Former Vice President Kamala Harris' announcement Wednesday that she will not run for California governor next year has left the race wide open without a clear frontrunner. For the past eight years, Gavin Newsom has served as governor, and with his second term up, 2026 presents an opportunity for a fresh face to lead the state. There's a large field running of Republicans and Democrats, which includes some well-known figures in the state, but many who voters are not familiar with.
"Running establishment candidates who are chosen or supported by the powers that be in D.C. - in Maine specifically - has been a total failure, certainly in attempts to unseat Susan Collins. It is time for us to try something new."
"There's been a shift in the United States away from climate action and I think there are a lot of complicated reasons for that. And the city's politics reflect that too," said Pete Sikora, climate and inequality campaigns director at New York Communities for Change.