The Primary is upon us! The field of candidates for various offices including governor is larger than any I have seen in the past. There are a number of contested and uncontested local races. The Plumas County League of Women Voters held forums for local candidates in contested races a few weeks ago. As always, the League did an exemplary job providing voters an opportunity to hear local candidates! Hopefully you were able to attend!
A complete listing of certified state candidates can be found using this link to the Secretary of State’s office:
https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/statewide-elections/2026-primary/cert-list-candidates.pdf
There is internal concern among Democrats that Democrats could split their votes for Democrat candidates so generally that Republicans could secure the top 2 spots in the governor’s race leaving no possibility of a Democrat candidate being on the ballot. There was no endorsement for a gubernatorial candidate because no candidate met the 60% threshold needed to endorse a candidate at the CADEM endorsement convention. So far, only Betty Yee and Ian Calderon have suspended their campaigns by choice. Hopefully other candidates for governor will suspend their races before June 2nd. Numerous polls are out there. As we know, polls are not always accurate, but voting for a candidate who has no chance of winning is equivalent to losing the power of your vote.
The majority of polls for democrat gubernatorial candidates place Tom Steyer and Xavier Becerra as the top 2. Katie porter polls third.
Voting Information
Voters should have already received their Primary Election Voter Guide. Cover information indicates that ballots will be mailed on or before May 4th. If you did not receive your ballot, contact the Registrar of Voters office at 530 283-6256.
Track your ballot at https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-status/wheres-my-ballot
Plumas County voters will be able to cast their ballots the same 4 ways as we have done in the past:
- Our county’s one ballot drop box is in Quincy and will be open to receive ballots May 4th – June 2nd until polls close at 8:00 PM.
- The Courthouse will have inside voter booths which will be available only during business hours.
- Ballots can be dropped off in person in the Courthouse Elections Office during business hours as of May 4th.
- Voters can mail ballots using their local USPS Office. It is recommended that voters walk their ballots into the post office, hand the ballot to the postal clerk, and request that the postal clerk postmark the ballot right then. The California Democratic Party recommends that ballots be mailed a week to 10 days before June 2nd. May 22nd is suggested due to Memorial Day.
Questions about the elections can be answered by calling (530) 283-6256.
Candidates For Local Office
Plumas Sun – Candidates For Local Offices
https://plumassun.org/2026/03/21/candidates-run-for-plumas-county-offices/
Candidates For State Offices
With so many candidates in state races, the following resources could be helpful in choosing a candidate:
- QAI shared a document with profiles for gubernatorial candidates
- Wikipedia and Ballotpedia have information on all candidates.
- Forums sponsored by CADEM (Californian Democratic Party) and news agencies for state elections.
- News Reports
Here are a few of those resources:
Candidate Profiles For The State Gubernatorial Election – shared by Quincy Area Indivisible
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1VlSt6lF3ym6amoUv3MPajZ-AZP4XdR1B?emci=0cad6dc3-a333-f111-8ef2-000d3a14b640&emdi=9e9ae33a-b435-f111-8ef2-000d3a14b640&ceid=2482975
Factually provides analysis of Xavier Becerra, Katie Porter, and Tom Steyer
https://factually.co/fact-checks/politics/endorsements-funders-xavier-becerra-katie-porter-tom-steyer-7a3309
Becerra and Steyer tie for democratic lead (April)
https://sfist.com/2026/04/22/becerra-steyer-tie-for-democratic-lead-following-endorsements/
New York Post. – Xavier Becerra surges to lead over rivals (May)
https://nypost.com/2026/05/17/us-news/2026-california-governors-race-odds-favorites-amid-primary-push/
Forums
State Office Forums – State District Regional Directors
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfyTebm3128
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7ubGgWXu9c&t=71s
ABC 10 Governor Forums
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thljWUw3f10&t=51s
Last Gubernatorial Forum – April 14
CBS hosted the last gubernatorial forum. It can be streamed on CBSLA.com, CBS Bay Area, CBS Sacramento and CBS News 24/7, and its YouTube channels. Local CBS streams can be found on Paramount+, the Roku App and Pluto TV.
San Francisco Standard – Punches thrown -No knockout – 5 Take-a-ways from the final Gubernatorial Debate
https://sfstandard.com/2026/05/14/final-debate-governor-race/
New York Times – 5 take-a-ways from the last televised CA governor’s debate
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/07/us/politics/california-governors-debate-takeaways.html
Endorsements
California Teachers Association
https://ballotpedia.org/Endorsements_by_California_Teachers_Association
California Environmental Voters
https://envirovoters.org/2026-endorsements/
California Nurses Association
https://www.nationalnursesunited.org/press/california-nurses-association-endorses-tom-steyer-for-governor-of-california
National Nurses United
https://www.nationalnursesunited.org/california-endorsements#statewide
Politico – Becerra’s rise in polls baffles his former Biden colleagues
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/05/07/xavier-becerra-california-governor-race-biden-officials-00909552
RL Miller – Founder of Climate Hawks Vote (personal, unofficial endorsements
https://1drv.ms/w/c/06446ffc6424ba1c/IQCScpAUZctuSZPDrEr3Y7gxAQHduD8q_ohz7j5D8eSQ694
Factually -Xavier Becerra’s supporters and endorsers
https://factually.co/fact-checks/politics/xavier-beberra-supporters-endorsers-487f9c
Endorsements for Tom Steyer can be found on his website.
https://www.tomsteyer.com/endorsements
Candidates for State Assembly / State Senate
We have one democratic candidate running for State Assembly, Dianna James. There is no race for state senator this election.
Dianna James – Candidate for State Assembly
Dianna entered the race too late to be endorsed by the California Democratic Party, but because she is the only Democrat candidate, she will be endorsed after the primaries. She hopes to run a competitive race against Republican incumbent Heather Hadwick, but will need every vote from Democrats and left leaning voters to do this. Prop 50 did not change assembly or state senate district lines, so assembly district 1 (AD1) remains very “Red”!
Her campaign is also very low in funding so donations would be much appreciated!
Website – https://diannajamesad1.com/
www.facebook.com › public › Dianna-James
https://www.facebook.com/people/Dianna-James-for-California-Assembly-District-1/61585548387910/
Top Democrat Candidates For Congress
There are 2 congressional races with both Mike McGuire and Audrey Denney as lead democratic candidates running for Congress. One for CD1, our new district, and one for the current CD1 district, to complete the term of Doug LaMalfa who died in office. Since neither candidate met the 60% threshold in the endorsement vote for Doug LaMalfa’s seat, there is no California Democratic Party endorsement of any candidate in the race to fill Doug LaMalfa’s seat.
Our current district is CD3 and our representative is Kevin Kiley. Plumas County voters cannot vote in the special election to fill Doug LaMalfa’s seat.
State Senator Mike McGuire
State Senator Mike McGuire is the endorsed Democrat for the new Congressional District 1 (CD1). He has a long history of public service to the people in Healdsburg (his hometown), his county of Sonoma and to California as a state senator. Senator McGuire won the Democratic endorsement with 74% of the vote during the California Endorsement Convention, so he is the party’s endorsed candidate. Mike has come to Plumas County three times to meet with voters. More information about his campaign follows. I honestly believe that should Mike win this race, he will “hit the ground running”in Congress!
Mike’s Website
https://www.votemikemcguire.com/
Plumas Sun – Mike McGuire makes Third Local Visit.
https://plumassun.org/2026/04/21/fired-up-mike-mcguire-makes-third-local-visit/
Plumas Sun – Press Release for Mike McGuire’s third visit to Quincy
https://plumassun.org/2026/04/11/sen-mike-mcguire-returns-to-quincy-april-14/
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_McGuire_(politician)#cite_note-23
Ballotpedia
https://ballotpedia.org/Mike_McGuire
The Guardian- Reporter review of Mike McGuire’s Roadshow for Democracy in Quincy on April 14th
(Despite some errors in accurately stating Quincy’s population and how many were in attendance, the reporter did a great job reporting on the event!)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/08/mike-mcguire-democrat-rural-california
Factually.com provided analysis of Mike McGuire and Audrey Denney
https://factually.co/fact-checks/politics/mike-mcguire-audrey-denney-california-cd1-comparison-085dcf
