Becerra pulls ahead of Hilton in California governor race
Becerra edged past Hilton by 27,935 votes as California kept counting ballots, leaving the November lineup unsettled and the governor's race still in motion.
Xavier Becerra moved ahead of Steve Hilton in California’s governor’s race by a razor-thin margin, giving the Democrat 1,732,755 votes, or 26.8%, to Hilton’s 1,704,820 votes, or 26.4%, in the latest statewide tally. The lead was only 27,935 votes, a small gap in a race that remained fluid as the state kept processing ballots.
The contest is being decided under California’s top-two primary system, which sends only the two highest vote-getters to the November general election regardless of party. That rule turned a crowded field of about 60 to 61 candidates into a tight count between Becerra, Hilton and, for much of the night, Tom Steyer. The California Secretary of State said the results were still unofficial, even with 19,788 of 19,788 precincts partially reporting as of June 5, 2026, at 7:10 p.m., because vote-by-mail, provisional and other ballots were still being counted.
Becerra, the former California attorney general and former U.S. secretary of health and human services, had been seen as an underdog earlier in the race before surging late. Hilton, a Republican, campaigned on the argument that California needed a dramatic reset after more than 15 years of Democratic control. The race to replace term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom has become a referendum on the state’s direction, with affordability at the center of the campaign.
That pressure showed up most sharply in the cost of living. AP reported that California drivers were paying $6.08 a gallon at the pump at the end of May, $1.65 above the national average, according to AAA. In a state that leads the country in population and ranks among the world’s largest economies, the numbers underscored how strongly daily expenses, especially gas prices, shaped the governor’s contest.
Updated results and AP projections later indicated Becerra had advanced to the general election, though the identity of his opponent was still unclear as late-arriving ballots kept moving the totals. The Secretary of State said final certification is scheduled for July 10, 2026, leaving the last stage of the race to the same slow count that created the uncertainty in the first place.
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