There's a New Face in California Governor's Race

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan is jumping into California's already packed governor's race, arguing that his own party has been too absorbed with President Trump and not focused enough on problems at home.

• The moderate Democrat and former tech entrepreneur is positioning himself as a blunt critic of the state's status quo on homelessness, crime, and the cost of living. Mahan, who leads Silicon Valley's largest city, tells Politico he's running because Democratic leaders have failed to offer "big solutions" on issues like mandatory addiction treatment and expanding shelter options. "It's a moment for someone who's a fighter for our values and a fixer of our problems," he says, insisting he is "different from every other candidate in this race." He accuses rivals of relying on a "tired playbook," either defining themselves against Trump or modeling themselves after him, instead of focusing on what he calls pragmatic fixes for California.

• Ideologically, Mahan largely aligns with mainstream Democrats on abortion, gun regulation, climate policy, and immigration, Politico reports. But he has drawn attention, and some Republican praise, for a harder line on public safety and homelessness. In San Jose, he backed a policy that lets police arrest homeless people for trespassing if they reject three offers of shelter, a measure that alarmed many progressive activists. He has also publicly faulted Gov. Gavin Newsom's record on homelessness and drug addiction, provoking irritation from Newsom's allies and fueling criticism from unions and left-leaning groups who portray Mahan as too conservative; he disputes that label.
• Mahan, 43, tells the San Jose Mercury News that as the only current big-city mayor in the race, he's closer to the issues than his rivals. "We've proven in San Jose that when we focus on the most important things and hold ourselves accountable for delivering results, we can really make progress for our residents," he says. "That's the spirit we need in Sacramento."

• His late entry, about four months before the June primary, underscores how unsettled the contest remains in a Democratic-dominated state that still lacks a clear frontrunner despite eight major Democrats already in the field. Mahan is expected to tap Silicon Valley megadonors but will face strong resistance from labor unions, which hold significant sway in statewide races.
• Among the Democrats he'll be competing with: former Rep. Katie Porter, Rep. Eric Swalwell, billionaire climate advocate Tom Steyer, former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
• The leading candidates vying to become California's first Republican governor since Arnold Schwarzenegger left office 15 years ago are former Fox News commentator Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, the Mercury News reports. Under California's primary system, all the candidates will be on one ballot and the top two vote-getters will compete in the November election, regardless of party affiliation.
• A recent poll put Swalwell first among Democratic candidates at 12% and second place overall, behind Bianco, who was at 13%. The poll found that almost a third of voters were undecided,