Californians are a year out from having to answer this question, but time flies and elections are a never-ending affair.

With Gov. Gavin Newsom termed out of office, a flood of candidates has emerged to try and replace him.

On the Democratic side are candidates like former Los Angeles Mayor Antontio Villaraigosa, former Rep. Katie Porter, former Controller Betty Yee, former Senate President Toni Atkins, current Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, businessman Stephen Cloobeck, former California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond.

On the Republican side, the two most prominent candidates are Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and political commentator Steve Hilton.

Which brings us to the Question of the Week: Do any of these candidates jump out to you?

What are you looking for in a potential successor to Newsom?

When evaluating candidates, what do you weigh more? Policy stances? Records of accomplishment? Character?

Given the current field of candidates, who are you leaning toward?

On the Democratic side, which faction do you think will prevail? Will it be a more moderate candidate or a progressive?

Former Vice President Kamala Harris could jump in. Would she be a satisfactory choice? Does she have the profile and skills necessary to do a good job as governor?

On the Republican side, do you feel satisfied with these candidates? Given the recent tendency of GOP gubernatorial candidates to achieve around 40% of the vote, does it matter? Or will this next election be different?

For those who don’t normally vote for the other party, is there a candidate on the opposite side of the political aisle who you might be interested in voting for or learning more about?

We know, we know. We just got over an election and this one is next year. But candidates are already on the move and campaigning has already begun. Strap in.

Email your thoughts to opinion@scng.com. Please include your full name and city or community of residence. Provide a daytime phone number (it will not be published).