Let’s help Elect a Democrat AS CA governor
The current situation in California’s June 2 primary race for Governor is creating a complicated landscape. A large field of Democratic candidates, recent withdrawals, and conflicting polls have led to concerns about the possibility of two Republicans advancing to the general election, given California’s jungle primary system. (See background section below for further details on this race.)
The risk of Democrats being shut out of a general election spot is being debated without consensus . However, primaries can be low turnout elections and the biggest risk is California Dems staying home. They are at least 60% of CA voters and their high turnout will virtually assure one of our candidates will be a “top two” vote-getter.
This is where we come in! The best way to help ensure that California elects a Democrat as our next Governor is to help drive Democrats to the polls. VOLUNTEER turnout creates voter turnout…every time! Let’s GET OUT THE VOTE! There are several ways to help!
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:
Phonebanks: Talking to voters about what is at stake in this election is the single most powerful tool we have. Sign up below for these virtual events and bring voters to the polls! Full training is provided. We only talk to Democrats!
Postcarding: We are writing to voters in historically low turnout areas. There are several ways to postcard with us including on your own and at group gatherings. To write on your own, we use a distribution system called Sincere with our partner Activate America. Note: the mailing deadline is May 20th.
Writing on your own
If you already have your Sincere account, California GOTV campaigns are now available.
If you are new to our 2026 postcarding team, please follow this link to join our team and open your Sincere account to request addresses for either CA-22 or CA-48.
Writing in a group
Spreading the word: Share within your network via personal conversations, online communication and social media the importance of voting in the primary and encourage watching the debates.
ELECTION INFORMATION: Quick Facts for the June 2, 2026, Primary Election
DEBATE SCHEDULE: April 22, April 28, May 5th - Detailed schedule and how to watch/stream
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The 2026 California governor race is the first significantly contested election for governor here in well over 20 years. Previous cycles saw very strong candidates like Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom, or an incumbent, win easily. With Governor Newsom now terming out, there is a wide-open Democratic field in 2026. Concurrently, the open primary system, initiated in 2010, is playing a major role for the first time at the governor level.
In an open primary system (also called a jungle primary), political parties do not run separate primaries. Instead, all declared candidates run against each other with only the top two advancing to the November general election. Today, there is a concern that if the Democratic vote splits among the many Dem candidates without someone dominating the field and the Republicans split their votes among their two candidates, those two R’s could win the top spots. Republican-leaning voters can be up to 40% of the electorate.
There is no universal agreement as to the risk of being locked out, but many in the public are alarmed. The effects of recent withdrawals by Eric Swalwell and Betty Yee and Trump’s endorsement of one Republican candidate are still playing out. Polls are inconsistent. The top priority is educating our voters, consolidating them around fewer candidates, and getting them to the polls.
The risk of Democrats being shut out of a general election spot is being debated without consensus on the level of risk for this scenario. However, primaries can be low turnout elections and the biggest risk is California Dems staying home. They are at least 60% of CA voters and their high turnout will virtually assure one of our candidates will be a “top two” vote-getter.