CALIFORNIA — Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat Tom Steyer led the field of candidates in the 2026 California governor's primary, each drawing support in the mid-teens percentage range, according to a YouGov survey of 1,479 registered California voters conducted between April 23 and April 27, 2026. The share of undecided voters exceeded the support level of any single candidate.

The survey carried a margin of error of ±4.2 percentage points for registered voters and ±4.1 percentage points for likely primary voters. The sample was weighted by gender, age, race, education, and geographic region based on the voter file and U.S. Census data, as well as by 2024 presidential vote.

Registered Democratic voters in California greatly outnumber registered Republican voters. Some Democratic voters expressed concern that two Republican candidates could finish as the top two vote-getters and exclude Democrats from the general election.

Within the Democratic primary electorate, voters who want a candidate with very similar policies to Gov. Gavin Newsom favored former HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, while those who want a candidate with different policies from Newsom favored philanthropist Tom Steyer. Democratic primary voters overall tended to prefer candidates with policies at least somewhat similar to Newsom's, and overwhelmingly wanted a nominee who always opposes President Trump and would not cooperate with the Trump administration on ICE operations.

Democratic primary voters wanted the next governor to prioritize building more housing as part of helping the middle and working class, while Republican primary voters identified lowering taxes as the top priority. Voters were split on whether the next governor should suspend part of the state's gas tax, with slightly more voters opposing suspension than supporting it.

Immigration and crime ranked as higher priorities for Republican primary voters, while climate change and healthcare ranked higher for Democratic primary voters. Large majorities of California voters opposed U.S. military action in Iran and said a candidate's position on the issue was important to their vote.

Democratic primary voters tended to have a more positive impression of California's economy than other primary voters and tended to say California sets a good example for the rest of the nation. Republican primary voters viewed California's economy as worse than the national economy and tended to say the state sets a bad example.

The descriptors "values" and "judgment" stood out as the most desired qualities in a candidate among primary voters. Democratic primary voters also desired "experience" in a candidate, while Republican primary voters tended to look for "change." Most primary voters said debates matter at least somewhat in their choice of candidate.

Younger Californians under age 50 expressed more confidence that the California Dream is attainable than older Californians, and Democrats expressed more confidence than Republicans. More Californians called the cost of living in California "unmanageable" than did five years ago.