Summary Democratic Party leaders are pressuring candidates to drop out to avoid vote-splitting that could send only Republicans to the November election The pressure campaign has sparked accusations of racism, as most candidates being asked to exit are people of color while the top three polling Democrats are white Letting party insiders narrow the field returns California to "smoke-filled room" politics that primaries were designed to eliminate The solution: Top-5 primary wi

Summary California's Top-2 primary could produce a November ballot with only two Republicans for Governor, despite Democrats holding a 45% to 25% voter registration advantage Vote-splitting among multiple well-known Democratic candidates means no single candidate polls above 14%, while two Republicans lead with 16% and 15% The solution: Advance the top 5 candidates to November and use ranked choice voting for an instant runoff, eliminating vote-splitting and ensuring majority