Check out No Labels’ chart showing where each gubernatorial candidate comes down on the big issues affecting the state.

Next Tuesday, California holds its gubernatorial primary. The seat is open for the first time in eight years, but the field competing for the title of governor is unlike anything California has seen in a generation. Six Democrats and two Republicans are on the ballot, and under California’s top-two primary system, the two candidates with the most votes advance to November regardless of party. That means a Republican could finish in the top two in the nation’s most populous state. It also means Democrats are splitting a fractured vote, with no clear front-runner and polling showing four candidates bunched within striking distance of each other.

Whoever ends up the winner will govern a state with a larger economy than France. The decisions made in Sacramento on housing, energy, immigration, and taxes ripple outward in ways that affect the entire country. California has long set the pace on policy, for better or worse, and the direction of the next governor will matter well beyond its borders.

We built this guide because most voters, even in California, are still sorting through the field. Eight candidates are a lot to track. The policy differences between them are real and, in some cases, significant. The debate over the proposed Billionaire Tax alone — a ballot measure that would impose a one-time 5% tax on net wealth over $1 billion — has exposed fault lines inside the Democratic Party that will outlast this primary.

Below is a side-by-side chart comparing all eight major candidates on housing, homelessness, immigration, climate and energy, public safety, the economy, and education as of late May 2026.

No Labels exists to support leaders who put serious governing ahead of political performance, in California and everywhere else. We do not think voters should have to dig through hours of debate footage and campaign websites to get a straight answer about where a candidate stands. This guide is our attempt to make that easier. Share it with anyone in California who is still making up their mind.