Newsom’s Plan to Block Republicans
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is openly admitting that Democrats are nervous about the possibility of being shut out of the state’s governor race entirely — and he says there is already a secret contingency plan waiting in the wings if things start going sideways.
During remarks Thursday, Newsom revealed he has what he described as a “break the glass” strategy designed to prevent two Republicans from advancing to the general election under California’s unusual top-two primary system.
That system, adopted in 2010, places all candidates from every party on the same primary ballot. The top two vote-getters — regardless of party — advance to November. In deep-blue California, the system has often produced two Democrats in statewide races. But now Democrats are suddenly worried the opposite could happen.
Recent polling has fueled those fears.
Trump-endorsed Republican Steve Hilton has emerged near the top of the crowded field alongside Democrat Xavier Becerra, while candidates like Tom Steyer, Katie Porter, and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco remain clustered close behind. With Democrats splintering the left-leaning vote among several candidates, some party insiders fear Republicans could consolidate enough support to send two GOP candidates into the general election.
Newsom did not explain exactly what his emergency plan entails, but he acknowledged behind-the-scenes “action efforts” are already underway.
“I’m making my case” to “encourage that doesn’t happen,” Newsom said.
The governor’s comments are striking because he has repeatedly refused to endorse anyone in the race to replace him. Even when asked directly about former California Attorney General Xavier Becerra — who also served in the Biden administration — Newsom awkwardly sidestepped the question last week and claimed he was “focused on diapers” during a San Francisco press conference.
Behind the scenes, however, reports indicate Newsom allies are quietly lining up behind Becerra after the implosion of Eric Swalwell’s once-prominent campaign. Swalwell’s collapse reportedly scrambled Democratic calculations and intensified concerns about vote fragmentation among Democrats.
Now, panic appears to be spreading through California’s political establishment.
According to reports, Democratic operatives are already discussing more drastic long-term changes to the state’s election system itself. Political consultant Steve Maviglio recently filed a petition seeking to abolish the current top-two primary structure and return California to the old partisan primary model used before 2010.
Under that system, Republicans and Democrats would each nominate one candidate to advance into the general election, guaranteeing both parties a spot in November.
The timing of that proposal says everything.
For years, Democrats defended the top-two system as a way to produce more moderate candidates and reduce partisan polarization. But now that Republicans may actually benefit from it, many Democrats suddenly seem eager to change the rules.
The anxiety is understandable from their perspective. California remains heavily Democratic statewide, but voter frustration over crime, homelessness, cost of living, wildfires, taxes, and illegal immigration has created openings Republicans have not seen in years. Steve Hilton, in particular, has built a campaign around attacking Sacramento dysfunction and positioning himself as a populist outsider willing to confront the state’s political establishment directly.
Newsom’s cryptic “break the glass” comments suggest Democratic leaders are far more concerned about Hilton’s momentum than they want to publicly admit.