2018 California gubernatorial election
Newsom won in a landslide, with 62% of the vote, the biggest victory in a gubernatorial race in California since Earl Warren won re-election in 1950, and the biggest victory for a non-incumbent since 1930; Newsom received almost eight million votes.Under California's non-partisan blanket primary law, all candidates appeared on the same ballot, regardless of party.From the later half of 2017, Lieutenant governor Gavin Newsom was widely seen as the favored front runner for the top two primary.Businessman John Cox and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa had both been running closely behind Newsom to obtain the second place spot.However soon in late 2017, as more prominent Democrats entered the race, Villaraigosa saw his polling numbers slip out of competition with Cox by the start of 2018.