Democrats are waiting until the last minute to pick a governor

Key Points:

• California Democrats face uncertainty in the governor’s race due to no clear frontrunner and an open primary system, prompting some to delay voting until the last minute to strategically support the leading Democratic candidate.
• Former Rep. Eric Swalwell was initially the Democratic consensus pick but lost support amid sexual assault allegations, leading to a shift in voter strategy toward candidates like Xavier Becerra, who surged in polls after Swalwell’s decline.
• Some Democrats fear a Republican runoff if anti-Trump voters back lesser-known GOP candidates, which has motivated a "wait and see" voting approach shared widely on social media, though some posts falsely attributed the strategy to prominent Democratic influencers.
• Election officials and Democratic leaders, including Gov. Gavin Newsom and Secretary of State Shirley Weber, warn that late voting complicates ballot counting and could slow results, urging voters to submit ballots early to ensure efficient election administration.
• Political consultants criticize the late-voting strategy as ineffective, noting that most voters tend to vote according to their initial preferences, while pollsters highlight challenges in predicting outcomes due to the large candidate field and historically low primary turnout.