Overview
- California held a party‑open 'jungle' primary with 61 candidates on June 2, and the top two vote‑getters will advance to a November 3 runoff.
- Early returns put Democrat Xavier Becerra at roughly 29 percent while Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat Tom Steyer trailed at about 23 percent and 22 percent, leaving the race for second place too close to call.
- Steve Hilton is running as the President’s preferred Republican and is known as a media host and adviser to foreign leaders, while Becerra served as U.S. health secretary and Steyer is a billionaire climate activist.
- The outcome matters nationally because California is the largest U.S. state economy and Governor Gavin Newsom will leave office in early 2027, so the next governor will shape policies on housing, homelessness, wildfire response, and the state’s tech hub.
- Counting continues and final certified results may change the preliminary order because California processes a large number of mail ballots that can arrive after Election Day, so the November match‑up will not be official until counts finish.