Hilton edges Becerra, Steyer trails as ballots wait

With California governor primary results still too close to call on the morning of June 3, Steve Hilton and Xavier Becerra lead while climate advocate Tom Steyer lags—yet late-arriving mail and drop-off ballots keep the outcome unsettled for November.

SAN FRANCISCO — By the morning of June 3, the California governor’s primary still hadn’t landed with the finality the state’s jungle system is supposed to deliver.

Vote counting continued after the June primary night, and the uncertainty wasn’t just political theater. The California Secretary of State’s office was still receiving and counting late-arriving mail and drop-off ballots. and major outlets held off on calling the race because those remaining votes can swing the positions of the top two candidates who will advance to November.

As of Wednesday morning. the race remained too close to call even as Democratic candidate and climate advocate Tom Steyer continued to fall further behind the two leading candidates: Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat Xavier Becerra. The margin mattered in a crowded field where the open primary system sends the top two vote-getters to the November general election ballot.

Hilton had received over 1.38 million votes, Becerra over 1.26 million, and Steyer over 979,000, according to the California Secretary of State’s office as counting progressed.

The fact that the top two weren’t yet confirmed underscored how much the late votes could reshape who actually appears on the ballot in November—an issue that drew attention going into primary night. Some voters had wondered whether Republican candidates could be locked out of the general election. As the night went on, that scenario appeared less likely as Steyer fell further behind the two leaders.

Both Hilton’s and Becerra’s campaigns, however, chose not to wait for certainty before celebrating. Hilton used June 3 to frame the results as a sign that Californians are hungry for change as the state faces a housing and affordability crisis that became a focal point of this year’s gubernatorial campaigns.

“It does look like change really is coming to California,” Hilton said in a social media post on June 3. “If anyone is going to pull this state around, that is the plan. Change is coming; we are heading to Sacramento.”

In a late-night primary speech, Hilton said his campaign began as “a handful of rebels,” arguing that California had “gone off track” and that his leadership would “put it back on track.” He also tied his message to working-class and small-business realities.

“I see it in your eyes, the struggle. The struggle of running a small business. The struggle for working-class people in California,” Hilton said. He pointed to young people as well. saying “Young people who don’t see their future in California anymore and they think they have to move to another to have that dream of owning their own home.”.

Becerra, once leading in polls up until primary night, ended up with the second-place tally at the moment counting stood on the morning of June 3. Still, he framed the result as a win in motion.

“The California dream — it’s alive tonight,” Becerra said during his speech as he celebrated his potential to advance. “Tonight the people of the great state of California, in the greatest nation on earth, have spoken. Loudly and proudly.”

“And while I take nothing for granted – there are lots of ballots left to count – it appears we are on track to advance to November,” he added.

Steyer, meanwhile, said he would not end his campaign and would wait until the Secretary of State finished receiving ballots.

“We’re going to wait until every ballot is counted,” Steyer said during his campaign party in San Francisco. “We’re going to give democracy time to work.”

That choice carried weight because it directly confronted the numbers that had been circulating earlier in the count. As of Wednesday morning, Steyer’s total was well behind the two leaders, sitting at over 979,000 votes.

For other Republicans, the primary’s momentum looked harsher. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco—seen as a strong contender in earlier polling—had fallen significantly behind as counting continued.

As of Wednesday morning, Bianco’s campaign had received 566,679 votes. His campaign, like Steyer’s, did not concede and instead said it would wait for more ballots to be counted.

The crowded field also saw multiple candidates step aside on primary night. Democratic candidates San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, former U.S. Representative Katie Porter, and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced they were dropping out of the race. The report said all three had received less than 5% of the state’s votes in unofficial returns.

Mahan’s campaign said on X: “While this campaign for governor ends tonight, our mission has only begun.” It continued, “We’ve proven that a better California is possible. Because we’re doing it right here in San Jose.”

The sequence of results and reactions—Hilton and Becerra holding victory laps while Steyer and Bianco wait for the final ballot count—makes the next counting window feel less like procedure and more like leverage. In California’s open primary system. the last votes don’t just refine totals; they determine which campaigns ultimately reach November.

As the Secretary of State continued to receive and count late-arriving mail and drop-off ballots. the political picture stayed unsettled: Hilton held over 1.38 million votes. Becerra over 1.26 million. and Steyer over 979. 000—yet the question of who would ultimately secure the top two slots for November remained unresolved as counting went on.

California governor primary Steve Hilton Xavier Becerra Tom Steyer Chad Bianco California Secretary of State jungle primary November ballot housing and affordability