California governor’s race remains too close to call as vote-counting continues

Candidates Steve Hilton, Xavier Becerra and Tom Steyer talk at the end of a debate in the race for governor of California, hosted by the San Francisco Examiner and CBS, in San Francisco, California, on 14 May 2026. Photograph: Carlos Barría/Reuters View image in fullscreen Candidates Steve Hilton, Xavier Becerra and Tom Steyer talk at the end of a debate in the race for governor of California, hosted by the San Francisco Examiner and CBS, in San Francisco, California, on 14 May 2026. Photograph: Carlos Barría/Reuters California governor’s race remains too close to call as vote-counting continues Experts warn primary vote-counting could go on for days in governor’s race, LA mayoral race and congressional races Three days after Californians headed to the polls, key races in the primary election remained too close to call and experts warned the counting could continue for days. In the governor’s race, the British-born conservative pundit Steve Hilton was narrowly leading with an estimated 60% of ballots counted by Friday morning. Xavier Becerra, a former US health and human services secretary under Joe Biden, followed closely behind, and billionaire Tom Steyer trailed behind the pair. The top two vote-getters will advance to the general election in November. The Los Angeles mayor, Karen Bass , learned on Tuesday evening that she would be advancing to the runoff, but it remains unclear whether she will be facing the former reality TV star Spencer Pratt or progressive city councillor Nithya Raman. With an estimated 65% of votes counted, Pratt was leading Raman. Tech industry wins big in California after millions spent on primary election Read more The rankings could still change significantly, and residents may have to wait weeks to learn who will face off in November. Per state law, California counties must finish counting ballots by 15 June, but certain ballots are exempt from that deadline. For example, mail-in ballots postmarked by election day and received by 9 June are valid and can be processed beyond the deadline. Experts expect many of the untallied votes to lean Democratic. That’s because Republicans are more likely to return their ballots early or vote in person on election day. Those ballots get counted first. A larger than usual number of Democrats waited until the last minute this year to cast their vote as they weighed which candidate had the best chance of reaching one of the top two slots. “What compounds things this time around is that Democrats have been holding on to their ballots,” said Richard Hasen, a University of California, Los Angeles law professor. Still, the ongoing tabulation did not stop Donald Trump from declaring victory for his favored candidate. The president congratulated Hilton, accused the state of election rigging and said the Department of Justice would open an investigation. It is unclear if the justice department has done so. “We don’t want cheating in our elections. You see it in California. Those numbers are