Welcome to the California Republic. The 31st State has always seemed larger than life, but it’s never been bigger than it is today, with generations of people from across the world coming in to exploit its bountiful resources. At just over US$4 trillion in gross state product (GSP), California would be the world’s fourth largest economy if you translated that to gross domestic product (GDP), wedged in between Germany and Japan.
Someone has to be in charge of all this. That someone is the governor, Gavin Newsom (D), but he’s already on his second term, which means he’s not allowed to run in the 2026 California gubernatorial election. Who will replace Newsom? According to BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review), Katie Porter is the +200 favorite as we go to press, but there are some other very interesting candidates on the odds boards at the top betting sites that you should know about.
Who Is Katie Porter?
Porter is the incumbent member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California’s 47th District, but she chose to run for the Senate this time around; Porter didn’t make it past the nonpartisan primary, finishing third behind Adam Schiff (D) and Steve Garvey (R). Her term in the House ends January 3.
Originally a farmgirl from Iowa, Porter (now age 50) got her BA at Yale, then her Juris Doctor magna cum laude at Harvard. Having worked as a lawyer and professor, Porter ran for the House in California’s 45th District, beating incumbent Mimi Walters (R) as part of the “blue wave” that swept across Orange County. She then won re-election in 2020, and again in 2022 after the previous redistricting cycle put her in the Fightin’ 47th.
Politically speaking, Porter is lock-step with the current Democratic Party. She’s voted in line with President Joe Biden nearly every time, although Porter did vote against the removal of U.S. troops from Syria in 2023. However, Porter has also been criticized in the past for running a toxic workplace, and using “abusive and racist” language.
Who Else Is There?
You might be familiar with the second name on the gubernatorial odds list, Kamala Harris (+350). The incumbent Vice President will be leaving office on January 20; why not return to her native California, where she was U.S. Senator from 2017 to 2021, and state Attorney General before that?
It could happen. Politico reported last month that Harris told her team of advisors to “keep her options open” for future elections, whether it’s another presidential run in 2028, or a gubernatorial run in 2026. Harris supporters are hoping for the former, so she can start fighting Donald Trump again sooner.
The name recognition alone would put Harris in pole position if she did choose to run. A Berkeley IGS online poll from October 22-29 (as published November 13) shows one out of three respondents “very likely” to support Harris, and another 13% “somewhat likely.”
What About the Republicans?
When looking only at the likely candidates (nine Democrats, four Republicans) who had announced their intentions or were reportedly in the running, about half of those surveyed said they didn’t prefer any particular one. Porter was the preferred No. 1 or No. 2 choice for the rest at 13%, followed by a pair of Republicans: Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco (12%) and state Senator Brian Dahle (11%).
Interestingly enough, you have to look way down the election odds list at BetOnline before you find Bianco (+2500) and Dahle (+3300). And the odds get even longer for the remaining two Republicans in the poll, former TV news host Steve Hilton (+10000) and academic Lanhee Chen (no line).
California may be about as blue as a “blue state” gets, but it hasn’t been that long since Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) was governor – he served two terms from 2003 to 2011. And of course, this was the state that gave us Gov. Ronald Reagan (R, 1967-75). Would their voters support Bianco, a COVID-19 anti-vaxxer and former member of the Oath Keepers? Bet accordingly.
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
