{"id":1070,"date":"2026-06-03T04:42:40","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T04:42:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1070"},"modified":"2026-06-03T04:42:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T04:42:40","slug":"california-governors-race-steve-hilton-xavier-becerra-lead-in-early-returns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1070","title":{"rendered":"California governor’s race: Steve Hilton, Xavier Becerra lead in early returns"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Former U.S. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra, former Fox News host Steve Hilton and billionaire philanthropist Tom Steyer led in early returns in the California governor\u2019s race on election night, signaling a potential Democrat-on-Republican matchup in November if the trend holds.<\/p>\n

Read more Fiona Ma, Gloria Romero lead in California lieutenant governor\u2019s race<\/a><\/p>\n

The results, which were posted just after 8 p.m., reflect only a small segment of ballots across the state as mail-in ballots will continue trickling in for the next week, meaning the lead could change. Early voting data indicated that a larger percentage of Republicans had cast their ballots compared to Democrats who political experts said were holding onto their ballots to see who emerged at the top of the polls. Independent polls in the final weeks oscillated between Becerra, Hilton and Steyer in the top three places. Only the top two will advance to the November general election in which the Democratic candidate is favored, as the party\u2019s voters outnumber those in the GOP nearly 2-to-1 in the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnless something really unexpected happens that makes the Democrat unelectable, which is hard to imagine what that would be, it will be a Democratic victory,\u201d Menlo College Political Science Professor Melissa Michelson said of a potential Democrat-on-Republican matchup.<\/p>\n

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan conceded Tuesday night that he would not advance in the governor\u2019s race.<\/p>\n

Becerra\u2019s meteoric rise in the race came in mid-April following former Democratic frontrunner Eric Swalwell\u2019s exit and subsequent resignation from Congress amid sexual misconduct allegations, which he denied. Political experts have credited Becerra\u2019s long career in public office as one of the reasons for his surge \u2014 from the state Assembly to Congress to California attorney general and finally a member of President Joe Biden\u2019s cabinet \u2014 as the kind of experience voters are looking for during a tumultuous time in American politics.<\/p>\n

British-born Hilton, who previously served as an adviser to former Prime Minister David Cameron, cemented his Republican frontrunner status in the race when he received the endorsement of President Donald Trump in April. He used the debates as an arena to attack Democrats, blaming them for the state\u2019s problems and calling for an end of \u201cone-party rule\u201d in California.<\/p>\n

A Republican has not been elected to a statewide office since 2006 when Arnold Schwarzenegger was reelected after becoming the replacement governor in 2003 with the recall of Gov. Gray Davis.<\/p>\n

Michelson said that Hilton\u2019s appearance on the November ballot will be \u201creenergizing for the Republican Party\u201d and could have down-ballot race implications.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cEven if Steve Hilton doesn\u2019t win he might be able to help other Republicans win by getting Republicans excited to vote,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Read more Danville cat burglars plotted a \u2018full proof\u2019 crime. But they messed up almost everything, police say<\/a><\/p>\n

California\u2019s jungle primary system sends the top two vote-getters, regardless of political party, onto the general election.<\/p>\n

Steyer trailed behind Hilton, while Mahan was in fifth place in early returns.<\/p>\n

With Gov. Gavin Newsom termed out, this year\u2019s governor\u2019s race was one of the most wide-open contests the state has seen in years for its highest office. Democratic heavyweights like former Vice President Kamala Harris and Sen. Alex Padilla, both of whom would have likely cleared the crowded field, opted not to run, leading to a situation where a frontrunner struggled to emerge until the final weeks.<\/p>\n

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Swalwell, whose antagonization of Trump on cable news shows raised his national profile, seemed to be consolidating support from state legislators and other major power brokers in Sacramento. Swalwell, who represented part of the East Bay, dropped out of the race and soon after resigned from Congress.<\/p>\n

In multiple debates among the crowded field, political experts saw the Democratic candidates sort themselves into several lanes. Becerra was often referred to as the \u201cstatus quo\u201d candidate who would maintain Newsom\u2019s current direction, while Steyer, former Rep. Katie Porter, former Controller Betty Yee and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond courted the progressive left. Mahan and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa were the most moderate Democrats in the race and would likely shift the state more toward the center.<\/p>\n

Republicans Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco meanwhile argued Democrats haven\u2019t delivered on housing, homelessness, affordability and other pocketbook issues and shouldn\u2019t be trusted to continue running the state. <\/p>\n

Public opinion polls conducted in recent months have shown that the cost of living and the housing crisis are among the top issues for voters in the state. Newsom\u2019s successor will also have to contend with cuts to critical federal funding streams for food assistance and Medi-Cal, the state\u2019s Medicaid program for low-income and disabled individuals, as well as a homeowner insurance crisis triggered by the rise of destructive wildfires in recent years.<\/p>\n

On housing, all the leading candidates vowed support for increasing supply, though they varied in their approaches. Among the Republicans, Hilton decried what he called the state\u2019s war on popular single-family homes in favor of higher-density housing, while Bianco assailed the state\u2019s thicket of regulations.<\/p>\n

Among Democrats, Becerra talked about streamlining regulations and reducing fees that make projects financially infeasible, while Steyer talked about a state revolving loan fund to provide low-interest financing and investing in factory-built housing to speed construction.<\/p>\n

Read more 49ers sign former Cal star in latest roster move<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The top two vote-getters, regardless of political party, will advance to the November runoff.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1069,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1070","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nCalifornia governor’s race: Steve Hilton, Xavier Becerra lead in early returns - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1070\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"California governor’s race: Steve Hilton, Xavier Becerra lead in early returns - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The top two vote-getters, regardless of political party, will advance to the November runoff.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1070\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-03T04:42:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=1070#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=1070\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"California governor’s race: Steve Hilton, Xavier Becerra lead in early returns\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-03T04:42:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=1070\"},\"wordCount\":914,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=1070#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/c54a9bb7a7dd9e0659868d96f9880d2a.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=1070#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=1070\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=1070\",\"name\":\"California governor’s race: Steve Hilton, Xavier Becerra lead in early returns - 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