Becerra and Hilton lead early in California governor primary

Early returns in California’s open governor primary put Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton in the top two spots, but the count was still incomplete and the race remained unsettled as about half the vote had been tallied. Under California’s top-two system, all candidates appear on the same ballot and only the two highest finishers advance to the November 3, 2026 general election, so the first results showed momentum, not a final lineup.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s term limit turned the contest into an open race for the nation’s most populous state, and the field swelled to roughly 60 candidates. That crowded ballot made the early numbers especially fluid, because a lead in the first returns can narrow or widen as more counties report and later ballots are added. NBC News said the governor’s race was still too early to call even as Hilton and Becerra held the lead in the initial count, underscoring how little early returns can settle in a statewide contest of this size.

The early tally did, however, begin to sketch the coalition map that will decide who survives to November. Tom Steyer was running third in the early count, while Katie Porter conceded Tuesday night, a sign that the field was already tightening around the candidates with the clearest paths through California’s fractured electorate. In a top-two primary, the central question is not only who opens strong, but who can hold together enough support across California’s large regions and varied voting blocs to stay in the top two once the count is finished.

The June 2 statewide primary also included congressional and legislative races under new U.S. House district boundaries approved by voters in 2025, adding another layer of significance to the night. ABC7 Los Angeles reported that Karen Bass advanced to the November runoff in the Los Angeles mayor’s race, a parallel result that showed voters sorting several major power centers at once. For Democrats nationally, the governor’s contest offered a read on the party’s bench in California, where Becerra’s résumé as a former cabinet secretary and Hilton’s profile as a Republican television commentator put two sharply different political brands on track for a possible November showdown.