CA Democrats can’t agree on endorsement for governor. Will Republicans benefit?

The California Democratic Party’s state convention wrapped up Sunday in San Francisco, concluding a three-day event in which 3,500 delegates chose some of their party endorsements for the June 2 primary election. 

As expected, none of the nine Democratic candidates hoping to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom earned the necessary 60% of votes to win an official party endorsement, though results showed Bay Area U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell in the lead with 24% of the votes. Former California State Controller Betty Yee and former California Attorney General Xavier Becerra came in second and third, even though they haven’t cracked 5% support in polls. 

The lack of a party consensus for the next governor underscores a concern among some Democrats that an overcrowded field could mean two Republicans, and no Democrats, advance after the primary and onto the November ballot. That’s because in California, the top two finishers in the primary move on, irrespective of party. 

Outside the gubernatorial election, the party endorsed candidates for the state Legislature and the U.S. House of Representatives. This included aging incumbents over younger upstarts.

But there may be room for some new blood: The party failed to endorse a candidate for California’s 22nd congressional district, where a current state lawmaker is up against a progressive political newcomer. 

Read more about the governor’s race and House elections from CalMatters’ Jeanne Kuang and Maya C. Miller, respectively.

More convention news:

• Pelosi makes an appearance: House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi issued a speech to delegates on Saturday after receiving a big applause on the convention floor. She called for Democrats to take back the House in November: “We don’t agonize, we organize. We unionize.” Read more from Juliet Williams.

• Dems infighting: State Sen. Mike McGuire of Santa Rosa secured a party endorsement in his bid for California’s 1st congressional district, but not without some drama. After McGuire received approval from 74% of the delegates in the region, his Democratic primary opponent, Audrey Denney, challenged the endorsement. California Democratic Party chairperson Rusty Hicks moved to block the endorsement, which prompted a heated exchange between Hicks and McGuire. Hicks later voted to deny Denney’s challenge. Read more from Maya.

Newsom is calling for the Trump administration to refund Americans over the tariffs it began imposing last year on goods imported from most countries around the world.

As CalMatters’ Levi Sumagaysay explains, the U.S. Supreme Court declared President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs illegal, and that only Congress has the authority to levy taxes under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which Trump argued gave him the power to set the tariffs.

Trump immediately denounced the decision, and then ordered a new 150-day, 10% tariff across the board under a different authority. He later pledged on social media to raise this to 15%.

California industries that have been affected by the tariffs include ports, wineries and farms. The possibility of a refund process for the more than $264 billion in tax revenue the government collected in 2025 from the tariffs in all the U.S. remains unclear. U.S. corporations such as Costco have sued the federal government over the tariffs, hoping to claw back refunds. Meanwhile, a study from Yale University that Newsom cited estimated that the average cost of Trump’s tariffs has been over $1,700 per household.

Read more.

In addition to calling for tariff refunds, Newsom also:

• Allocated money for immigrants: The governor said his office plans to release $35 million to help philanthropic organizations provide food assistance, legal aid and other services to immigrant families. GOP Assemblymember Carl DeMaio of San Diego called the allocation “absurd.” Read more from Wendy Fry.

• Opened a prison learning center: At the grounds of California’s oldest prison, Newsom unveiled a new learning facility on Friday at the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center. The large facility includes a technology center, classrooms and a café. Newsom seeks to reshape the prison into “the nation’s most innovative rehabilitation facility.” Read more from Cayla Mihalovich.

• Authorized BART funding: The governor approved a bill last week authorizing a $590 million emergency loan to help prop up public transit systems in the Bay Area. For years transit agencies have faced budget deficits, prompting pleas for more state aid. The bailout will help stabilize the agencies in the short term. Some Democrats who voted for the loan said the transit systems mismanaged funds. GOP members agreed, but voted no on the loan.

Despite receiving clearance to inspect San Diego County’s Otay Mesa Detention Center, two county supervisors, along with U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, were denied entry to the facility where people are being held in ICE custody. Padilla said the facility has regularly exceeded capacity, and the officials were there to review Otay Mesa’s medical care and living conditions. Read more from CalMatters’ Deborah Brennan.