Four of the top Democrats running for California governor met Sunday morning for the first major candidate forum of the 2026 election, a cordial discussion interspersed with some fireworks and the politician they hope to succeed, Gov. Gavin Newsom. But almost no quips were taken.
The forum in downtown San Francisco, sponsored by the National Union of Healthcare Workers, included gubernatorial candidates Lt. Gov. eleni kounalakisState Superintendent. of public instruction Tony Thurmondstate senator Tony Atkins of San Diego and former State Comptroller betty yee,
Event, livestreamed Los Angeles Times websiteHeld very early in the 2026 gubernatorial campaign, just a month before the high-stakes 2024 presidential election. Even more candidates are expected to enter the race for California’s highest office in the coming months.
Also missing at the forum was former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, one of the best-known Democrats in the race. The union said Villaraigosa was invited but declined to attend.
Do you agree with Newsom?
All four candidates were repeatedly pressed on Newsom’s track record and how they might govern differently. They were mostly in favor of Newsom — and each other — on issues including the death penalty (they all oppose it) and California’s policy of phasing out the sale of new, gas-powered cars by 2035 (they all support it) are included.
The four also said they would sign legislation granting striking workers access to state unemployment benefits, a top priority for California’s powerful organized labor movement. Newsom vetoed a similar bill Last year, it said expanding benefits would make the unemployment trust fund “vulnerable to bankruptcy.”
Candidates were divided over whether California should allow school districts to determine when they reopen during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led public schools in some urban areas to replace private schools and schools in more rural areas. In comparison, they remained closed for months.
Kounalakis, Thurmond and Yee said they would have handled the situation differently than Newsom. Atkins said she wasn’t sure, adding: “It’s easier now to quarterback on Monday morning. … We know more today than we did then.”
Single-payer healthcare
The moderators pressed the candidates on their positions on health care policy, particularly of interest to the audience of the union that represents about 19,000 California health care workers, including nurses and pharmacists.
All four candidates, to varying degrees, have said they would adopt a single-payer health care system that would cover all Californians and dramatically reshape the state’s medical coverage.
All said they were awaiting a January 2025 report on Senate Bill 770, a measure Newsom required signed into law Last fall the state health secretary was required to begin talking to the federal government about waivers to allocate federal Medicaid and Medicare funds to the state-run health system.
Legislative analysts estimated earlier this year that a single-payer system could cost $392 billion per year,
Thurmond said California does not have a single-payer system because “people don’t have the political will to bring it forward.” Atkins, who authored the 2017 bill that would have created a single-payer system, said she is looking forward to seeing the waiver options presented through SB 770, and “you can’t create that system overnight.”
After the panel, Yee said in an interview that his support for a single-payer system would partly depend on the findings of SB 770.
“I think a unified financing system makes sense,” Yee said. “Is it single-payer – that’s the question.”
The last time California had a competitive gubernatorial race, this same question sparked: In NUHW 2017 candidate forumVillaraigosa and Newsom clashed over state-sponsored, single-payer healthcare.
Villaraigosa said he supports the concept of single-payer healthcare but cautioned that politicians pushing the concept are “selling snake oil.” He said politicians like Newsom underestimated the complexities of creating the new system and didn’t know how to pay for it.
Newsom dismissed Villaraigosa’s concerns, saying that fighting for single-payer healthcare was “a question of leadership” and that he would not wait for Congress to act. Newsom won the union endorsement and the governor’s race in 2018, but has not implemented a single-payer health care system.
Housing, homelessness and California migration
All four candidates said their top priority would be building more housing to address the rising cost of living in California.
Kounalakis pointed to his two decades of experience in real estate development before entering politics, saying he helped build a planned community for 200,000 people. With local governments, he said, “the pressure against us to be able to build housing was huge.”
“Now is the time to put someone in the governor’s office who has actually built things,” Kounalakis said.
Yee called for expanding local zoning to add more housing capacity, and said she would push for a “permanent, stable source of financing for affordable housing.”
Forum panelist Laurel Rosenhall, California politics editor for The Times, asked the candidates what homeless policy they would support that Newsom hasn’t already tried. He said Newsom spent more than $20 billion on the crisis but has seen the number of homeless Californians rise.
Yee said she would like to see more spending to prevent people from becoming homeless. he cited A survey from UC San Francisco which found that 83% of older homeless adults believed homelessness could be avoided with a one-time payment of $5,000 to $10,000, which is “certainly much less than what we are investing in our budget.”
Thurmond said there are 240,000 homeless students in California, 10,000 of whom are unaccompanied minors. He said he would like to see subsidized housing with wraparound support to help students attend classes and find work.
crime in california
Three of the four candidates avoided trying to take a position on Proposition 36, an initiative on the November ballot that would toughen punishment for repeat burglaries and crimes involving the deadly drug fentanyl.
The measure has been the center of intense debate this year as Republicans and law enforcement advocates have called for unwinding parts of Proposition 47. The criminal justice reform measure, which voters approved a decade ago, converted some felonies to misdemeanors and reduced convictions. Increase in organized retail theft And “Smash and Grab” robberies,
Thurmond said his vote “is still to be determined.” Kounalakis said she has made up her mind, but wants to keep her vote private.
Atkins said she would “probably” not vote. She said she is concerned that the ballot measure crafts laws that are “set in stone, and the only way you can undo that is to go back to the people,” and said she supports it. package of retail theft bills Which was passed by the Legislature in August.
Yee said Proposition 36 is “ill-conceived” and he planned to vote no, adding: “It’s making false promises about how we generally want to deal with the issue of public safety “
Will you do it or not?
In a state where Democratic voters outnumber Republicans by nearly 2-to-1, Democrats are expected to dominate the 2026 statewide contest to replace Newsom, who is completing his second term and then Can’t walk with. No Republican has won a statewide election in California since 2006.
Other Democrats could potentially enter the race, including California Atty. general Rob BontaRepresentative Katie Porter (D-Irvine), who Lost her bid for US Senate in March; And Developer Rick CarusoWho ran for Mayor of Los Angeles in 2022, losing to Karen Bass.
Several Republicans are also said to be campaigning Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco And Conservative commentator Steve Hilton.
