California’s quest to find Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s successor has truly been a race of fits and starts: Some of the state’s biggest political names opted against running, a front-runner dropped out amid allegations of sexual assault and the batch of remaining candidates struggled to find traction with voters.
But the voters have spoken following almost a week of vote counting after last Tuesday’s nonpartisan primary: Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton will advance to November’s general election, according to Associated Press projections.
Becerra finished with almost 28% of the total vote, and the Associated Press called his advancement to the November general election on Friday night. The race then turned to who would finish in the number two slot, with Hilton slowly edging out billionaire Tom Steyer with roughly 25% of the vote.
Hilton faces long odds in the deep-blue state. California has not seen a Republican governor since Arnold Schwarzenegger left office in 2011 after serving two terms.
President Donald Trump endorsed Hilton, a former Fox News host, in early April. A day before the Associated Press called the race, the president posted to Truth Social celebrating Hilton’s advancement.
The top-two finish by Becerra and Hilton caps a primary campaign that was equally notable for the names who weren’t on the ballot.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris and Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) decided not to run. Multiple allegations of sexual assault and misconduct spurred the race’s front-runner, Eric Swallwell, to suspend his gubernatorial campaign in April, as well as resign his House seat.
Crowded field for California governor
What was left was a field of candidates that struggled to set themselves apart.
Becerra, who served as health secretary during the Biden administration and as California attorney general before that, pulled ahead in polling ahead of the primary following Swalwell’s exit, after months of languishing in the single digits.
Steyer, the billionaire progressive who largely self-funded his campaign, blanketed the state in ads. Former congresswoman Katie Porter’s campaign stagnated in the polls after videos surfaced of her yelling at a former staffer and threatening to walk out of a TV interview. San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan made a splash with housing and affordability proposals when he jumped in the race in January.
And then there were the two Republicans: Riverside sheriff Chad Bianco and Hilton, who for a time seemed like they might lock out Democrats in a jungle primary where the top two, regardless of party, would move on to November.
This story was produced as part of a partnership between NOTUS — a publication from the nonpartisan Allbritton Journalism Institute — and NEWSWELL, home of Times of San Diego, Santa Barbara News-Press and Stocktonia.
