In a top-two primary system, all candidates from all parties appear on a single ballot open to any registered voter, with the two candidates with the most votes in the primary moving on to the general election, even if they’re from the same party. This system allows for an all-Republican or all-Democratic general election, as seen in the current scenario where the top two candidates are Republicans, potentially locking out Democrats despite outnumbering Republicans.
California gubernatorial candidates during a debate hosted by CBS Bay Area and the San Francisco Examiner in San Francisco on May 14, 2026. This story is free to read because readers choose to support LAist.
If you find value in independent local reporting, you’ll have the opportunity to cast your ballot for any of the candidates for governor, regardless of which party you’re registered with. The top two vote-getters advance to the general election. That two Republican gubernatorial candidates may move to the general election, locking out Democrats despite outnumbering Republican registered voters almost two to one. That’s because the crowded field of Democratic candidates threatens to split the party’s vote.
Until recently, multiple polls have shown the two Republicans, former Fox News host Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, polling at the top of the race. Driven in part by these concerns, critics of the top-two primary have now filed a ballot initiative that would repeal this system and return California to party-based primaries, potentially as early as 2030
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