Hilton, Becerra's California state voter guide statements are blank. It's by design

Ben Paviour, The Sacramento Bee on Sep 24, 2026

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California’s 176-page voter guide is dense with ballot measure legalese, policy debates and obscure candidates for statewide office.

But as the guides have begun showing up in voters’ mailboxes, some have noted it’s missing some seemingly important information: candidate statements from the two candidates for governor.

While some social media users suggested the move showed both candidates weren’t taking the campaign seriously, there’s another explanation.

To be eligible for the statements, statewide candidates must agree to voluntary spending limits. Both Becerra and Hilton candidates declined to agree to the roughly $19.6 million cap in general election spending.

The same applies to Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democratic incumbent who refused a spending threshold of $11.8 million in his reelection campaign.

That refusal is not new. While Republican gubernatorial hopefuls have occasionally agreed to the voluntary limits, the last Democratic candidate to do so was former Gov. Grey Davis in 2002.

Christian Grose, a political science professor at the University of Southern California, said the campaigns recognized that additional campaign funding went farther in reaching voters than the guide itself. Grose said it might be worth rethinking the idea of excluding candidates or significantly raising the spending limits.

“If you’re trying to inform the public via voter guide, not having candidates involved isn’t that helpful,” Grose said.

The system dates back to Proposition 34, a ballot measure voters passed in 2000 that replaced a similar, 1996 measure that had become bogged down in a legal fight.

Prop. 34 set up limits on how much donors could give candidates and established the voluntary spending limits. Initially the proposition set a limit of $10 million for gubernatorial general election spending; the Fair Political Practices Commission adjusts the amount every two years based on inflation.

Candidates who want to appear in the voter guide still have to pay to do so, at a rate that varies based on the office they’re seeking.

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