Opinion: State’s Democrats could sleep better if voters could rank gubernatorial choices

California might be facing an unexpected choice for governor this fall. The successor to Gov. Gavin Newsom could come down to two Republicans.

It might be hard to imagine California electing a Republican governor given that Donald Trump’s approval rating here is around 25%. But polling by the Public Policy Institute of California and others show no clear Democratic front runner among the crowded field. Meanwhile, with exactly two Republicans at or near the top of the polls, there’s much less GOP vote splitting.