San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan on Thursday joined the race for California governor, putting to rest months of will-he-won’t-he speculation about his gubernatorial ambitions.
“We need to stand up for our rights, for our freedoms and for our neighbors. We need to use the tools we have at hand to protect our democracy,” Mahan posted on social media. “One tool is the law. The other tool is our results. We have to use both. That’s how we fix California.”
Over the past two years, even as Mahan has taken steps to extend his statewide political profile, he has downplayed rumors that he is seeking higher office, consistently stating he remains focused on his duties as mayor.
However, in recent weeks Mahan signaled his thinking had changed, teasing on a number of TV news appearances that he would soon announce his decision on a possible run. Then last week, San José Spotlight reported that residents received a text poll gauging support for Mahan, adding yet another sign of growing momentum for an attempt at the governor’s mansion.
Mahan has said he is stepping into the race because he has not been satisfied with any of the other candidates’ plans to address issues like homelessness, housing affordability or crime. He has made his own track record tackling those challenges in San Jose central to his campaign pitch.
Mahan has already received an endorsement from South Bay Congressman Sam Liccardo, who also backed Mahan during his 2022 bid to succeed Liccardo as San Jose mayor.
“Leading one of California’s largest cities tests you in ways few jobs do,” Liccardo said in a statement. “Sacramento needs a leader who has governed under pressure, balanced a budget and delivered results. That’s San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan.”
Mahan’s forays into statewide politics have already laid some of the groundwork for his burgeoning campaign. Over the past two years, he has made frequent TV appearances up and down the state, often picking policy fights with Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Late last year, he launched his own 501(c)(4) political advocacy organization known as Back to Basics with his former chief of staff at the helm. The organization is intended to build a statewide political coalition around Mahan’s policy agenda. In December, Mahan hosted several gubernatorial candidates at a homeless housing site in San Jose, pressing for their buy-in to the city’s strategy focused on rapid expansion of temporary homeless shelters.
But with just four months left to go before the June primary election, Mahan’s candidacy faces a daunting uphill climb.
The already crowded candidate list includes East Bay Congressman Eric Swalwell, former Orange County Congresswoman Katie Porter, former state Controller Betty Yee, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, former Assemblymember Ian Calderon, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and billionaire Tom Steyer.
Recent internal polling from Porter’s campaign placed the Southern California politician as the leading Democratic candidate with 14% support, followed by Swalwell with 11%, according to POLITICO. Mahan trailed in the middle of the pack with 5%.
“Voters have not been very excited about the field, quite frankly,” Sacramento-based Democratic strategist Steven Maviglio told San José Spotlight. “It’s been the not-ready-for prime time players.”
With no clear frontrunner yet emerging, Maviglio said, the race remains wide open.
“I think it’ll shake up the field quite a bit. The mayor has his own lane in this race,” Maviglio said.
Mahan has taken a number of policy positions that have put him at odds with other California Democrats, including his vocal support for Proposition 36, the tough on crime 2024 ballot measure. But those same positions could help Mahan win support from voters who have grown frustrated with establishment Democratic leadership.
“More of them are likely to be interested in somebody like Mahan than any of the other major candidates,” Larry Gerston, a professor emeritus of political science at San Jose State University, told San José Spotlight. “So he could put together a combination of moderate Democrats and independents and do much better in that fractured primary than a lot of people might think.”
Democrats make up roughly 45% of registered voters in California, while no party preference voters represent 25%, according to 2025 figures compiled by the Public Policy Institute of California. Meanwhile, just more than 22% of state voters are registered Republicans.
Locally, Mahan has managed to consolidate strong support from the South Bay business community over his three years in office. At the same time, some of his policies — including efforts to shift homeless dollars away from permanent housing to temporary shelter expansion — have alienated local progressive groups. In addition, a series of clashes between Mahan and local unions over wage negotiations have strained relations with San Jose’s labor coalition.
John Tucker, a senior representative with AFSCME Local 101, which represents San Jose public employees, said Mahan’s campaign raises questions about his commitment to his day job as mayor.
“From inside City Hall, it’s felt for a long time like San Jose was being treated as a stepping stone and not a long-term commitment for Matt,” Tucker told San José Spotlight. “This run looks a lot less like a sudden decision and more like ‘the plan all along.’”
In contrast, South Bay business leaders have been quick to voice support for Mahan’s candidacy.
Ahmad Thomas, CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, issued a statement Thursday morning applauding Mahan’s announcement. Meanwhile, lobbyist Victor Gomez said he expects his political action committee, Silicon Valley Business PAC, to contribute to Mahan’s campaign.
“California definitely needs a Democrat that’s going to lead in a very pragmatic way,” he told San José Spotlight. “I think that’s what people are going to be looking for this upcoming election.”
In making his announcement, Mahan claimed credit for a number of encouraging trends in San Jose, including a drop in the city’s unsheltered homeless population and an uptick in new housing projects. But his critics argue these accomplishments have been overblown.
“Mahan’s leadership of San Jose is no model for the state to follow,” Maria Noel Fernandez, who leads the Silicon Valley Rising Action advocacy group, told San José Spotlight. “As rent, utilities and child care costs skyrocket, he has offered working families Band-Aids instead of real solutions.”
Meanwhile, at least some local political figures are still making up their minds about Mahan’s candidacy.
“We’ve worked well together on issues of homelessness, neighborhood blight removal, urban renewal and transportation infrastructure, such as the BART extension,” state Sen. Dave Cortese told San José Spotlight. “I’m eager to hear more about his ideas for the state and how he’d collaborate with me as a state senator.”
To succeed, Mahan will also need to break out of the local media bubble that historically has made it difficult for San Jose politicians to succeed in statewide politics. The city, California’s third largest, has never produced a competitive candidate for governor in its modern history.
Contact Keith Menconi at [email protected] or @KeithMenconi on X.
Editor’s note: Ahmad Thomas is on San José Spotlight’s board of directors.
Story updated Jan. 29 at 2:18 p.m. Original story published Jan. 29 at 6:29 a.m.
