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California Republican gubernatorial frontrunner Steve Hilton blasted Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom for “fear mongering” after the governor suggested he had a contingency plan if Democrats appeared at risk of being shut out of the general election.
California’s primary election is just two weeks away, and under the state’s jungle primary system — where the top two vote-getters advance regardless of party — both Democrats and Republicans fear they won’t be represented in the general election.
Newsom expressed his concern about a Republican shutdown last Thursday during a news conference, explaining that he has a “break the glass scenario” to ensure Democrats aren’t “locked out.”
“There’s many people that have a deep understanding of what it would look like if Democrats were locked out, and we’re going to do everything to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Newsom said. “I’ll leave it there.”
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Former MSNBC host Joy Reid warns California Democrats risk losing ground in the governor’s race, arguing the state is essential to the party’s national political future. (Getty Images)
Digital reached out to Newsom’s office for further comment.
Hilton claimed that Newsom’s comments were a tactic to split Republican voters between himself and Republican candidate Chad Bianco.
“He’s not trying to stop a ‘top two Republican’ outcome because that is not possible and never was,” Hilton said in a statement to Digital. “Chad Bianco is far behind in the polls and fundraising, and has no chance of being in the top two.”
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Gov. Gavin Newsom signs an executive order to expand women’s access to capital and wealth-building opportunities during a press conference at San Lorenzo High School in San Lorenzo, Calif., on March 18, 2026. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
RealClearPolitics’ polling averages show Hilton leading the pack of candidates, with Democratic candidate Xavier Becerra in a close second. Meanwhile, Bianco trails in fourth place.
Hilton argued it would be Newsom’s “ideal scenario” to have two Democrats facing off, saying it would deflect attention from Newsom’s “appalling record” as he eyes a 2028 presidential run.
“Newsom and the Democrats are fearmongering over a R vs R matchup in the general election precisely to encourage Republicans to split their votes, thus guaranteeing an all-Democrat top two,” Hilton said in a statement for Digital.
In a video posted to X on Tuesday, Hilton called on his Republican opponent Bianco to drop out of the race, in an effort to ensure a Republican is on the ballot.
Political strategists have said there is a valid fear among both Democrats and Republicans that their party could be shut out of the general election due to the jungle primary system, which went into effect after voters approved it in a statewide referendum in 2010.
Former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate, speaks during a roundtable discussion with representatives from Child Guidance Center in Santa Ana on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (Leonard Ortiz/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
“This is really the first gubernatorial election where there’s no obvious winner, so that’s why it’s such a tense thing,” Richard Winger, owner of Ballot Access News, told Digital.
Winger and former Democratic state Sen. Dario Frommer pointed to other races where the seat was open and two candidates of the same party were running against each other in the general election.
“The Republicans were shut out in the California U.S. Senate primary in 2018 when the top two vote getters were Kamala Harris and Rep. Linda Sanchez, and there have been other races where either Republicans or Democrats were shut out of the general election because of the top two,” Frommer, who is now a legislative strategist, told Digital.
“I think early on there was genuine, genuine concern of the Democratic party, because there were so many Democratic candidates that Hilton and Bianco were going to be the top two vote getters,” Frommer told Digital. “Now that’s changed a bit.”
Frommer said that, based on current polling, the top two vote-getters appear likely to be Hilton, Becerra, and Democratic candidate Tom Steyer.
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But at the same time Frommer said Democrats aren’t in the clear either.
“Usually, there’s a lot more people overall voting by this point, and they’re not, and so I think that concern is real for Democrats, that people wait too long to fill out their ballots, and there’s only two Republican candidates,” Frommer told Digital.
The fear of either party being shut out of the general election this fall has prompted Democratic strategist Steven Maviglio to organize a ballot initiative campaign to eliminate the jungle primary system, a measure that could appear on the 2028 ballot.
“I think if two Republicans make the ballot, or if two Democrats make the ballot, then voter outrage will be high, and that will only focus on just what a failed experiment this is,” Maviglio said of the jungle primary system.
