The chairman of the California Democratic Party is calling on low-polling candidates in the state’s crowded governor’s race to honestly assess whether they have a path to victory. He warned that a fragmented Democratic field risks electing a Republican to lead the state for the first time in two decades.

California Democratic Party Chairman Rusty Hicks held a press call on March 24 in which he warned that the possibility of Democrats being shut out of the general election entirely, while unlikely, cannot be dismissed.

California uses a top-two primary system, meaning that the two candidates with the most votes advance to the general election regardless of party. With multiple Democrats splitting the vote in a crowded field, two Republicans could potentially advance to November—leaving Democrats out of the race.

The state’s latest uncertified report from March 21 shows that 24 Democratic candidates and 12 Republican candidates filed for governor. Of those, eight Democrats and two Republicans have gained traction in polls, with an official certified candidates list being released on March 26.

Some polls, including one undertaken by the state’s Democratic Party itself, show two Republican candidates—former UK government aide and Fox News host Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco—leading. They are ahead of a closely bunched group of three Democrats: Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), former Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), and billionaire activist Tom Steyer.

“These results confirm the possibility—albeit a low one—of Democrats being locked out of the general election,” Hicks said on the March 24 call. “Most importantly, it’s yet another clear reminder of an undeniable fact—all candidates must honestly assess their viable path to win, and I continue to call for them to do so.”

When asked to define what he meant by a viable candidate, Hicks was direct.

“If you’re polling at 1 to 2 percent, do you have a path to get to 20?” he said. “Do you have a path to put you in a position to win the primary election, that puts you into the general election?”

Hicks said he expects the race to shift as candidates ramp up their campaigns and voters pay closer attention, pointing to a large undecided pool as a sign of available room for growth.

“The fact that they’re sub 20 points each is kind of sad,” Hicks said of the two Republicans. “If you look at the combined number of Democrats and the number of voters that are in the undecided category, I think it points to plenty of room for growth for any one candidate or a subset of the current candidates that are a part of the field.”

The stakes extend beyond California, Hicks has argued. A Democrat failing to reach the general election in the party’s largest stronghold could depress Democratic turnout statewide in November, threatening the party’s efforts to flip congressional seats and retake the House majority.

Hicks first raised those concerns in a March 3 open letter to Democratic candidates, encouraging those without a viable path to victory to step aside. He asked candidates who file to be prepared to suspend their campaigns and endorse another candidate by April 15 if they cannot show meaningful progress.

“If you do not have a viable path to make it to the General Election, do not file to place your name on the ballot for the Primary Election,” Hicks wrote in the letter.

In a video reacting to Hicks’s call in that letter, California Republican Party Chairwoman Corrin Rankin said: “You crowned [former Vice President] Kamala Harris without a single vote. And now, the California Democrat Party is ordering every candidate of color in California to drop out for your three establishment favorites. Classic. Democrats don’t want democracy. They want their kings. That’s why Californians are done with the constant hypocrisy from the Democrats.”

The clash over the candidate field underscores the dilemma facing Democrats, who are anxious to avoid a potentially embarrassing outcome in a state that has not voted for a Republican presidential candidate since 1988—and is home to its last presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, and a possible future presidential nominee, Gov. Gavin Newsom.

With more than two months until the primary election and polls showing as many as one in four voters still unsure of their choice, there is plenty of time for the candidates to separate.

No Republican has won the California governorship since Arnold Schwarzenegger’s reelection in 2006.

The party intends to release an updated tracking poll no later than April 7. The June primary is 70 days away, with ballots set to reach voters in 40 days.

Reuters contributed to this report.