The Democratic Party leadership has launched a poll-based plan to reduce the number of Democratic candidates for governor of California and shave the number of candidates of color.

The big question is whether this is a well-intentioned plan because they are genuinely afraid that the two Republican candidates will advance to the second round, which doesn't sound logical in a state Democrat; or is it a strategy to favor a candidate from upstate New York, specifically Congressman Eric Swalwell? First, there was the open letter from Democratic leader Rusty Hicks inviting those with lower polling numbers to drop out of the race; but no one paid any attention, well, except for one. Former Assemblyman Ian Calderon, who wasn't even polling at the lowest levels, dropped out of the race and joined Congressman Swalwell. But since eight Democrats remain, Hicks announced a series of polls to assess who has the best chance of winning, so that supposedly when the contenders see the results and realize there's no chance for them, they'll give up their bid to become governor. Why has this jungle of Democrats eager to govern the Golden State erupted? Many say it's because there isn't a single candidate strong enough. Therefore, some believe that if former Vice President Kamala Harris had run, or even if Senator Alex Padilla himself had been the candidate, the other contenders would have stepped aside. That remains to be seen. The reality is that we have eight Democrats who, for now, have defied the establishment and decided to stand their ground. While we wait to see if any of the hopefuls drop out, attacks among them are commonplace. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa formally launched his campaign in Los Angeles at an event attended by his political allies: Mayor Karen Bass, former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, Los Angeles City Council President Marqueece Harris Dawson, and former Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo. And whenever he can,LR takes a jab at his opponent Xavier Becerra to pressure him into clearing the way for him. Meanwhile, billionaire Tom Steyer attacked Swalwell, saying that he doesn't live in California but in Washington, D.C., where he bought a house, and is registered to vote in Livermore, at a property where he is only a paper resident, according to Steyer. So if he is elected, questions about his legitimacy would arise, which the Trump Administration would exploit. In response, Swalwell and his lawyers filed an affidavit arguing that he has owned a rental property in Livermore since June 2017. The house, incidentally, belongs to his sister-in-law, who was his deputy campaign manager. Steyer has spent $79 million of his own money on ads attacking Swalwell. For some reason, this whole scheme being built by the Democratic establishment in California to narrow down the list of gubernatorial candidates gives the impression that its underlying purpose is to favor a candidate who, from the beginning, as if by magic, despite being unknown beyond the most ardent Democrats, managed to climb to first place in the polls.

And Swalwell has sent his emissaries to knock on the doors of Latino community leaders in Los Angeles to convince them that he is the best choice for governor.

Some experts believe that the upstate Democrats, who have maintained political control for decades, don't want the gubernatorial candidate to come from any ethnic minority.

But it's time for the Democratic Party to be more inclusive and stop allowing only millionaire candidates, out of touch with the reality of most Californians, to become governor of the state.

Mysteriously, the two wealthiest candidates in the race, Steyer and Swalwell, always appear at the top of the polls. Money talks in the electoral arena.