Maintaining California’s Environmental Leadership

California’s 2026 Gubernatorial Race

California will elect a new governor in 2026. The primary is June 2 and the top two candidates will face off on November 3. If you are in California, make sure you are registered to vote! This election comes as a pivotal time for California’s environmental leadership. California’s next governor must be ready to step in and, from day one, continue the State’s leadership on climate and environmental issues. 

California has made progress over the past two decades to reduce emissions, deploy clean energy, ramp up the deployment of zero-emission vehicles, and build coalitions with other leading states. Successive governors from both parties have played a pivotal role in setting this agenda. However, California is not on track to meet its 2030 greenhouse gas emission reduction target. The State needs to accelerate the pace of deployment, while tackling electricity affordability challenges, managing increasing climate risks, ramping up housing production, and ensuring California remains accessible for all residents. California’s next governor needs to be ready to tackle these complex challenges. 

California must take up this task in the face of a hostile federal government that is actively working against clean energy, zero emission vehicles, and protection of natural and working lands – and that is taking direct aim at state authority to advance clean energy policies, including California’s authority to regulate vehicle emissions under the Clean Air Act.  

To help ensure that California’s next governor is ready, CLEE has launched a nonpartisan initiative to educate all candidates running for governor on critical climate, energy, and environmental issues. We have developed a set of policy briefs and will be extending invitations to all candidates to join one-on-one briefings on these topics. These materials and other resources will be hosted on our website, ClimateVote.org, so that they are available to anyone who is interested. 

As part of this initiative, CLEE will be co-hosting a forum with four of the top candidates running to be California’s next governor on Wednesday, January 28. California Environmental Voters extended invitations to the top six candidates for governor, based on recent polling. Four candidates accepted the invitation; two did not. You can register to join the forum here.

California’s environmental leadership has transcended party – both in the Governor’s Office and with the public. The next governor will be the steward of this legacy.

2026 Election, 2026 Governors Race, California, Climate Change, climate leadership