By Los Angeles County Politics (LACP)
Leonard Jackson doesn’t fit the typical profile of a California gubernatorial candidate. He’s not a former congressman, state senator, or big-city mayor. He’s never held elected office. But the Santa Clarita-based transportation and logistics CEO believes that’s precisely what qualifies him to lead the nation’s most populous state.
“You can’t just throw politicians that say stuff that sounds good in these type of roles,” Jackson said in a recent interview. “This type of role requires someone with some executive experience.”
Jackson, who has built a mid-size company with over 100 employees and tens of millions in revenue over nearly 30 years, is running as an independent candidate in what has become one of the most wide-open gubernatorial races in California history.
A Crowded, Unpredictable Field
With incumbent Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom term-limited and ineligible to seek a third term, more than two dozen candidates have already declared their candidacy for the 2026 race, and the field is expected to grow. The nonpartisan top-two primary will take place on June 2, 2026, with the general election on November 3.
Recent polling shows the race remains remarkably fluid. One survey released last month found that 44% of voters had no preference for governor, and no candidate polled above 15%.
The Democratic field includes several prominent names: former U.S. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, former Congresswoman Katie Porter, billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer, and State Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins, among others.
On the Republican side, candidates include Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, former Fox News host Steve Hilton and businessman Daniel Mercuri. However, Republicans have not won a statewide race in California since 2006 and have not held statewide office since 2011.
An Opening for Independents?
This unprecedented lack of a clear frontrunner could create opportunities for independent candidates like Jackson, who emphasizes solutions over ideology and “people over politics.”
“I’m all about common-sense solutions,” Jackson said. “We all want the same thing, right?”
At the core of Jackson’s pitch is his business background. As CEO of a transportation logistics company that hauls freight for the U.S. military, he argues he brings real-world management experience that California needs.
“I’ve been a CEO for almost 30 years. I just got my MBA from Pepperdine,” Jackson said, noting that even in his graduate cohort, many C-suite executives “couldn’t even read a financial statement.”
He draws parallels between government branches and professional qualifications: “The judiciary, you have to have a law degree. You can’t just say, I want to be a judge. In the legislative branch, anyone can debate bills and draft legislation. But executive? Listen, this type of role requires someone with some executive experience.”
Jackson points to a diverse group of historical leaders as inspiration, from George Washington’s reluctant service and precedent-setting two-term limit, to Abraham Lincoln’s self-taught legal career and leadership through the Civil War, to Bill Clinton’s ability to work across the aisle and balance the budget.
“We need to get back to working non-partisan,” Jackson said. “Be partisan, but let’s get stuff done.”
The candidate filing deadline is early March 2026, and political observers expect the field to continue growing in the months ahead.
Los Angeles County Politics is a nonpartisan digital news organization covering the people, politics, and policies that govern LA County.









