25 Candidates Running Against Gavin Newsom For Governor

CALIFORNIA — The 2022 California gubernatorial race is officially on, and the list of candidates is most notable for who isn’t included.

Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber released the certified slate of 26 candidates Thursday, and it’s notably void of known contenders to challenge Newsom’s re-election bid.

Perennial Republican contender John Cox won’t be hitting the campaign trail this year with his noteworthy sidekick Tag, the Kodiak bear. Caitlyn Jenner doesn’t have the time to run again — Fox News hired her as a contributor, the network announced Thursday.

And Larry Elder, the conservative talk radio firebrand, who gave Gov. Gavin Newsom, the political fight of his life during last year’s recall, announced months ago that he wouldn’t be running again this year.

The list includes a poet, a farmer, a psychologist, activists and even a children’s author. There are no celebrities in the running. The only other professional politician in the running is California State Senator Brian Dahle of the First District serving the Alpine area. Dahle was formerly the California State Assembly minority leader.

The gubernatorial primary will be June 7. The top two vote-getters will move onto the Nov. 8 general election.

Your 2022 California gubernatorial candidates are:

• Anthony "Tony" Fanara, Democratic, Owner of Restaurant
• Gavin Newsom, Democratic, Governor of California
• Armando "Mando" Perez-Serrato, Democratic, No Ballot Designation
• Joel Ventresca, Democratic, Retired Airport Analyst
• Ronald A. Anderson, Republican, Contractor/Inspector/Businessman
• Shawn Collins, Republican, Military Officer/Attorney
• Brian Dahle, Republican, Senator/Farmer
• Ron Jones, Republican, No Ballot Designation
• Jenny Rae Le Roux, Republican, Entrepreneur/Mom/Businesswoman
• David Lozano, Republican, Executive Officer/Attorney
• Daniel R. Mercuri, Republican, Father/Business Owner
• Cristian Raul Morales, Republican, Director of Operations
• Robert C. Newman II, Republican, Farmer/Psychologist
• Lonnie Sortor, Republican, Business Owner
• Anthony Trimino, Republican, Entrepreneur/CEO
• Major Williams, Republican, Entrepreneur/Businessman
• Leo S. Zacky, Republican, Businessman/Farmer/Broadcaster
• Heather Collins, Green, Small Business Owner
• Luis Javier Rodriguez, Green, Writer/Poet
• Serge Fiankan, No Party Preference, Small Business Owner
• James G. Hanink, No Party Preference, Retired Educator
• Woodrow "Woody" Sanders III, No Party Preference, Entrepreneur/Director/Engineer
• Frederic C. Schultz, No Party Preference, Human Rights Attorney
• Reinette Senum, No Party Preference, No Ballot Designation
• Michael Shellenberger, No Party Preference, Homelessness Policy Advocate
• Bradley Zink, No Party Preference, Children's Book Author

In all, the slate of contenders includes four Democrats, 13 Republicans, two Greens, and seven candidates who are not registered with any party.

Backed by the Democratic establishment, Newsom is considered something of an unbeatable incumbent in liberal California less than a year after surviving a recall election. Newsom handily defeated the recall effort Sept 14. Nearly 13 million voters cast ballots, opting to keep Newsom in office by 61.9% to 38.1%.

Though Newsom performed better in the recall election than he did in his 2018 election, he was down in the polls just two months before the recall. A poll in early August showed him losing to Elder. Elder, a right-wing radio host, was popular with California supporters of former President Donald Trump, but his conservative-libertarian principles were out of step with many of the state's left-leaning voters.

The governor's political troubles were largely due to frustration with his handling of the pandemic and the infamous French Laundry outing at a time when Californians were being asked to stay home.

His ability to stave off the recall threat was enough to dissuade major Democratic contenders from entering the race in 2022. His victory in 2021, was viewed as a blueprint for Democrats heading into the midterms this year.

"I want to focus on what we said yes to as a state. We said yes to science. We said yes to vaccines. We said yes to ending this pandemic. We said yes to people's right to vote without fear of fake fraud or voter suppression. We said yes to women's fundamental constitutional right to decide for herself what she does with her body, her fate and her future," he said in September after defeating the recall. "We said yes to diversity. We said yes to inclusion. ... We said yes to all those things that we hold dear as Californians, and I would argue as Americans — economic justice, social justice, racial justice, environmental justice. ... All of those things were on the ballot this evening, and so I'm humbled and grateful to the millions and millions of Californians who exercised their fundamental right to vote and expressed themselves so overwhelmingly by rejecting the division, by rejecting the cynicism."