san francisco<u+2014>former los angeles mayor antonio villaraigosa on<u+00a0>thursday<u+00a0>said he would run in california<u+2019>s 2018 election to succeed departing democratic gov. jerry brown, in a race likely to feature a clash of democratic politicians seeking to position themselves in contrast to gop president-elect donald trump. the state<u+2019>s top-two primary system sends the two biggest vote-getters regardless of party affiliation to the general election, which means the race to follow mr. brown, who by law is barred from seeking another term, ultimately could come down to two democrats. with mr. trump<u+2019>s surprise victory in tuesday<u+2019>s presidential contest, how california preserves its relatively progressive policies on immigration, health care and climate change would likely be central components of the coming campaign for the governorship. in an interview<u+00a0>on thursday, mr. villaraigosa said that if elected governor, he would defend the ideals for which this deeply blue-party state stands but cooperate with mr. trump. <u+201c>we need to stand up for our values, but we need to reach out across the aisle and work with the newly-elected president,<u+201d> mr. villaraigosa said. also a former state-assembly leader, mr. villaraigosa said he would campaign on california<u+2019>s history of diversity, as he seeks to become the state<u+2019>s first latino governor in more than a century. <u+201c>california has been a state that is inclusive, that welcomes newcomers and is a state where we have thrived because of immigrants, because of the contributions of new americans,<u+201d> he said. <u+201c>we do better when we unite, and i certainly intend to chart a different course<u+201d> from what would be expected from mr. trump and the republican-controlled u.s. congress. a number of other california democrats have already declared their candidacies to lead the state. one of them is lt. gov. gavin newsom, who initiated the gay marriage debate in 2004 as mayor of san francisco when the city began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. mr. newsom backed two measures on california<u+2019>s ballot that passed successfully on tuesday: a proposal that imposes several new gun control measures and an initiative that legalized marijuana. democrats john chiang, the state<u+2019>s treasurer, and delaine eastin, a former top california state education official, also are running. billionaire environmentalist tom steyer, a democrat, might also enter the race. his spokesman on thursday reiterated mr. streyer<u+2019>s interest in possibly seeking the governorship. the environmental activist supported a successful measure to raise taxes on cigarettes this year. california<u+2019>s developing demographics show the state may be becoming even more of a democratic party bastion. democratic presidential candidate hillary clinton got 61.5% of the california vote on tuesday. the state<u+2019>s latinos tend to support democratic candidates in part because of republican policies they view as anti-immigrant, said mark dicamillo, director of the field poll. with the birthrate among latinos rising faster than whites, <u+201c>the state will become bluer and bluer into the future,<u+201d> mr. dicamillo said. at present, no republican holds a statewide office. democrats attorney general kamala harris and rep. loretta sanchez faced off in tuesday<u+2019>s general election for a senate seat being vacated by barbara boxer, after becoming the top vote getters in the primary. ms. harris won. <u+2014>jim carlton contributed to this article.
former los angeles mayor, antonio villaraigosa to run for california governorship  - wsj
alejandro lazo