San Jose mayor jumps into crowded California governor’s race in a move that could help GOP
SANTA BARBARA, California — San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan on Thursday launched his campaign for the 2026 California governor’s race, making him the latest Democratic candidate looking to fill Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D-CA) seat in Sacramento.
Mahan announced his late bid less than five months before the primary, joining a crowded Democratic primary that has yet to produce a front-runner. The rough tally in the wide-open governor’s race now stands at more than a dozen Democratic candidates and a handful of Republicans.
“I’m running to bring focus back to government,” Mahan said in an X post. “To give cities the tools they need to succeed. To show that the best resistance to division is results. And to prove that California can work again — for everyone. That’s why I’m running.”
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan at his desk in San Jose, California, on May 5, 2025. (Barnini Chakraborty/Washington Examiner)
Mahan’s decision to join the race stems from it lacking a candidate with what he calls a “back to basics agenda” who is focused on the betterment of California, rather than an anti-Trump agenda.
A vocal Newsom critic, Mahan has set his sights on issues such as homelessness and drug addiction, while separating himself from other candidates by employing a moderate approach.
Mahan receives cold reception from California Democrats
Not all Democrats are pleased with Mahan’s entry into the race, as it could siphon support from other Democratic candidates and give Republicans the edge in the state’s jungle primary in June, in which the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, advance to the general election.
“With all due respect, Matt Mahan is a nobody statewide, a political force only in his own mind because he likes to publicly crap on Newsom,” longtime California Democratic political strategist Garry South told the Washington Examiner. “I doubt his statewide name ID would be more than 2% or 3% — and some of them probably would have him confused with Dot McMahan, the Olympic runner. Plus, despite being a lovely city and California’s third-largest, San Jose is the political black hole of California and has never produced a governor or a U.S. senator.”
Mahan is trying to change that, but acknowledged to the Washington Examiner, it won’t be easy.
He has irked members of his own party by holding firm on the homelessness crisis and backing tougher-on-crime policies. He said he wanted to see a gubernatorial candidate offer “a bold, back-to-basics vision” for California. …
SANTA BARBARA, California — San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan on Thursday launched his campaign for the 2026 California governor’s race, making him the latest Democratic candidate looking to fill Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D-CA) seat in Sacramento.
Mahan announced his late bid less than five months before the primary, joining a crowded Democratic primary that has yet to produce a front-runner. The rough tally in the wide-open governor’s race now stands at more than a dozen Democratic candidates and a handful of Republicans.
“I’m running to bring focus back to government,” Mahan said in an X post. “To give cities the tools they need to succeed. To show that the best resistance to division is results. And to prove that California can work again — for everyone. That’s why I’m running.”
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan at his desk in San Jose, California, on May 5, 2025. (Barnini Chakraborty/Washington Examiner)
Mahan’s decision to join the race stems from it lacking a candidate with what he calls a “back to basics agenda” who is focused on the betterment of California, rather than an anti-Trump agenda.
A vocal Newsom critic, Mahan has set his sights on issues such as homelessness and drug addiction, while separating himself from other candidates by employing a moderate approach.
Mahan receives cold reception from California Democrats
Not all Democrats are pleased with Mahan’s entry into the race, as it could siphon support from other Democratic candidates and give Republicans the edge in the state’s jungle primary in June, in which the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, advance to the general election.
“With all due respect, Matt Mahan is a nobody statewide, a political force only in his own mind because he likes to publicly crap on Newsom,” longtime California Democratic political strategist Garry South told the Washington Examiner. “I doubt his statewide name ID would be more than 2% or 3% — and some of them probably would have him confused with Dot McMahan, the Olympic runner. Plus, despite being a lovely city and California’s third-largest, San Jose is the political black hole of California and has never produced a governor or a U.S. senator.”
Mahan is trying to change that, but acknowledged to the Washington Examiner, it won’t be easy.
He has irked members of his own party by holding firm on the homelessness crisis and backing tougher-on-crime policies. He said he wanted to see a gubernatorial candidate offer “a bold, back-to-basics vision” for California. …
San Jose mayor jumps into crowded California governor’s race in a move that could help GOP
SANTA BARBARA, California — San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan on Thursday launched his campaign for the 2026 California governor’s race, making him the latest Democratic candidate looking to fill Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D-CA) seat in Sacramento.
Mahan announced his late bid less than five months before the primary, joining a crowded Democratic primary that has yet to produce a front-runner. The rough tally in the wide-open governor’s race now stands at more than a dozen Democratic candidates and a handful of Republicans.
“I’m running to bring focus back to government,” Mahan said in an X post. “To give cities the tools they need to succeed. To show that the best resistance to division is results. And to prove that California can work again — for everyone. That’s why I’m running.”
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan at his desk in San Jose, California, on May 5, 2025. (Barnini Chakraborty/Washington Examiner)
Mahan’s decision to join the race stems from it lacking a candidate with what he calls a “back to basics agenda” who is focused on the betterment of California, rather than an anti-Trump agenda.
A vocal Newsom critic, Mahan has set his sights on issues such as homelessness and drug addiction, while separating himself from other candidates by employing a moderate approach.
Mahan receives cold reception from California Democrats
Not all Democrats are pleased with Mahan’s entry into the race, as it could siphon support from other Democratic candidates and give Republicans the edge in the state’s jungle primary in June, in which the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, advance to the general election.
“With all due respect, Matt Mahan is a nobody statewide, a political force only in his own mind because he likes to publicly crap on Newsom,” longtime California Democratic political strategist Garry South told the Washington Examiner. “I doubt his statewide name ID would be more than 2% or 3% — and some of them probably would have him confused with Dot McMahan, the Olympic runner. Plus, despite being a lovely city and California’s third-largest, San Jose is the political black hole of California and has never produced a governor or a U.S. senator.”
Mahan is trying to change that, but acknowledged to the Washington Examiner, it won’t be easy.
He has irked members of his own party by holding firm on the homelessness crisis and backing tougher-on-crime policies. He said he wanted to see a gubernatorial candidate offer “a bold, back-to-basics vision” for California. …
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