Overview
- With vote-by-mail underway, polls still show a dead heat with no candidate topping about 20 percent.
- Surveys point to a top five: Republicans Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, and Democrats Xavier Becerra, Tom Steyer and Katie Porter.
- Recent televised debates gave voters sharp contrasts on housing costs, homelessness, energy prices and public safety but produced no clear breakout.
- Xavier Becerra has gained support in the weeks since Eric Swalwell quit the race.
- Tom Steyer has put more than $160 million of his own fortune into the campaign, an unprecedented sum that is fueling nonstop advertising.