California Democrats are reportedly in full-blown anxiety mode as their once-unshakable grip on the governor’s mansion suddenly looks far less certain.
Thanks to the state’s “top-two” jungle primary system — where all candidates run on the same ballot regardless of party — there is a very real possibility that two Republicans could advance to the general election, effectively locking Democrats out of the final round. For a party that has dominated Sacramento since 2011, that scenario is nothing short of unthinkable.
Yet the numbers tell a different story.
Former Fox News host **Steve Hilton** is polling at 17%, while Riverside County Sheriff **Chad Bianco** is close behind at 14%. With a crowded and largely uninspiring Democratic field splitting the left-of-center vote, GOP candidates are finding a lane — and momentum.
One anonymous Democratic state legislator reportedly described the unfolding race as a “sh**show,” a telling admission from within party ranks. After years of supermajority control, Democrats are suddenly confronting a problem they haven’t faced in over a decade: voter fatigue.
Sheriff Bianco didn’t mince words when asked about Democratic panic.
“Yes, I think it’s a little bit odd that they’re panicking about that,” Bianco said. “And they don’t recognize that it’s because of decades of complete Democrat failure.”
He went further, arguing that the issue isn’t candidate quality — it’s policy.
“It’s not because of a lack of a Democrat candidate,” Bianco said. “It’s the lack of a Democrat policy that they can show has helped California. The Democrat policy is indefensible in California.”
That message appears to be resonating with voters increasingly frustrated by crime, homelessness, high taxes, and an exodus of residents and businesses to more business-friendly states.
Still, some Democrats are brushing off the warning signs. Former Los Angeles Mayor **Antonio Villaraigosa** dismissed the idea that two Republicans could make it through the primary, calling it “poppycock.”
Bianco fired back, noting that polling over the past six months shows two Republican candidates consistently near the top.
“California is looking for change,” he said. “They are looking for honesty, integrity, transparency, and leadership.”
On social media, conservatives are energized. Many see the race as a long-overdue reckoning for the policies of Governor **Gavin Newsom** and the Democratic legislature. One California voter commented that after nearly 13 years of Democratic supermajority rule, few can honestly claim the state is better governed.
Others urged caution, noting that general election turnout in California traditionally favors Democrats. The electorate broadens in November, and Republicans have been burned before by overconfidence.
Even so, the political landscape appears to be shifting. California’s jungle primary system was designed in part to encourage moderation and cross-party appeal. Instead, it may be exposing fractures within a party that has grown comfortable with one-party rule.
If two Republicans do advance, it would mark a political earthquake in America’s largest blue state — and a powerful signal that even in deep-blue territory, voters eventually demand results.
For now, Democrats are hoping the panic is premature. But for the first time in years, they’re being forced to consider a possibility they once dismissed outright: that California’s political future may not be as predictable as they thought.
