026. https://abc7.com/post/running-california-governor-katie-porter-antonio-villaraigosa-xavier-becerra-among-candidates-2026-election/17380502/.

[23] Watrobski, Kristina. “‘It’s Hard to Say’: California Superintendent Won’t Condemn School Closures Despite Dismal Test Scores.” KATU, August 16, 2023. https://katu.com/news/nation-world/california-official-wont-say-if-state-closed-schools-for-too-long-amid-dismal-test-scores-superintendent-tony-thurmond-covid-pandemic-learning-lossess-math-reading-ela-proficiency-florida-nyc.

[24] Ibid.

[25] Mahnken, Kevin. “Despite COVID Backlash, Thurmond Sails Toward Second Term as CA Schools Chief.” The74, November 3, 2022. https://www.the74million.org/article/despite-covid-backlash-thurmond-sails-toward-second-term-as-ca-schools-chief/.

[26] Ballotpedia. “Katie Porter - Ballotpedia,” n.d. https://ballotpedia.org/Katie_Porter#:~:text=with%20any%20updates.-,Katie%20Porter,Harvard%20University%2C%202001.

[27] Altimari, Daniela. “Katie Porter Loses Bid for Senate in California.” Roll Call, March 6, 2024. https://rollcall.com/2024/03/06/katie-porter-loses-bid-for-senate-in-california/.

[28] Koseff, Alexei. “Katie Porter Enters Race for California Governor Promising to Stand up to Donald Trump.” CalMatters, March 27, 2025. https://calmatters.org/politics/2025/03/katie-porter-california-governor/.

[29] The Associated Press, “U.S. Rep. Katie Porter’s Housing Deal on UC Irvine Campus Draws Scrutiny,” KTLA, September 7, 2022, https://ktla.com/news/local-news/u-s-rep-katie-porters-housing-deal-on-uc-irvine-campus-draws-scrutiny/.

[30] Ibid.

[31] Huh, Jenny. “Katie Porter Faces Backlash After Tense Interview, Staff Video Surfaces.” Abc10.Com, October 10, 2025. https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/katie-porter-cbs-interview-backlash/103-113d0e4e-2dc4-42b6-9f79-2cc7f40c50ef.

[32] Scarry, Eddie. “Katie Porter’S Nasty, Abusive Attitude Is Standard, Antisocial Democrat Behavior.” The Federalist, October 10, 2025. https://thefederalist.com/2025/10/10/katie-porters-nasty-abusive-attitude-is-standard-antisocial-democrat-behavior/?amp=&=.

[33] Moore, Chadwick. “Katie Porter Targeted ‘Softer Spoken’ Underlings for Abuse, Was ‘Downright Mean’, Ex-staffer Warns Voters.” AOL, October 11, 2025. https://www.aol.com/articles/katie-porter-targeted-softer-spoken-110000165.html.

[34] Taub, Rob. “Video of Calif. Candidate Katie Porter Screaming at Staffer Resurfaces.” NewsNation, October 9, 2025. https://www.newsnationnow.com/politics/katie-porter-screaming-staffer-video/.

[35] Jones, Blake. “Katie Porter Threatens to Walk Out of TV Interview.” Politico, October 8, 2025. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/08/katie-porter-tv-interview-00597571.

[36] Ballotpedia. “Eric Swalwell - Ballotpedia,” n.d. https://ballotpedia.org/Eric_Swalwell.

[37] Blood, Michael, and Sophie Austin. “Swalwell Sees Attacks From Left and Right as California’s Race for Governor Heats Up.” PBS News, March 20, 2026. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/swalwell-sees-attacks-from-left-and-right-as-californias-race-for-governor-heats-up.

[38] Miller, Maya C. “Democrat Eric Swalwell Joins Crowded California Governor’s Race to Succeed Gavin Newsom.” CalMatters, January 29, 2026. https://calmatters.org/politics/2025/11/california-governor-eric-swallwell-announcement/#:~:text=v=nIdUSzz44KA%22%3Ea%20nearly,on%20%E2%80%9CJimmy%20Kimmel%20Live!%E2%80%9D.

[39] Allen-Ebrahimian, Bethany. “Exclusive: Suspected Chinese Spy Targeted California Politicians.” Axios, December 8, 2020. https://www.axios.com/2020/12/08/china-spy-california-politicians.

[40] MacDonald, Cassandra. “Swalwell Misses More Votes Than a Dead Congressman While Lounging at Donor’S $23M Beverly Hills Mansion During Gubernatorial Campaign.” The Gateway Pundit, March 22, 2026. https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/03/swalwell-misses-more-votes-than-dead-congressman-while/.

[41] Esposito, Laura. “Dems Panic Over Surprise Turn in Deep-Blue California.” The Daily Beast, March 26, 2026. https://www.thedailybeast.com/dems-panic-over-surprise-turn-in-deep-blue-california/.