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Former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, a Democrat, will advance to the November election in the California governor’s race, CBS News projects. A second candidate in the race has not yet been projected to advance.
The race to replace term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom remained close throughout the week. Republican candidate Steve Hilton had remained at the top of the field throughout the vote count until Friday’s ballot drops, which resulted in Becerra overtaking the top spot in the race.
Hilton and Democratic billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer are now in a closely watched battle for the second spot in the general election. Steyer gained some ground in the latest returns, further closing the gap between him and the former Fox News host.
California elections operate under a top-two primary system, meaning that the two candidates with the most votes will face off in November’s general election.
Becerra, a former California attorney general, posted an image on social media acknowledging he would be advancing in the race along with a message to Californians.
“More than ever, California needs our voices and our values. To the people and the voters of California, this is your state. Este es tu estado (This is your state). We will not be bought. We will not be bullied. And we are never backing down,” he wrote on X.
If elected, Becerra would become the first Latino governor of the state of California in 150 years, since Romulado Pacheco.
Becerra notably gained a significant boost in the race after former Rep. Eric Swalwell’s exit in April. Once the first ballot returns started rolling in on Tuesday, showing Becerra as a leading candidate, he framed himself to supporters as the underdog in the race who “never gave up.”
California’s vote-counting process has faced criticism from some Republicans, including President Donald Trump, who has questioned the pace of ballot counting without providing evidence of wrongdoing.
Hilton was among those criticizing the process, taking aim at Gov. Newsom and the state’s process during a press conference in the San Francisco Bay Area on Friday. He said, if elected, he “will end this FARCE and make sure all votes are counted within 48 hours of the mail-in deadline.
State and local election officials have defended the process, noting that all ballots are subject to the same verification requirements regardless of when they are received.
The governor’s race attracted a diverse field of candidates from politics, business and media, reflecting what many viewed as one of the state’s most competitive open-seat contests in years.
Pre-election polling suggested no candidate had established a dominant lead. Surveys conducted before Election Day consistently showed large numbers of undecided voters, while Hilton, Becerra and Steyer generally occupied the top tier of the field.
Several high-profile candidates saw their campaigns come to an end shortly after polls closed Tuesday. Former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa each acknowledged they would not become California’s next governor.
Other notable candidates included State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, a Democrat, and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican.
California voters have elected Democratic governors since 2010, when former Gov. Jerry Brown succeeded former Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who reached his term limit.
The state’s affordability crisis remained a dominant issue throughout the campaign. A recent CBS News poll found that 70% of registered California voters described the cost of living where they live as “unmanageable.”
The same survey found widespread skepticism about economic opportunity in the state, with just 7% of registered voters saying the “California Dream” remains attainable today and 64% said they were not confident it is still within reach.
