California governor race tightens as ballots still being counted

California’s governor’s race was still being sorted by late ballots, with the state’s top-two primary already narrowing a sprawling field of about 60 candidates toward Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton. With roughly 60% of the vote counted, Hilton led with 27.2% and Becerra followed with 26.1%, while Tom Steyer stood at 20.2% and Chad Bianco at 11.2%.

The race to replace termed-out Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has become a test of California’s all-party system before the general election even begins. Under the June 2 primary rules, every candidate appeared on the same ballot and the two vote-getters moved on, regardless of party preference or whether anyone won a majority. That structure has made the count itself politically decisive, because California routinely adds substantial batches of mail and drop-off ballots after Election Day.

Becerra’s standing carries particular weight for Democrats. He served as U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services under President Joe Biden from 2021 to 2025, and before that was California attorney general from January 24, 2017, to 2021. He was the first Latino to hold that office. His path to the top of the field reflects the durable strength of Democratic credentials in California, but also the limits of automatic party advantage in a race with no party-nominated ticket and no guarantee that two Democrats will meet in November.

The rest of the vote is split among different blocs of California voters, from Steyer’s more donor-heavy, anti-establishment Democratic lane to Bianco’s Republican base. That split matters because the top-two system does not simply reward party label. It rewards the ability to assemble enough support across a broad electorate, including the late ballots that often arrive after the first returns are posted.

That is why the November matchup matters beyond Sacramento. If Becerra and Hilton are the final pairing, California would stage a contest that doubles as a national read on post-Biden party politics, pitting a former Biden cabinet secretary against a conservative Republican in the country’s most populous state. If two candidates from the same party were ever to emerge from the top-two system, it would be an even sharper reminder that California’s primary is now shaping the general election before it starts.