California candidates race to win early voters with tax cuts, utility aid and homelessness plans

Early voting has opened across California, prompting the state’s leading political figures to intensify their outreach. Republican Steve Hilton, the gubernatorial nominee, addressed a crowd at Silverlakes Park in Norco, outlining proposals to make the first $150,000 of income tax-free, halve electricity bills, cut gasoline to $3 per gallon and eliminate the Department of Motor Vehicles, alongside a plan to clear homeless encampments that refuse shelter.

Democratic candidate Xavier Becerra, while absent from the campaign trail on Saturday, used the week to argue for tougher measures on homelessness and tighter oversight of nonprofits receiving state funds. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass unveiled an emergency relief plan that pauses residential utility shutoffs until the end of 2026 and backed a $414 million Metro line along Vermont Avenue, as well as a new unified crisis-response call center and faster hiring of 911 dispatchers.

Challenger Nithya Raman proposed a three-point audit of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, highlighted a 40 percent surge in utility bills, secured an endorsement from Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, and issued apologies for remarks that had drawn criticism from Black community leaders. Voters can now cast ballots in person or drop off mail-in ballots at designated centers in dozens of counties ahead of the Nov. 3 election.