California 2026 governor candidates rush to campaign on Trump including candidate Tony Thurmond and Rob Bonta, who has not declared but is considered a top hopeful.

While most political strategists and campaign operatives are finally enjoying a post-election repose, making their favorite Thanksgiving fixings and preparing to deck the halls, California’s election officials and party leaders are still on the job.

While Democrats retain a supermajority, experts say Republican wins – and an increasingly diverse GOP Caucus – signal potential shifts in voter sentiment among non white voters

Biden won in rural Inyo County in eastern California by 14 votes in 2020 after its voters supported Trump in 2016. This year, the Republican won by a larger margin.

There is no evidence California’s vote count is fraudulent. Experts say the state’s election laws result in many mail-in ballots, which take much longer to count.

A late surge in votes has pushed a California Democrat into the lead in a congressional race, setting the party up to take three House seats away from sitting Republicans during an election year that otherwise has roundly rejected the liberal cause.

Mass deportations promised by President-elect Donald Trump could have a seismic economic effect in California — potentially inflicting billions of dollars in direct damages to a wide range of industries, including small business, agriculture, construction and child care, advocates and academics said.

“I think she’d be by far the best governor candidate for the state of California,” said Michael Preston, who previously worked for Harris when she was state attorney general.

California sought to raise voter turnout by passing vote by mail, which election officials say slows the ballot counting process.

California 2026 governor candidates rush to campaign on Trump including candidate Tony Thurmond and Rob Bonta, who has not declared but is considered a top hopeful.

Elon Musk's Tesla could be excluded from California EV rebates as Gov. Gavin Newsom gears up for a fight against the Trump administration.