Most Democrats running for California Governor say they’re steadfast in their decision to stay in the race. As CapRadio’s Laura Fitzgerald reports, that’s despite a plea from the Chair of California’s Democratic Party for low-polling candidates to drop out this week to avoid two Republicans making it to the November ballot.
There are still eight Democrats running for California Governor. Many faced off at a forum in Sacramento on Thursday hosted by the California Realtors Association.
Former Congresswoman Katie Porter leads the pack according to a recent poll.
"I can tell you that I have a path forward both in terms of where I’m polling and the fundraising that I’ve done. So as the top polling Democrat my job is to accelerate that progress, make sure we have a Democrat in the top two."
Former California Attorney General Xavier Becerra polled at less than 5 percent in that same poll. He says he isn’t worried about the possibility of a Democratic lockout just yet and that the public needs more time to weigh in.
"If you’ve been in politics and you’ve gone through elections, you know that as the voters start to pay attention, they’re going to start to make their picks. So right now it’s a total horserace, wide open."
Republican Steve Hilton is polling ahead of Democrats and says he’s confident he’ll make the top two following the primary.
"We’ll see whether the party can get it’s act together and get behind one candidate. Maybe that’ll happen, maybe it won’t. But I think the real point for me is in a sense it doesn’t matter who the Democrat is because we’ve had sixteen years of one party rule in California. The results are a disaster, everyone can see that."
Democrat Ian Calderon announced on Thursday he’s dropping out of the race and endorsed Congressman Eric Swalwell.