Overview
- With roughly half to more than half of expected votes tallied, official partial returns show Republican Steve Hilton narrowly leading and Democrat Xavier Becerra close behind for the top two spots in the governor’s primary.
- California’s top-two ‘jungle’ primary means the two highest vote-getters advance to November regardless of party, so current leads would set a Democrat-versus-Republican general election if they hold.
- Tuesday’s early counts put billionaire Tom Steyer in third place after spending about $200 million of his own money, leaving his campaign dependent on late-arriving mail ballots to close the gap.
- In Los Angeles, incumbent Mayor Karen Bass led initial returns with Spencer Pratt in second and Nithya Raman trailing, which would likely produce a November runoff if no candidate reaches a majority.
- The slow count matters beyond statewide races because newly redrawn congressional maps are being tested and the final primary results could affect which party contests several competitive House seats this fall.