Could California finally be shifting right after years of Democrat rule?
California's 'jungle' primary system — putting all candidates regardless of party onto one ballot — could see two Republicans advance to the state's general election due to Democrat vote-splitting.
Article by Rebel News staff
On Tuesday's episode of The Ezra Levant Show, California Post opinion editor Joel Pollak discussed the state of politics in California amid Governor Gavin Newsom's likely upcoming presidential run. Pollak explained that while unlikely, there's now a legitimate possibility that two Republican candidates advance to the state's upcoming general election due to California's 'jungle' primary system.
In the 2026 gubernatorial primary, recent polls show two Republicans — Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco — leading or near the top due to vote-splitting between the numerous Democratic candidates. Pollak discussed the current scenario facing California voters ahead of the primary elections as Gavin Newsom prepares for a likely presidential run.
"Here in California, we're going to have a new governor. Gavin Newsom is not running for re-election, he's barred by the state constitution from serving more than two terms. So he's going to set his sights on the presidential nomination in 2028," said Pollak.
"And in the open seat that remains, there's a very crowded field. And the problem Democrats have is that there are too many Democrats. And we have a strange primary system in California. We don't get the party to nominate their respective candidates through separate primary voting processes," he continued.
Pollak went on: "What we have instead is what we call a 'jungle' primary. All of the candidates are thrown into one common pool and the top two vote recipients advance to the general election. This was a kind of reformist idea fifteen years ago that was supposed to produce more moderate candidates. In fact it's produced the opposite, it's produced more left-wing legislature, more left-wing governance than ever before."
"But because there are too many Democrats, they're splitting the Democratic Party vote between them. And there are only two major Republicans in the race. So in many polls the two Republicans have been in the number one and number two slots, which does hold out the possibility, thought it's still remote, that you could have two Republicans advance to the general election which would guarantee a Republican governor in California," he added.
The state's voters now watch as the jungle primary — meant to produce moderation — risks delivering California’s first Republican governor in over two decades, simply because too many Democrats refused to consolidate early.
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Ezra Levant
Rebel Commander
Ezra Levant is the founder and owner of Rebel News and the host of The Ezra Levant Show. He is the author of multiple best-selling books, including Ethical Oil, The Libranos, China Virus, and most recently, Trudeau's Secret Plan.
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