California’s 2026 governor race grapples with immigration and housing costs

With the June 2 primary looming, candidates outline markedly different strategies on immigration, housing and affordability: Xavier Becerra champions immigrant protections and housing affordability measures; Chad Bianco pushes hardline immigration enforcement and deregulation of building rules; Steve Hilton backs CEQA reform and tax relief to accelerate housing; Tom Steyer seeks to curb ICE’s power and overhaul housing regulations; Katie Porter supports sanctuary policies and aggressive housing incentives; Matt Mahan promotes cheaper, faster construction; Tony Thurmond envisions millions of new homes on surplus land plus homelessness services; Antonio Villaraigosa pushes CEQA reform and expanded permanent supportive housing via Homekey; alongside varied approaches to entertainment-industry incentives and data transparency, the race highlights California’s ongoing tradeoffs between immigrant protections, housing supply and cost of living.