Antonio Villaraigosa
The time is now to invest in
The time is now to invest in
Antonio Villaraigosa
Becoming California’s next Governor.
WHO WE ARE
Straight From the Heart of California is the statewide Independent Expenditure created to elect Antonio Villaraigosa as the next Governor of California. Quickly growing, we are a broad coalition of leaders and activists from the organized labor, business, education, and progressive communities. Together, we are confident that California is in dire need of experienced, pro-growth leadership to make our neighborhoods safer, fix our schools, and restore the state’s role as the nation’s engine of innovation. Voters are rightfully frustrated with status-quo politics and are open to a reform-minded Democrat with a real record of getting big things done. Because of the fluid state of the race coupled with California’s turbulent political environment, a rare convergence of events has opened a viable path to elect a transformational California governor for the first time in a generation. We are prepared to take advantage of this moment in order to achieve electoral success in both the June Primary and the November General Election.
STATE OF THE RACE
The race for Governor is wide open. Fundamentally different from any Gubernatorial campaign in recent California history, the 2026 race features a large, fractured field with no clear frontrunner in sight. The candidates running represent a wide range of geographic and ideological bases, allowing for a unique coalition to win the June primary.
Public polling has consistently demonstrated that over 30% of likely voters remain undecided. That same public polling has both recently and consistently shown that a growing number of Antonio’s Democratic opponents occupy too similar a lane, suggesting a far lower vote threshold to achieve a position in the General Election. Similarly, the data suggests that the growing number of public scandals amongst the Democrats–ranging from Katie Porter’s lashing out at staff and press to Xavier Becerra’s evolving embezzlement scandal–so too dilutes the crowded field, offering the opportunity to be successful in June by piecing together votes from an electorate diverse in geography, ethnicity, and ideology.
Even when it comes to financial resources, the viable Democrats are at near parity. Other than Tom Steyer, who has a history of spending large sums of his personal wealth and securing few votes to show for it, no Democrat had more than $4,000,000 cash on hand as of the last public report, and there is no data point to indicate anyone is breaking out of that pack. While Antonio is consistently among the best fundraisers in the field of candidates, the fundraising parity offers yet another unique window for success, now that the campaign cycle has kicked into high gear and voters are ready to engage on this race.