In the bluest of blue states, a political earthquake may be brewing—and the tremors are already rattling the marble columns of Sacramento.
According to a new poll released by 790 KABC, nearly half of likely California voters—48 percent—say they would consider voting for a Republican in the 2026 gubernatorial race. That number doesn’t just raise eyebrows. It triggers alarms. Because if nearly half of California voters are willing to cross the aisle in this political climate, the so-called “California model” is in serious trouble—and the Democratic Party knows it.
The signs are everywhere.
Voters are fed up. They’re done with sky-high gas prices (83% say they’re too high). They’re sick of unchecked homelessness (72% say the problem persists under Democrat rule). And they’ve had it with a political elite that seems more interested in virtue-signaling than solving real problems. Only 24 percent of voters believe biological males should be competing in girls’ sports—a direct rebuke to the progressive gender ideology shoved into every corner of public life.
Nearly 50% of Californians Could Vote for a Republican Governor
https://t.co/Lx2opth2ue— 790 KABC (@KABCRadio) March 19, 2025
But the ruling party isn’t listening. They’re punishing dissent. Five Republican Assembly members were removed from their committee assignments for doing their jobs—asking uncomfortable but necessary questions about the state’s bloated spending and secretive backroom deals. One of them, Assemblyman Carl DeMaio, uncovered $9.5 billion in health benefits for illegal immigrants and $25 million for so-called “COVID outreach” that appears to be little more than a slush fund for far-left advocacy groups.
Their reward? Silencing.
Meanwhile, California Democrats—despite holding a two-thirds supermajority and every statewide office—are acting like a regime on the brink. They’re banning cameras from the Capitol hallways. They’re locking journalists out of the Senate floor. They’re stripping lawmakers of power for challenging party orthodoxy. And they’re shutting down efforts like Assembly Bill 844, which would end the absurd practice of letting biological boys dominate girls’ sports, even as Governor Newsom admits on a podcast that it’s unfair.
What does it tell you when even Newsom won’t support common-sense legislation his own words endorse? It tells you that California’s Democrat leadership is no longer leading. They’re posturing. Protecting. Pretending.
And it’s unraveling.
Despite every structural advantage, voters are rejecting their agenda at the ballot box. In the last election, Californians passed a tough-on-crime initiative Newsom opposed. They blocked an effort to make it easier for local governments to jack up property taxes. They rejected a rent control expansion that would’ve wrecked what’s left of the housing market.
Now, DeMaio and Essayli are pushing a voter ID initiative—supported by 68 percent of Californians, including a majority of Democrats. And for good reason. California’s ballot rules—accepting votes seven days after the election with no postmark required—invite chaos, delay, and fraud. And voters are noticing.
So yes, nearly half of voters in California—the heart of progressive America—are open to electing a Republican governor. Not because they’ve changed their identity. But because they’ve seen the results. Homelessness. Crime. Inflation. Declining schools. Soaring costs. And a government that behaves more like a cartel than a public servant.
Democrats should be terrified. Because if this kind of backlash is possible in California—it is possible anywhere.
