East Bay Congressman Eric Swalwell appears to be pulling ahead of the pack of candidates for California governor, and thankfully it's not just the two Republicans at the top of the polls anymore.
The still crowded governor's race will likely change shape again in the coming weeks, when candidates who are polling in the single digits get strongly encouraged by the state Democratic Party to drop the eff out.
But for now, the latest poll from Emerson College Polling/Inside California Politics has Rep. Eric Swalwell pulling into first place with 17%, and Republican Steve Hilton has slipped from a previous 17% down to 14%, as KTLA reports.
Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, said in a statement that "Rep. Swalwell’s support increased among Democratic voters in the past month from 23% to 27%."
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, who could only become a serious candidate in this race in Trump's America, is at 11.4%, down from 13.5%, where he was in a mid-February poll.
Former House Rep. Katie Porter, who was seen as an early favorite in this race, is now polling at 8.4%, slipping from 9.8% in that earlier poll. And it would seem that Democratic voters appear to maybe be coalescing around Swalwell and, to a lesser extent, billionaire Tom Steyer — who has been spending heavily on TV ads.
Steyer is now polling at 10.9%, up two points from mid-February, when he was polling below Porter at 8.8%. And among Democratic voters, he has surged ahead to 16%.
Splitting the vote between those three Democratic candidates, Swalwell, Steyer, and Porter, could still only do favors to the Republicans in the race, but we'll see how this shakes out.
On Tuesday, state Democratic party chair Rusty Hicks publicly said he would be spending "multiple six figures" to shame some of the remaining candidates into dropping out of the race, given that they are polling in the low single-digits and obviously just siphoning votes that could be going to a more viable candidate. Those would include San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, who has lost ground in the poll and sits at 3.2%; former health secretary and Attorney General Xavier Becerra who has lost half a percentage point and sits at 3.0%; and former LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa who is at 3.2%.
Former state Controller Betty Yee and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond came in at 2.3% and 1%, respectively.
Hicks said the party would be releasing new polling every seven to ten days between March 24 and early May, to drive home the point of who is viable.
"I would simply say if people are afraid of information, you have to ask why," Hicks said, per the Sacramento Bee.
Nearly a quarter (24.5%) of the 1,000 voters who were surveyed last week remained undecided, up from 21% who said the same last month, and it would be nice if they had fewer candidates to choose from. There were real fears as recently as a month ago that Hilton and Bianco would continue to poll in the top slots, creating a situation in which they could become the only two candidates to make it to the general election.
In the June 2 primary, the two top vote-getters will automatically advance to the general, regardless of party.
Previously: Latest Poll In CA Governor's Race Has Swalwell and Hilton Surging Ahead of the Pack, 21% Still Undecided
Top image: U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) departs the U.S. Capitol Building after a series of votes on March 05, 2026 in Washington, DC. The House held a series of votes including a vote on funding for the Homeland Security department and a War Powers resolution on Iran. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
