SACRAMENTO, Calif.—The race to succeed term-limited California Gov. Gavin Newsom is looking like it might be a bipartisan affair, with Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton leading as votes are tallied after the state’s June 2 primary election.
Hilton is currently leading with nearly 28 percent of the vote, with 57 percent tallied.
“We’re already the best place in the world, no question about it in California, but we all know that this state has gone off track, and we can get it back on track,” Hilton told supporters as the results were rolling in. “Change is coming; we’re just getting started.”
Becerra held second place with more than 25 percent. He criticized President Donald Trump and Immigration and Customs Enforcement during a speech to supporters on the night of June 2.
“Our values are undeniable and undeportable,” Becerra said. “More than ever, California needs our voices and our values.”
Approximately 22.4 percent of registered voters cast ballots as of early June 3, fewer than the number who typically vote in gubernatorial primaries based on historical record. The lowest turnout in the past 20 years came in June 2014, when slightly more than 25 percent voted, while the best voter participation rate came in June 2018, when more than 37.5 percent cast ballots.
The race is not expected to be called for days, given that California’s electoral system relies heavily on mail-in ballots.
Voters chose among candidates vying in a nonpartisan, open jungle primary contest, where the top two vote-getters advance to the midterm election on Nov. 3 regardless of party affiliation.
Campaigning started years in advance, and 61 individuals qualified for the ballot in the state’s first gubernatorial election without an incumbent or heir apparent since 1998.
Becerra—former health and human services secretary, state attorney general, U.S. representative, and state assemblyman—maintained a consistent lead in polling after initial frontrunner Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) exited the race.
An outspoken critic of Trump, Becerra, as state attorney general, sued the administration 120 times during the president’s first term in office.
His campaign platform focused on resisting the federal government’s attempts to limit some state initiatives, developing economic opportunities, and managing healthcare as a human right.
Hilton, a conservative commentator and former Fox News host, ran on a promise to cut taxes, reduce regulations, and expedite housing construction.
Trump endorsed him in April and reiterated his support in a late-night social media post the evening before the primary.
“I have known and respected Steve Hilton, who is running for Governor of California, for many years,” Trump wrote on June 1 on Truth Social. “He is a truly fine man, one who has watched as this once great State has gone to Hell.”
The president also criticized state Democrats for doing “an absolutely horrendous job.”
“People are fleeing, Crime is increasing, and Taxes are the highest of any State in the Country, maybe the World,” Trump wrote. “Steve can turn it around, before it is too late, and, as President, I will help him to do so!”
Confidence was brimming at Hilton’s watch party, during which hundreds of supporters cheered what they called the “Golden Ticket” of Republicans running for office.
“The election results last night show that, regardless of party, Californians are signaling they are ready for change,” Mike Netter, who is challenging Democrat incumbent state Sen. Susan Rubio for the 22nd district seat, told The Epoch Times. “It seems the momentum is building to break the Democratic Party monarchy’s decades-long stranglehold.”
Another Republican, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a law enforcement veteran with more than 30 years of experience, challenged the status quo by questioning California’s electoral integrity and what he described as lawmakers’ soft-on-crime approach. He was polling at about 11 percent and received about 11 percent of the vote on June 2.
While Hilton had urged his Republican opponent to withdraw from the race, the sheriff declined.
Billionaire Tom Steyer, hedge fund investor and environmental advocate, ran as a Democrat, spending nearly $200 million of his own money on advertisements that blanketed the state in the days ahead of the primary, earning him slightly less than 20 percent of the vote.
Steyer ran for president in 2020 on a similar platform to what he presented to Californians regarding improving affordability concerns by lowering costs and taxing high-income earners to fund initiatives.
Former Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) pulled 4.6 percent, while former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa garnered 1.3 percent, and San Jose Mayor Matt Strahan received 4 percent.
Of those on the ballot, 44 candidates received 0.1 percent or fewer of the votes cast.
California’s next governor will lead the nation’s largest state economy—ranking fourth among nations globally—with a gross domestic product that exceeds $4 trillion annually. Businesses in the Golden State represent industry leaders in information technology, scientific and technical services, finance, real estate, and agriculture, among others.
Challenges the new governor will face include a budget deficit the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office estimates at $35 billion in the years to come; a challenging population dynamic, which includes rising net migration outflows domestically; housing shortages; wildfire risks and insurance access difficulties; and homelessness and drug addiction.
Some Californians are questioning their party loyalty while looking for substantive solutions from leaders.
“I’ve rarely been aligned with Republicans, and I’m still probably not on most issues, but I haven’t really been seeing anything of note from Democrats,” Khaylum Richard-Howard of San Francisco told The Epoch Times after voting on June 2. “Right now, it’s not really going super great, so I’d like to see some more motivation to get things done.”
Los Angeles County residents weighed in on who was getting their vote on Election Day.
Samuel Mesa, 63, a resident of Norwalk, told The Epoch Times that he was primarily concerned with economic issues and tired of partisan politics.
“When it comes to the governor, it’s between three people right now, and I don’t really have an issue with any of them,” Mesa said, referring to frontrunners Becerra, Hilton, and Steyer.
Mesa, a registered Democrat, said Hilton would be getting his vote.
“That’s not an issue to me,“ Mesa said. ”And even though Trump supports him, that doesn’t matter much anymore.”
For John, a 54-year-old Downey resident and registered Republican who asked to be referred to by his first name only, it was a tough choice between Hilton and Bianco for governor.
“Bianco is a good sheriff and everything, and I like him. But he was in charge, and he let the politics run the department. And no offense to him—I know he has to answer to people—but he didn’t clean up the streets.”
Mike, a 51-year-old West Adams resident who declined to give his last name, said he was an “early 2000s” Democrat but has switched this election.
“I just went for something different. [Arnold] Schwarzenegger was the last [Republican governor],” he said. “You know, he didn’t burn the place down.”
Results in the Los Angeles mayoral race are not yet fully determined, with Mayor Karen Bass advancing to the runoff in November. Republican challenger Spencer Pratt and Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman are leading the race for the remaining spot on the ballot.
