A Republican Can Be California’s Next Governor If Republicans Turn Out

In this American Thinker article, Robin M. Itzler argues that California Republicans still have a path to the governor’s mansion if GOP voters stop fighting each other and actually show up in the state’s jungle primary.

• The article explains that California’s top-two “jungle primary” allows the two highest vote-getters to advance to the general election regardless of party.
• Itzler compares the 2026 governor’s race to the 2024 Senate race, when Democratic strategy helped push Republican Steve Garvey into the general election against Adam Schiff.
• The author says Democrats may now be trying a similar maneuver by boosting Steve Hilton as a “conservative” in hopes of splitting or shaping the Republican vote.
• The current governor’s race includes a crowded field, but the article frames the real contest around candidates such as Xavier Becerra, Chad Bianco, Steve Hilton, Katie Porter, Tom Steyer, Matt Mahan, and Antonio Villaraigosa.
• Itzler argues that Democrats would rather face the Republican they believe is easier to beat in November than risk a Republican-on-Republican general election.
• The piece warns Republican voters not to let the Hilton-Bianco rivalry become a self-inflicted wound that benefits Democrats.
• The author rejects the idea that California is hopeless, noting that many Republicans still live in the state and want to fight for it despite being outnumbered.
• The central point is turnout: Itzler says roughly 65 percent of California Republicans routinely skip primaries, making apathy a bigger enemy than Democratic strategy.
• The article concludes that a “Republican turnout for a Democrat lockout” remains possible, but only if GOP voters participate instead of merely complaining.

Read the full story: https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2026/05/a_republican_can_be_california_s_next_governor_if_republicans_turn_out.html