San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan announced Thursday that he is running for governor of California, jumping into an already crowded race less than six months before the June primary.
The 43-year-old Democrat said he decided to run after growing frustrated with what he described as “business as usual” in Sacramento and a field of candidates he said has failed to offer a bold, solutions-driven vision for the state.
“I know that California can do better,” Mahan said in an interview. “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. That’s the spirit we need in Sacramento.”
Mahan’s announcement comes less than three weeks after he publicly signaled interest in joining the race, which remains wide open with no clear front-runner. He becomes the ninth Democrat to enter a contest that has already drawn a crowded and fractured field.
Over the last two months, Mahan has hosted six of the candidates in San Jose, taking them on tours of the city’s interim housing communities as he looked for a candidate willing to prioritize faster, more pragmatic responses to homelessness. After those meetings, he said, he concluded that none were offering the approach he was seeking.
As the only current mayor of a big city in the race, Mahan said he’s closer to the issues than most. He points to his “back to basics” agenda, which he credits in helping clear blight from the city, reducing unsheltered homelessness and making San Jose one of the safest big cities in the nation.
Elected to the City Council in 2020 representing Almaden Valley and Blossom Valley, Mahan rose quickly, winning the mayor’s office in 2022 and taking office in 2023. A self-described moderate Democrat, he has frequently broken with his party, emerging as a vocal critic of Gov. Gavin Newsom on crime and homelessness.
He has also sparred with Santa Clara County officials over their decision to continue focusing on building permanent supportive housing instead of opting for interim solutions that get homeless residents off the streets more quickly.
Mahan’s announcement that he’s in comes just five months before the June primary, giving him a short runway to build name recognition statewide, particularly in Southern California, where most of the state’s voters live. He has made frequent television appearances in the region in recent years, but acknowledged the challenge ahead.
“Name ID only gets you so far,” Mahan said. “What sets someone aside in this field is solutions.”
According to a Dec. 4 independent poll by Emerson College, the Democratic field is tightly packed, led by East Bay Rep. Eric Swalwell at 12% and former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter at 11%. Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa followed with 5%, while billionaire environmental advocate Tom Steyer and former U.S. Health Secretary and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra each polled at 4%.
Two high-profile Republicans — former Fox News commentator Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco — are also in the race and have performed strongly as Democrats continue to split their vote.
Democrats hold roughly a 2-to-1 advantage over Republicans in statewide voter registration. But under California’s top-two primary system, the two candidates with the most votes advance to the November general election regardless of party affiliation.
“The current field is following the same playbook,” Mahan said. “They’re either running against Trump or running in his image and what I’m running for is the future of California — and I’m offering real specific solutions.”
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
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