Former California State Controller Betty Yee ended her campaign for governor on Monday, citing low polling numbers and a lack of resources, the latest sign that the Democratic primary in the nation's largest state is splintering in ways that could hand Republicans a historic opening.
Yee, a Democrat who served two terms as controller, told CBS she saw no viable path forward. Her departure came the same day a new Gudelunas Strategies poll showed her trailing badly behind the field's top contenders, and it followed weeks of pressure from California Democratic leaders who had been pleading with low-polling candidates to drop out before a fractured vote delivered the race to Republicans.
The plea did not come with subtlety. Yee described the internal party pressure as "shame polls", surveys bankrolled by what she called "party bosses" designed to thin the herd by embarrassing weaker candidates into quitting.
Yee's exit alone would be a minor footnote. But it lands in a Democratic primary already reeling from the suspension of frontrunner Eric Swalwell's campaign earlier this month over rape and sexual assault allegations. That implosion sent shockwaves through the California Democratic establishment, which had treated Swalwell as its best hope to hold the governor's mansion after Gavin Newsom reaches his term limit.
With Swalwell gone and Yee now out, the Monday poll painted a striking picture. Trump-backed candidate Steve Hilton led the field at 20 percent. Xavier Becerra and billionaire Tom Steyer were tied at 15 percent. Chad Bianco sat at 14 percent, and Katie Porter trailed at 13 percent.
Two of the top five names, Hilton and Bianco, are Republicans. Under California's top-two primary system, a divided Democratic vote could send both Republicans through to the general election, locking every Democrat out entirely.
That nightmare scenario is precisely what party leaders feared. Newsmax reported that Democrats worry a split field could allow Hilton and Bianco to advance from the primary, a result that would be almost unthinkable in a state where Democrats hold supermajorities in both legislative chambers.
Yee did not leave quietly. She aimed pointed criticism at the party apparatus that nudged her toward the door, even as she acknowledged the math was against her. She told reporters:
"I mean, they're doing their job and for whatever reason decided to put money into a poll that would narrow the field."
Her frustration went deeper than tactics. Yee suggested that the qualities she brought to the race, long government experience, a record managing the state's finances, simply did not register with voters in the current political climate.
"What they were saying, which was concerning, was that experience and competence was not polling as high as we thought when I first started this race."
She framed the problem in cultural terms, describing a political environment that rewards spectacle over substance. The internal Democratic revolt over a scrapped governor's debate earlier in the cycle already hinted at how fractured and chaotic the party's primary had become.
Yee put it bluntly:
"We are in this new era where it's kind of almost a reality TV show mentality that people want, and frankly, conflict sells. That's what gets people's attention."
She even joked darkly about the lengths a candidate would need to go to break through:
"I'm not a flashy person, I don't come with gimmicks. I even joked with my team one time, maybe I just need to bring a folding stool and throw it off the stage just to get some attention. I mean, what's it gonna take, right?"
Beyond polling, Yee acknowledged that money was the other wall she could not climb. She told reporters she had concluded she would not have the resources to compete by the June primary.
"I have surmised, with all the information that we have, that I am not going to have the resources available to be successful by the June primary."
The fundraising gap underscored a broader problem. In a field that includes a billionaire self-funder in Tom Steyer and candidates with national profiles like Katie Porter, a former state controller, no matter how qualified on paper, struggled to command donor attention. The pattern mirrors what has been described as a crowded primary splintering the California left, with too many Democrats chasing the same pool of progressive dollars and activist energy.
Yee still struck a gracious note on her way out, insisting the campaign had been worthwhile on its own terms:
"I do feel we've run a successful campaign. But the work doesn't stop here. My commitment to public service is both in my public life and in my personal life. So I will be back to the communities."
Hovering over the entire race is the question of Gavin Newsom's influence. The term-limited governor has not issued a formal endorsement. But allies within Newsom's political network are increasingly viewing Xavier Becerra as a viable dark horse to succeed him, a development that could reshape the contest if it solidifies into an actual endorsement or fundraising push.
Becerra's 15-percent showing in the Gudelunas poll puts him in a statistical tie with Steyer and within striking distance of Hilton's lead. Whether Newsom's orbit coalesces behind him, or behind anyone, may determine whether Democrats can consolidate before the primary.
For now, the field remains wide open and the Democratic vote remains dangerously split. The Swalwell scandal, which prompted public heartbreak even from celebrity supporters, removed the candidate who had been polling strongest among Democrats. Yee's exit thins the field by one more name but does little to solve the underlying math problem.
Several questions still hang over the race. The specific methodology, sample size, and field dates of the Gudelunas Strategies poll have not been disclosed publicly. The identity of the "party bosses" Yee accused of funding shame polls remains unclear. And the precise nature of the allegations against Swalwell, who suspended rather than formally ended his campaign, has not been fully detailed.
What is clear is the direction of the race. Democrats in California, a state they have dominated for a generation, are watching their gubernatorial primary descend into disorder. Candidates are dropping out, scandals are multiplying, and the party's own internal polling is being weaponized to force compliance rather than inspire confidence.
Betty Yee called it a "reality TV show mentality." She may be right about the diagnosis. But the prescription her party chose, backroom polls designed to shame candidates into quitting, says more about the state of California Democratic politics than any campaign ad ever could.
When the party's strategy for winning is to bully its own people off the stage, voters are entitled to wonder who's actually running things, and for whose benefit.
