This is California Governor's Race Top Five Today, for Thursday, April 23, 2026. Thanks for joining us for the latest on the 2026 California gubernatorial race.
Today’s vibe: a lot of money, a lot of momentum, and at least one candidate finding out ads can’t manufacture chemistry.
Let’s get into it.
From San Francisco Chronicle, Joe Garofoli: Porter, Becerra seek breakthrough at debate but will voters finally tune in? Garofoli’s framing is the big one for tonight’s debate: Katie Porter needs a reset, Xavier Becerra wants to turn a post-Swalwell bump into something durable, and the bigger problem is that a lot of voters are only now realizing there’s a governor’s race at all.
One campaign is struggling, the other is surging in wake of Swalwell departure in hotly contested race for California governor.
That’s the race in one line. Porter needs a moment; Becerra needs to prove this isn’t just debris from somebody else’s collapse floating his way.
Yeah, and debates usually don’t rewrite the whole race. They matter most when they lock in a storyline people already half-believe, and right now Becerra’s trying to look inevitable while Porter’s trying to look relevant again.
And if voters are just tuning in, nobody gets graded on policy white papers. They get graded on who looks like governor on mute.
Exactly, and that’s why style and command may matter as much as substance tonight, especially in a field where ideological differences can blur together for less-engaged viewers. Now to labor, Hollywood, and one of the most expensive efforts in the race.
From Variety, Gene Maddaus: IATSE Backs Tom Steyer in Race for California Governor The endorsement comes from the largest crew union in Hollywood, and it gives Steyer a concrete validator for his pitch around keeping film and TV production in California while talking tough about AI disruption and media consolidation.
Tom Steyer is committed to protecting union work, advancing labor standards, and keeping production in California in live events, film and TV.
Steyer’s whole move is: yes, I’m a billionaire, now let me cosplay as the guy yelling at corporate spreadsheets. Weirdly, labor is buying some of it.
They are, and not without reason. If you’re a union worried about production leaving Los Angeles, a candidate offering targeted tax policy, worker training, and nonstop paid communication can look more useful than a candidate who merely shares your values in theory.
Useful, sure. But if you spend $115 million to tell voters you’re anti-corporate, people are allowed to laugh a little.
They are, but California politics has a long history of voters accepting contradictions if the message lines up with their interests. For Steyer, the challenge is whether institutional endorsements can translate into broader voter warmth rather than just elite reassurance. That brings us to the candidate with the clearest upward trendline this week.
From News Pub, Press Room: Becerra sees momentum, money and movement in the polls in governor's race This piece tracks the compounding effect around Becerra after Eric Swalwell’s exit: stronger polling, stronger fundraising, and now a layer of establishment endorsements that says Democratic insiders think he may be consolidating.
There’s no time to learn on the job — we need a governor who’s ready to fight back on day one.
That is establishment code for: please, for the love of God, let’s stop experimenting and nominate the grown-up.
That’s certainly the pitch. Becerra’s allies are selling competence under pressure, especially with Trump back in the White House, but the risk is that “ready on day one” can also sound familiar, managerial, and not especially exciting in a race where attention is scarce.
Excitement is overrated when Washington is picking fights with California every week. Becerra’s lane is basically “I know where the light switches are,” and that lane suddenly looks smart.
And if voters care more about conflict management than disruption, that lane gets stronger. The question is whether it still holds once opponents spend the debate and the final stretch trying to paint him as yesterday’s answer. Next, the spending arms race and the limits of brute force campaigning.
From BakersfieldNow: California governor’s race remains wide open as Steyer pours $115M into campaign The standout number here is still staggering: more than $115 million from Steyer, roughly 30 times what his nearest Democratic rivals are spending, and yet an Emerson poll still shows him trailing Republicans Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco by a point.
Despite this, a new Emerson College poll shows Steyer trailing Republican candidates Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco by one point.
That is an absolutely brutal return on investment. If you light $115 million on fire and still can’t lead, the product might be the problem.
It’s a bad look, but not necessarily a fatal one. Early spending can build name ID before it builds preference, and in a low-attention race, the first job of ads is often just making voters remember you exist.
Sure, but at some point voters stop saying “who?” and start saying “nah.” Money can buy repetition; it cannot buy a personality transplant.
Right, and that’s the hard boundary Steyer is testing. If tonight’s debate doesn’t humanize him or sharpen his rationale beyond saturation advertising, then the spending story starts turning from strength into indictment. And finally, another sign that Becerra’s institutional support is getting harder to dismiss.
From Kron4: New Xavier Becerra endorsement: Top California lawmaker backs surging Democrat This is the Robert Rivas endorsement, delivered in a campaign video and bundled with support from 14 more assemblymembers, taking Becerra’s total number of state lawmakers backing him to 26. Clip from YouTube.
That’s not flashy, but it’s real. Endorsements from people who actually have to govern with the next governor are worth more than celebrity confetti.
They can be, especially in a Democratic primary where legislative relationships signal viability and governing capacity. But voters don’t always reward inside support unless campaigns turn it into a clearer kitchen-table case on costs, housing, and public safety.
Still, “quiet storm” is a better brand than most of this field has managed. Becerra suddenly looks like the candidate everybody else forgot to block.
And that may be the central dynamic now: not just whether Becerra is surging, but whether his rivals waited too long to treat him like the frontrunner.
A couple of reactions worth noting after these stories. On r/California, a debate-watch thread got solid traction mostly because people are still asking the basic access question: where do I even watch this thing? That’s interesting because it reinforces the turnout problem hanging over the entire race. Even now, logistics and awareness are part of the political story.
There’s also ongoing online fascination with Tom Steyer arguing that billionaires like him should pay more taxes. The tension there is obvious, and it’s fueling both mockery and curiosity. One version of the reaction is basically:
A billionaire saying billionaires should pay more taxes is either unusually honest or unbelievably convenient.
It’s both. It’s a great line and an awkward biography at the exact same time.
And one smaller but notable discussion point: r/California is set to host an AMA with Matt Mahan on Saturday. In a race this unsettled, those direct voter forums matter because lower-profile candidates need cheap ways to look accessible and unscripted.
That’s the California Governor's Race Top Five Today. This is a Lantern Podcast.