California voters shifted toward Trump. Should the governor's race be about fighting him?

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

67% : "If Trump comes after your freedoms: I'll be there.
59% : The week Trump was reelected, Atty.
59% : "I would think this would call for some introspection and consideration of why Trump has grown in popularity in a state like this.
58% : Newsom campaigned on a bedrock liberal and expensive agenda, including proposals for a state-sponsored healthcare system, universal preschool and increased funding for higher education.
56% : Preliminary election results suggest that several counties won by President Biden in 2020 tilted toward Trump this year, including San Bernardino County in Southern California, Butte County in Northern California, and a broad swath of the San Joaquin Valley through Merced, Fresno and Stanislaus counties, a Times analysis shows.
45% : While the political environment for the 2026 campaign appears to be in flux, there may be lessons from the last time Californians picked a governor while Trump was in the White House.
36% : "Former state controller Betty Yee, who entered the gubernatorial race in March, has pointed in fundraising emails to the state's "shift toward Trump."
35% : If Trump jeopardizes your safety and well-being: I'll be there.
28% : So attacking Trump may be fruitful.
24% : "If Trump attacks your rights: I'll be there," Bonta said.
19% : Although he performed better in California in 2024 than 2020, Trump remains very unpopular with most Golden State voters.
19% : On the campaign trail, Trump has recently derided Newsom as "Newscum" and called California and its Democratic leaders "radical left lunatics."
15% : Toni Atkins, the former state senate leader who is among a half-dozen candidates who have launched their 2026 gubernatorial campaigns, described the focus on Trump as a sort of necessary evil.
13% : "That's a fairly significant slide right, and while it's easy to chalk up the votes of millions of Californians to hate or falling for Trump's deception, the fact is that more young people and more Black and Latino families voted for Trump than ever before," Yee wrote.

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