Public awaits results; Trump casts doubt over California

California governor – With just over half of the ballots counted in California’s June 2 gubernatorial primary, Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat Xavier Becerra lead a race that won’t be finalized for weeks. As election officials warn the delay is normal for mail-in voting, Presi

For the third day, California’s governor’s race has been locked in a holding pattern—ballots still being processed after voters already cast them. State election officials keep counting after ballots postmarked by Election Day, and the public remains in suspense as margins shift only slightly.

Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat Xavier Becerra sit atop the standings. while fellow Democrat Tom Steyer remains in third as nearly 60% of votes are counted. Only the top two vote-getters—regardless of party—advance to the general election in November in the state’s nonpartisan “jungle primary. ” making the dwindling third-place gap feel like a live wire.

State officials caution that it could take weeks to know the final outcome. “I would call on all Californians to be patient,” Secretary of State Shirley Weber said in a June 2 news release.

At nearly $316 million, the race is already the most expensive governor’s contest on record and the fifth-most expensive non-presidential race on record for ad spending, according to AdImpact, a media-tracking firm.

In an election defined by patience—and by mail ballots—President Donald Trump has stirred that anxiety anyway. In a pair of June 4 social media posts on Truth Social. Trump suggested without proof that Democrats are “stealing the vote” in the governor’s race. “I hope the Republicans are watching so that they can finally pass THE SAVE AMERICA ACT. ” he wrote. referring to his controversial proposal that could overhaul U.S. elections.

Trump’s comments arrived a day after he posted on Truth Social on June 3 that there were “very late and massive numbers of MAIL IN BALLOTS.” While he endorsed Hilton and has long criticized mail-in voting, he also used the process to cast a ballot in this year’s Florida primaries.

With 57% of the vote counted, Hilton was hovering around 27.2%, Becerra followed at about 26%, and Steyer held about 20%, according to the Associated Press. Those margins have moved slightly for Hilton and Becerra, while Steyer’s vote share has remained stagnant.

Hilton has criticized the length of the process but has stopped short of matching Trump’s allegation. In a June 3 interview, Hilton told conservative podcast host Benny Johnson, “So far, we’re not seeing any signs of that.”

Becerra, meanwhile, took aim directly at the president’s track record in an X post on June 4. “Donald Trump lost the 2020 election. He lost California by millions of votes in the 2024 election. and now he’s trying to undermine confidence in our elections because he’s a repeat loser here. ” Becerra wrote. “Sorry Donald, the voters decide who leads California,” he added, echoing his campaign event speech to supporters on June 2. “Not you.”.

Back in California, the slow pace is not a mystery to academics who study elections. Caroline Heldman. a longtime politics and gender studies professor at Occidental College in Los Angeles. said the process is designed to give ballots time to be counted. She told USA TODAY. “We sacrifice a quick vote count and immediate satisfaction by allowing as much time as possible for people to count their vote. ” noting that 85% of California voters cast their ballots by mail.

Heldman also pointed to timing and strategy inside the Democratic electorate. saying. “Many Democratic voters waited until the last minute to cast their ballots strategically.” But she cautioned that money and momentum don’t necessarily translate into immediate results. “And Steyer may get enough of a boost, but we really don’t know yet because nothing has changed.”.

That “nothing has changed” feeling is exactly what some analysts see when they look at the remaining ballots and the shape of the field. Melissa Michelson, a political science professor at Menlo College in Silicon Valley, said she does not expect Steyer to surge. “What I think is going to happen is it will continue to be Hilton and Becerra at the top. ” Michelson said. “If Steyer is going to have any chance, he would need overwhelming support in the remaining ballots.”.

Right now, she added, the numbers don’t suggest momentum. “But right now, it’s not going in Steyer’s direction,” Michelson said. “We’re seeing very minimal changes, but the gap between the frontrunners and Steyer is about a six percentage point difference, and that’s a lot for Steyer to overcome.”

Brian Sobel, a veteran political analyst in the San Francisco Bay Area, suggested the math could be unforgiving. Sobel estimates there are about 4 million ballots yet to be counted. similar to the figure Paul Mitchell. vice president of Political Data Inc. a Sacramento-based bipartisan voter data firm. told USA TODAY on June 3.

“As I’m looking at these numbers in the last update. Steyer is about 400. 000 votes behind Hilton. and about 100. 000 behind Becerra; it doesn’t look good. ” Sobel said. “And when other votes come in. Becerra and Steyer will probably be splitting the Democratic votes. while Hilton will be gaining votes. The math doesn’t seem to be in Steyer’s favor.”.

The numbers Sobel referenced sit against turnout expectations that are already lower than the full registered-voter universe. Heldman pointed to projected participation of about 9 million voters in the primary, roughly fewer than 40% of California’s 23 million registered voters.

“We sort of know, we feel like we know that it seems likely it will be Hilton and Becerra in the end,” Heldman said. “But that’s the beauty of this process. We don’t.”

Steyer’s campaign spending, however, has been hard to miss. His operation spent more than $200 million, accounting for 64% of every dollar spent in the primary, according to AdImpact. Even so. as the state counts and recounts its way toward a final tally. the president’s unfounded claims have added a new layer to what Californians are already living through: uncertainty that can be measured in ballots. and doubt amplified in real time.

California governor primary Steve Hilton Xavier Becerra Tom Steyer Donald Trump mail-in ballots Shirley Weber jungle primary political spending AdImpact Political Data Inc.