UPDATE, 6:01 a.m.. Wednesday: Republican Steve Hilton had a lead over Democrat Xavier Becerra in the race for California governor, but only just over half of the votes have been counted in the state’s primary.
Democrat Tom Steyer trailed, and while it is possible that he would break through, the remaining vote would have to overwhelmingly break his way. In past cycles, the last-minute mail ballots have tended to favor candidates on the left.
If Steyer doesn’t make it, he will be the latest in a line of wealthy candidates to come up short in a statewide California race. The more than $200 million Steyer has spent exceeds that of Meg Whitman, who lost to Jerry Brown in the 2010 general election, and Al Checchi, who lost to Gray Davis in the 1998 Democratic primary.
“It might take some time to figure out where this is going. We’re going to wait until every ballot is counted. We are doing to give democracy time to work, and we know we finished really strong,” Steyer told supporters late on Tuesday.
Speaking to his supporters, Becerra recalled that he had been an also ran in the race, with some calls for him to drop out, until his candidacy surged in April. The dynamics of the race changed when Eric Swalwell, the Democratic front runner, exited the race amid allegations of sexual misconduct.
“Guess what, the underdog stayed in the fight,” Becerra said.
Among those who conceded was Matt Mahan, the Democratic mayor of San Jose, who placed in the low single digits despite support from Silicon Valley. “This is not the last time I will ask Californians to come together to fight for a better state,” Mahan posted on X.
Another Democrat, Katie Porter, the former congresswoman, also conceded, releasing a social media video in which she acknowledged that “we know tonight that we will not advance to the general election.” Porter had been an early top tier contender in the early stages of the race, but her campaign ran into turbulence after the release of a video showing her berating a staffer. She apologized.
Mahan and Porter were each in the low single digits in the latest results. Antonio Villaraigosa, the former Los Angeles mayor, conceded shortly after polls closed.
Izzy Gardon, communications director for Governor Gavin Newsom, noted the failure of Mahan and Villaraigosa to advance to the November general election. He wrote on X, “The candidates for Governor who spent the most time attacking Gavin Newsom were the first to concede. Bye bye.”
PREVIOUSLY, 9:31 p.m. PT, Tuesday: Former Fox News host Steve Hilton, a Republican, and former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, a Democrat, led in initial returns in the race for California governor.
According to the results, per the AP, the two candidates were nearly tied, with each drawing about 26% of the vote, with about half of the ballots in. In California’s open primary, the top two finishers will advance to the November election, regardless of party.
Tom Steyer, a billionaire Democrat who has spent nearly $200 million on advertising, per the AP, was trailing in third place, hovering at around 20% of the vote.
“It’s encouraging,” Hilton told CNN. “What we’re really watching is the gap between me and the third place candidate, Tom Steyer. As long as that gap stays roughly where it is, then Californians will have a choice for change in the general election.”
The race to succeed Gavin Newsom was perhaps most notable for what it was not: inspiring. None of the candidates electrified any of the debates, as the large field of contenders strategized to win one of the two slots on the November ballot. That meant extensive verbal sparring in the forums.
Another Republican, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, was drawing about 11%, while former congresswoman Katie Porter, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa were in the single digits.
Earlier in the evening, Villaraigosa conceded, after what was his second bid for governor. In his statement, he offered a warning to Democrats of voter discontent.
“California is at an inflection point, and our representatives and my Party need to start taking these challenges seriously so that we can once again make California the envy of the nation and the globe,” he said.
If Becerra and Hilton end up as the top two voter getters, it will set up a rather traditional Democrat vs. Republican contest. But Hilton is likely to hammer Becerra as a creature of the state’s Democratic establishment.
Becerra, who would be the state’s first Latino governor in 150 years if elected, has emphasized his experience, not just in the Biden cabinet but as the California attorney general who previously had a long tenure in Congress. He was far back in the polls until Eric Swalwell dropped out of the race in April, amid sexual misconduct allegations.