Leading up to the June 2 California primary election, NBC Los Angeles will provide detailed updates on the races, candidates and issues impacting voters.

Here’s what’s happening on Friday: Xavier Becerra, one of the Democratic frontrunners in the California governor’s race, celebrated the polling results in a visit to West Hollywood. Spencer Pratt explained how he was able to spend millions of dollars on healing crystals when he was 23 years old.

Xavier Becerra on trans student athletes

Hours after a survey revealed Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton are getting more support from likely California voters compared to 59 other gubernatorial candidates, the former Health and Human Services secretary was in West Hollywood Wednesday afternoon, trying to win over LGBTQ votes.

During his “Becerra Era” tour at Micky’s West Hollywood, he touted his record of supporting the LGBTQ+ community, including voting against the Defense of Marriage Act as a congressman and defending LGBTQ+ rights in court when he was California’s attorney general.

After the debate over trans student athletes became a hot-button issue last year, Becerra says he supports the current California Interscholastic Federation’s (CIF) rules of allowing student athletes to compete based on their gender identity.

Will Tom Steyer’s money help him finally?

The amount of money Steyer has spent on his gubernatorial bid is staggering: recent campaign records show the billionaire has spend over $200 million, most of which was used for an ad blitz. That’s 10 times more than Becerra has spent so far.

But the latest Public Policy Institute of California survey, which was conducted earlier this month and released Wednesday night, showed Steyer is in third place after Becerra and Hilton.

Hilton, while appearing on CNN Thursday night, said he’s still wary of Steyer even though it looks as though he will face Becerra in the run-off. The GOP frontrunner suggested Steyer could still surge in the polls before the polls close next Tuesday.

Steyer also spent more than $200 million when he ran for president in 2020, eventually ending up with no pledged delegates.

What’s the deal with Spencer Pratt’s crystals?

Spencer Pratt told NBC News’ Tom Llamas that he’s spent millions of dollars on healing crystals. (The Palisades Fire victim estimated his crystal collection was worth more than $1 million.)

Pratt said he does not “worship crystals,” but he does believe “anything God put on this earth has energy.”

Describing his crystal collection to be “beautiful,” Pratt claimed it was a museum-grade collection before being lost during the Palisades Fire.

“These are not, with respect to the farmer’s market, these are not, you know, what you’re getting when you get your avocados,” he said.

Even though he spent the kind of money that many people would only wish to have while he was living at a house owned by his parents at age 23, Pratt said he had no regrets. He claimed that he was able to support the lifestyle by selling stories to Hollywood tabloids.

What a time to be alive.

https://youtu.be/ZDSnJtAaPgU?si=4Xj-96rbATsejrJ8

New poll shows 3 candidates lead pack in race for governor

Democrat Xavier Becerra leads the race for California governor with a tight race shaping up for second ahead of the June 2 primary election, according to a new poll released Thursday night.

Among likely California voters, 25% supported former Health and Human Services Secretary Becerra, according to the poll by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies that was co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times.

The poll shows Republican Steve Hilton with 21% and Democrat Tom Steyer at 19%, suggesting three candidates have separated from the rest of the crowded field in the contest to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom.