Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton emerged from California’s crowded nonpartisan primary to face off in November for Gavin Newsom’s term-limited seat. Their advance comes amid record-setting ad spending and a parallel battle over how quickly b
No one had to wait long to feel the stakes of California’s governor race on primary night. As ballots continued to be counted, Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton pulled away from a field that began with 61 candidates—an outcome now projected by the Associated Press and NBC News.
They are the top two finishers in the state’s June 2 nonpartisan “jungle” primary, meaning both will compete in November to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is term-limited after eight years in office and will leave the job in January.
Becerra and Hilton had been neck-and-neck as the race was called on June 9, a week after the primary. Progressive billionaire Democrat Tom Steyer finished third, followed by Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and former Congresswoman Katie Porter, according to the outlets.
Becerra’s victory came with a message about endurance and money in politics. In a statement on June 5. after he was announced as the first candidate to advance. he said: “The people of the great state of California. in the greatest nation on earth. have spoken – loudly and proudly… We will not be bought. We will not be bullied. And we are never backing down. November, here we come.”.
Hilton, whose campaign received a major boost from President Donald Trump’s endorsement, remained certain he would make the cut. On June 5, Hilton told supporters in San Mateo that: “Change is coming. We can’t go on like this… Thanks to this election. we see now change is coming… The best place to raise a family. The best place to start a business.”.
The race has already broken records for how much influence money can buy. With more than $316 million spent on ads. the California gubernatorial contest is the most expensive on record. and also the fifth-most expensive non-presidential race for ad spending. according to AdImpact. a media-tracking firm. AdImpact said Steyer’s campaign spent more than $200 million and accounted for 64% of every dollar spent on the race.
Even with that spending, Steyer did not crack the top two. David McCuan. a longtime political science professor at Sonoma State University. said the two-candidate outcome had about a 75% to 80% chance. adding that it may become “a huge proxy war of an existential crisis that is for the midterm elections for Democrats versus the Hilton proxy that is Trump 2.0.”.
In his view, the expensive contest rewards candidates less for their messaging and more for how well-established they already are. “Steyer continues the difficult stretch that well-off. rich candidates have in the Golden State. ” McCuan surmised. suggesting that candidates with more resources can move issues over candidates—especially their own political fortunes—but still struggle to overtake the front-runners once momentum forms.
Becerra’s climb from the fringes
Becerra’s path to the top two was marked by a shift after former U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell left the race in April amid allegations of sexual assault and misconduct, which Swalwell denies. Becerra. described as a moderate Democrat who was in single digits in several polls six weeks earlier. steadily climbed in the polls as he leaned on experience.
His platform emphasized lowering the cost of health care, housing, child care, and utilities, and fighting Trump. The late surge also helped him capitalize on loyal Democratic voters. Latinos. and even some voters with no party preference. Rusty Hicks. the California Democratic Party chair. told the outlet last month.
At his campaign party in Los Angeles. Becerra said he had defied the odds despite being outspent and advised to drop out. “Well, guess what?. The underdog stayed in the fight,” he said. “The true spirit of democracy is this: After all of the exhausting ads are run. the pundits are spun. and the billionaires try to buy their way in. it’s the people. only the people who get the last word… Loudly and proudly.”.
The campaign kept its focus on the political fight around health and cost of living, even as the bigger backdrop grew louder in Washington.
Hilton’s push and the demand to speed up ballot counts
Hilton’s rise as a political newcomer never fully relied on being the most established name. For months, he topped many polls and benefited from Trump’s endorsement, but he still faced a last-minute shakeup when Democrats surged in polls before primary day.
After primary results were delayed and the state’s counting process became a flashpoint, Hilton stayed involved. On June 5, he demanded that Newsom immediately establish an “Emergency Election Support Corps” to count ballots faster.
Hilton called California “the laughingstock of the nation when it comes to election reporting.” He urged Newsom to issue an emergency executive order and deploy available state employees and rapid-response support teams to counties experiencing significant ballot-processing delays.
Newsom’s office responded by saying the governor “wishes the vote count moved faster. too.” The office also said Newsom does not administer elections. count ballots. or certify results. describing those responsibilities as belonging to local election officials operating under state law and under the authority of the separately elected secretary of state.
The dispute quickly widened beyond California’s borders.
Trump scrutinized the counting as investigations and observation began
The final gubernatorial primary results arrived after Trump openly scrutinized the slow-moving ballot count. In a series of posts on his Truth Social platform last week, Trump wrote—without citing proof—that Democrats are “stealing the vote” in the governor’s race.
That was followed on June 5 by Bill Essayli, the first assistant U.S. attorney representing California’s Central District. Essayli said his office would conduct multiple investigations into potential election fraud in Los Angeles.
Later on June 5. the Department of Justice sent one of its attorneys to observe ballot processing in Los Angeles. according to the county’s elections office. Mike Sanchez. a spokesman for Los Angeles County’s Registrar-Recorder office. said ballot processing in the county is open to public observation and that the Justice Department attorney was given an overview of the public observation program and participated in a walkthrough of ballot processing operations.
While federal scrutiny moved forward, community groups urged Californians not to see the delays as an attack on legitimacy. But We Are California. a coalition of the state’s leading community and advocacy organizations. wrote an Open Letter to California Voters denouncing Trump’s ongoing attacks on the state’s primary election results and explaining that California’s universal vote-by-mail process was voter-approved.
The letter said: “California’s pro-voter protections were fought for and won by generations of Californians who understood that the vote is the most direct way we have to make decisions about our lives.” It continued: “The vote count takes time because every vote is counted. In the coming months, we will face more attacks. We must be ready to protect our votes.”.
“We are not going to let anyone – including the President of the United States – take that from us,” the letter concluded.
What connects these moments is the same pressure point—time. Candidates waited for ballot numbers while campaigns sharpened their claims about what the delays meant. Once the top two were projected. the arguments over the counting process did not evaporate; they simply gained a clearer stage for the November rematch.
Steyer did not concede early, and the late momentum around Becerra and Hilton kept the story moving.
What happens next as they campaign
Over the next five months, Becerra and Hilton will begin zigzagging through California campaigning for the general election.
Becerra could become the state’s first elected Latino governor in more than a century. Hilton could be California’s first Republican governor since Arnold Schwarzenegger served from 2003 to 2011.
California is the nation’s most populous state. accounting for roughly 12% of the country’s population. with 1 in 8 Americans living there. Of the state’s 23 million registered voters, nearly half are Democrats, while a quarter of residents identify as Republicans. The remainder call themselves independents or have “no party preference,” the Public Policy Institute of California said.
Whoever wins will lead a state with a roughly $4 trillion budget and will take charge of California’s multibillion-dollar debt. The governor will also face Medicaid access amid federal spending cuts. high housing costs. homelessness. and the persistent crisis of preventing and recovering from wildfires.
California governor race Xavier Becerra Steve Hilton Gavin Newsom nonpartisan jungle primary Donald Trump ballot counting voter ID AdImpact Tom Steyer November election