With Kamala Harris out, the governor’s race is wide open. ‘Welcome to the thunderdome’

When former Vice President Kamala Harris declared Wednesday that she wouldn’t run for governor, she cleared the way for what many Californians wanted — a wide open race to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Ten significant candidates already have declared their intention to run in next June’s primary, in hopes of securing one of two spots in a November runoff election. At least two or three other well-known politicians may soon join the fray.

One of the few public polls on the contest had shown only Harris in double-digits, at 24%, with the rest of the field straining to get the public’s attention. The next closest among declared candidates was former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter at 6%.

Real estate developer Rick Caruso, who has not declared whether he will run, received support from 9% of those surveyed. Caruso is also believed to be eyeing another election next year: for mayor of Los Angeles. He finished more than 9 percentage points behind Karen Bass in the 2022 mayoral race.

One strategist called it Katie Porter’s “race to lose”

A veteran political consultant, who does not have a candidate in the governor’s contest, called it “Katie’s race to lose right now.” The strategist, who asked to remain anonymous to speak candidly, predicted there would be a battle to see whether a GOP candidate could consolidate the Republican vote to win the second spot in the runoff.

But the Republicans vying for the spot have much less name recognition than former baseball great Steve Garvey, who nabbed second in the 2024 U.S. Senate primary before being soundly defeated in that runoff.

One is Chad Bianco, the Riverside County sheriff, a Donald Trump supporter who has fought to reverse California’s path toward progressive criminal justice reform. The other is Steve Hilton, a commentator on Fox News and former senior advisor to David Cameron, the conservative former British prime minister.

Two politicians with a long history in Los Angeles and Sacramento politics also are in the race. Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Xavier Becerra, a former state attorney general and U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services.

A longtime elections consultant called it “a wide-open derby”

Becerra probably will tout his combativeness against President Trump. As attorney general, he sued the Trump administration roughly 120 times. As mayor, Villaraigosa pushed staffing of the Police Department to 10,000 officers. The increase was cited as one reason for a major drop in violent crime.

Current Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis has pointed to her work opposing college tuition hikes, combating climate change and protecting women’s rights. Toni Atkins, the former president pro tem of the California Senate, won praise from Times columnist George Skelton, who described her as a pragmatist who “could be a productive governor.” Skelton also gave a nod to former California Controller Betty Yee, saying she had “a sharp accountant’s eye.”

The race certainly doesn’t suffer for a lack of diversity, when you consider that businessman Stephen J. Cloobeck, founder of the timeshare company Diamond Resorts International, and Tony Thurmond, the state’s superintendent of public instruction, round out the current field. (Thurmond is also the only prominent Black candidate in the race.)

“It’s a wide-open derby now,” said John Shallman, a longtime consultant in Los Angeles and statewide elections. “Eleni’s running as the establishment pick, Katie’s running like an insurgent, Becerra’s threading the needle, and everyone else is hoping someone else drops out first. If Republicans can consolidate behind one candidate with a pulse, then they can make the top two. Welcome to Thunderdome.”

Today’s top stories

An ICE Special Response Team member stands guard June 10, 2025, outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles while protesters gather to denounce the agency.

(Eric Thayer / Associated Press)

The economic hit from immigration raids

• Researchers say the effects of ICE raids on the state’s economy already are showing.
• After the raids started, the number of Californians reporting to work in the private sector decreased by 3.1% — a downturn only recently matched during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.
• Economists warn that if enforcement actions continue at this pace, the disruptions could hobble some of the state’s most important industries.

Using liens to dox politicians

• Imagine finding out — by accident — that someone claimed you owed them $3 million.
• “Sovereign citizens” are filing fake debt claims that can destroy a person’s credit, cost thousands to remove and sometimes expose home addresses. It can cost as little as $5 to do.
• Many of those targeted — including judges, politicians and government employees — had no idea that a spurious lien had named them until contacted by The Times. Often, the liens listed their addresses publicly.

Cursing city council

• Speakers at Los Angeles City Council meetings will be banned from using the N-word and the C-word.
• Some legal scholars say the ban could violate speakers’ 1st Amendment free-speech rights.

What else is going on

• Spotify boycott: Artists leave ‘garbage hole’ platform after CEO invests in AI weapons
• Trump is getting his way in his global trade war, like it or not
• A reputed Mexican Mafia member was charged in the killing of an L.A. club owner and B-movie actor
• A dozen Democrats are suing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for preventing detention center oversight visits.
• Warner Bros. will lay off 52 people in its Motion Picture Group.
• Former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas was arrested Wednesday alongside five other men on conspiracy charges, allegedly over running an illegal “high-stakes” poker game.
• Here’s how a magnitude-8.8 earthquake off of Russia mostly spared California’s coast of damaging tsunami.

Commentary and opinions

• By closing the door on the race for California governor, Kamala Harris has left another ajar, writes columnist Mark Z. Barabak.
• Contributor Mike O’Boyle says California can cash in on federal incentives for green power before they disappear. Here’s how.
• Has America’s longstanding friendship with Israel reached a breaking point? Columnist Jackie Calmes says bipartisan support is faltering.
• Contributing writer Veronique de Rugy tackles the central fiscal question of our time: What kind of government do Americans want seriously enough to pay for?

This morning’s must reads

California

Homicidal cousins and the Hillside Stranglers case: A trial that nearly did not happen

L.A. police struggled to collate clues about murders that triggered panic over a serial killer. One of the stranglers, when caught, tried to dupe authorities into believing he had multiple personality disorder.

July 31, 2025

Other must reads

• Who is Kim Yo Jong, sister and ‘right hand’ of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un?
• ‘A state of emergency’: This is how L.A. dance groups are pivoting amid steep funding cuts.
• Crews and filmmakers built Hollywood. What happens to them as AI’s reach expands?
• The New York shooter’s bitter grudge against the NFL shines light on brain harm in youth football.

For your downtime

Liam Neeson plays Frank Drebin Jr. in The Naked Gun from Paramount Pictures.

(Paramount Pictures/Paramount Pictures)

Going out

• Exercise: Working out in public can be scary! Killer Fitness embraces the horror with ‘Slashercise.’
• Movies: Liam Neeson takes aim at his rote thriller roles in the giddy, riotous “The Naked Gun”

Staying in

• Music: Nezza is going to keep singing the “The Star-Spangled Banner” in Spanish. Give her latest single a listen.
• Television: ‘Leanne’ may be a conventional sitcom, but it’s also good company.
• 🥗 Here’s a recipe for a generous quart of licorice ice cream.
• ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.

And finally ... from our archives

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

On July 31, 2024, California wildfires had already scorched more than 763,000 acres, burning 30 times the amount in all of 2023.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Jim Rainey, staff writer
Diamy Wang, homepage intern
Izzy Nunes, audience intern
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, Sunday writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

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