Betty Yee Suspends California Governor Campaign, Reshaping June 2 Race

Betty Yee’s withdrawal reshaped California’s 2026 governor’s race as the June 2 primary approached, with SW Newsmagazine saying “With just weeks until the June 2 primary” the contest was defined by “a consolidating Republican base and a still fragmented Democratic field.”

“SAN FRANCISCO -- Betty Yee has suspended her campaign for California governor”

ABC7 Los Angeles

SW Newsmagazine reported that “Republicans Hold Early Edge” with Steve Hilton leading and Xavier Becerra “gaining ground as Democrats struggle to consolidate support” after Yee’s exit.

ABC7 Los Angeles

ABC7 Los Angeles described Yee as “suspended her campaign for California governor” and said she made the announcement “Monday morning,” giving “emotional remarks when thanking her family.”

KTVU reported that Yee announced in a video announcement, “Today I am announcing that my campaign for governor will be suspended,” and said she cited “a lack of financial support and a disappointing shift in voter priorities.”

CBS News California Investigates said Yee told it the race had become “unpredictable and turbulent,” and that she no longer saw “a viable path forward.”

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Yee dropped out Monday, bringing “the number of leading Democrats down to six,” and noted that “Because they dropped out after the deadline, Swalwell’s and Yee’s names will both still appear on the ballot.”

CalMatters said Yee dropped out “on Monday,” with “six weeks left before the primary,” and that she couldn’t see a path to get “donors and additional support from undecided voters.”

Multiple outlets tied Yee’s decision to polling, fundraising, and the size of the undecided vote as the primary neared.

KTVU said Yee “citing a lack of financial support and a disappointing shift in voter priorities,” and it quoted her saying, “I think what has changed is the whole notion that voters are looking for experience and competence,” adding that those qualities “are no longer top priorities for many voters.”

CalMatters

CalMatters reported that Yee said “It was becoming clear that the donors were not going to be there,” and also quoted her saying, “Even some of my former supporters just felt like they needed to move on as well.”

CBS News California Investigates put Yee’s reasoning in terms of viability by the June 2 primary, with Yee telling interviewer Julie Watts, “I don’t see a path to really making it to the primary,” and saying “I’m just not going to be able to have the resources that I need to be viable by the June 2 primary.”

CBS News also included Yee’s account of how polling and party pressure affected her campaign, with Yee saying, “It’s really put a chill on, frankly, my donors,” and describing that “This was really a decision that I made after working with a stellar polling research firm.”

CalMatters added that Yee said she couldn’t see a path to get “donors and additional support from undecided voters with six weeks left before the primary,” and it reported that she had been “at or near the bottom of the polls” and “never garnering more than about 3% of likely voters.”

SW Newsmagazine similarly emphasized the undecided bloc, saying “Approximately 20 percent of voters remain undecided,” and quoting, “About one in five voters remain undecided at this stage.”

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Yee said she “failed to gain traction” and told it, “We just thought that experience and competence would poll much higher than what it’s been polling.”

The outlets framed Yee’s exit within California’s “top two” primary system and the continuing presence of undecided voters.

“Just hours before , Betty Yee sat down with CBS News California Investigates for a candid and emotional interview”

CBS News

SW Newsmagazine said the race is shaped by “California’s top-two primary system, where the highest two vote-getters move on regardless of party affiliation,” and it argued that “the race remains highly fluid” because “Approximately 20 percent of voters remain undecided.”

CalMatters described the same system as a “jungle primary” dynamic, saying “California has an unusual “jungle primary” system in which the top two vote-getters in the primary, regardless of party, advance to the general election.”

The San Francisco Chronicle said party leaders worried that Democrats could “divide the liberal vote into so many pieces that two Republicans made it through to the general election,” and it connected that concern to the earlier presence of two leading Republicans and many Democrats.

ABC7 Los Angeles said Yee’s exit did not remove her from the ballot, noting “voters will still see Yee's name on the ballot in the June 2 primary,” and it added that voters would still see “former Congressman Eric Swalwell, who dropped out of the race as a frontrunner amid sexual assault allegations.”

CBS News California Investigates emphasized the undecided share in Yee’s own explanation, with Yee telling Julie Watts, “We still have nearly a quarter of voters undecided,” and asking, “Why now, Betty?”

The same CBS News interview included Yee’s view that the party’s polling efforts “put a chill on, frankly, my donors,” and that “The number of undecideds” and “the people who were responding with the candidates of their choice” were “still shopping.”

CalMatters reported that “About 20% of likely voters remain undecided,” and it said Yee’s exit left “only one woman in the contest, former Rep. Katie Porter.”

Beyond polling and undecided voters, the reporting tied Yee’s exit to fundraising constraints and her account of support within the Asian American and Pacific Islander community.

KTVU said Yee “admitted that a lack of resources ultimately forced her hand,” and it reported that “donors, including former supporters, pulled back as the race progressed.”

KTVU

KTVU also quoted Yee asking, “Where was my community?” and said she described “one of her biggest disappointments was the lack of backing from the Asian American and Pacific Islander community,” adding that “Even some of the endorsing organizations were looking at this quite late.”

CBS News California Investigates similarly described Yee’s disappointment, saying she spoke about “a deeper disappointment: that support from within the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, which she had hoped would rally behind her historic candidacy, never fully materialized.”

In the CBS News interview, Yee told Julie Watts that she had been under pressure and that “It’s really put a chill on, frankly, my donors,” and she also described her husband as a source of personal strength, calling him her “superpower.”

CalMatters provided additional fundraising detail, saying that in the second half of last year Yee brought in “just $344,000 — compared with other candidates’ millions,” and that she “spent more than she raised.”

CalMatters also reported that Yee said she chose a “grassroots campaign” rather than seeking “large institutional support,” and it said donors held back “out of concern about her low polling numbers, even those from Asian American communities that she said had backed her in the past.”

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Yee “plans to endorse one of them in the coming days but has not decided which one,” while ABC7 Los Angeles said she “says she will have more to share about her experience in the gubernatorial race in the coming days.”

The reporting connected Yee’s exit to the broader reshuffling already set in motion by Eric Swalwell’s departure and to the polling positions of Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco.

SW Newsmagazine said “The exit of Eric Swalwell, followed by Betty Yee’s withdrawal, has narrowed the slate but has not yet produced a clear frontrunner,” and it described Xavier Becerra as “one of the clearest beneficiaries of the reshuffle,” with polling “between 10 percent and 13 percent.”

San Francisco Chronicle

CalMatters reported that after Swalwell left, Becerra “surged to 13% after former Rep. Eric Swalwell dropped out over sexual assault allegations,” and it said “The chances of Democrats getting locked out of the general election have gone down since Swalwell left the race.”

The San Francisco Chronicle said Yee’s exit would “boost her party’s chances of having at least one candidate make it through to the general election,” and it tied that to the earlier risk that “two Republicans made it through to the general election.”

It also reported that President Donald Trump endorsed “former Fox News host Steve Hilton,” making it “less likely that his leading Republican rival — Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco — will shore up enough votes to make the top two.”

KTVU said Yee’s exit came as the race saw “significant upheaval,” noting that “U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell recently made an abrupt exit from the contest following allegations of sexual assault,” and it said Yee was “in ninth place, garnering just 1% of the vote” in a tracking poll.

SW Newsmagazine’s polling snapshot put Hilton at “16–20%,” Bianco at “14–17%,” Becerra at “10–13%,” and it placed undecided voters at “~20%.”

CalMatters added that “The two Republicans, Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco, are still in the lead,” and it said Yee’s exit left “only one woman in the contest, former Rep. Katie Porter.”

As Yee stepped aside, the reporting emphasized what voters would still see on the ballot and what campaigns would do in the final stretch.

ABC7 Los Angeles said “Despite her dropping out, voters will still see Yee's name on the ballot in the June 2 primary,” and it also said voters would still see “former Congressman Eric Swalwell, who dropped out of the race as a frontrunner amid sexual assault allegations.”

The San Francisco Chronicle likewise said “Because they dropped out after the deadline, Swalwell’s and Yee’s names will both still appear on the ballot,” and it reported that Yee “plans to endorse one of them in the coming days but has not decided which one.”

CalMatters reported that Yee “did not immediately endorse another candidate, but said she would do so in the next few days,” and it described how the race was entering “its most expensive phase yet with multiple candidates launching television ads last week.”

SW Newsmagazine said “With ballots set to begin reaching voters in early May, campaigns are expected to intensify outreach efforts and sharpen their messaging,” and it framed the central question as whether “Democrats can consolidate support behind a leading candidate or whether continued fragmentation will allow Republicans to maintain their edge.”

CBS News California Investigates included Yee’s own forward-looking message, with Yee telling Julie Watts, “But I’m not done. That work will continue,” and it also said she would share “more observations and experiences in the weeks and months to come.”

KTVU reported that Yee “said she is not endorsing another candidate at this time,” and it quoted her “She says she will have more to share about her experience in the gubernatorial race in the coming days.”

Finally, CalMatters said the party’s internal pressure campaign had targeted lower-polling Democrats, noting that Yee became “one of California Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks’ unnamed targets of a public campaign to pressure lower-polling Democrats to drop out of the race,” and it quoted Hicks thanking Yee while saying there were “too many Democrats in the field.”