Just four months before California’s June primary, Governor Gavin Newsom finally got a challenger today--but it’s a little-known Republican state senator who is tossing his hat in the ring as a longshot underdog.

State Senator Brian Dahle of the tiny town of Bieber, on the Pit River in Lassen County, population 266, declared his candidacy for governor today. He is the first primary challenger of any significance to enter the field, and he has a higher profile than your typical obscure rural state legislator, because he did serve almost 7 years in the State Assembly and was Assembly Minority Leader for a year, before he was elected to the State Senate in 2019 and then re-elected in 2020.

Dahle announced his campaign at a small rally with family and friends and supporters on hand, denouncing Governor Newsom as a “dictator” and proclaiming himself the "underdog” in the race, which he most certainly is.

For more, KCBS Radio news anchors Patti Reising and Jeff Bell spoke with Doug Sovern, KCBS Radio political analyst and host of The State of California.