Election results change throughout election night and in the days that follow as counties continue counting ballots. The Sacramento Bee regularly updates its coverage with the latest vote percentages as results are reported by the various jurisdictions. We use percentages in our stories instead of raw numbers, which can quickly become outdated.<\/p>\n
Read more about how The Bee is covering election results<\/a>.<\/p>\n Becerra supporters set up shop at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes in downtown Los Angeles in an open-air venue featuring two open bars and three food trucks. The campaign also welcomed influencers, a nod to the role online personalities played<\/a> in boosting their preferred candidates in the race.<\/p>\n There were sporadic cheers when results appeared on screen that \u2014 so far \u2014 showed Becerra advancing to the general election. Supporters in the crowd included Andrina Fernandez, who said she made the easy choice on her ballot: She voted for Becerra, her uncle and nemesis in family game nights. The current craze is a dominos game called Mexican train; Fernandez said Becerra\u2019s \u201cthe type to let you win.\u201d<\/p>\n Fernandez said the family group chat has been laughing at Becerra supporters who\u2019ve dubbed the former state attorney general, who would be the first Latino governor in more than a century, \u201cTio Becerra.\u201d \u201cWe\u2019re like, \u2018Hey, can anyone in the family claim this person?\u2019\u201d Fernandez said.<\/p>\n Another guest, Luis Arguello, assistant manager for LiUNA Local 270, said he believed Becerra\u2019s working class background, including a stint working as a construction worker, gave him credibility in making California more affordable. \u201cAnd frankly, it doesn\u2019t sit well with me when there\u2019s some, when there\u2019s a billionaire trying to tell us, \u2018Hey, we\u2019ll take care of you,\u2019\u201d he said, alluding to Becerra\u2019s top Democratic rival, Steyer.<\/p>\n Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, D-Hollister, a key Becerra backer, projected confidence in an interview, saying he had \u201cno doubt that he will be our next governor.\u201d Rivas said their relationship dates back to Rivas\u2019 election to the Assembly in 2018; Becerra, then attorney general, was the only constitutional officer to call him to congratulate him, and continued to consult his opinion on legislation. \u201cHe was never trying to grab headlines, he was always so focused and engaged,\u201d Rivas said.<\/p>\n Steyer\u2019s festivities in San Francisco took place at the Regency Ballroom near the Tenderloin neighborhood. Union supporters from SEIU Local 2015 decked themselves out in \u201cclass traitor\u201d baseball caps, a nod to Steyer\u2019s populist platform promising to heavily tax his fellow billionaires.<\/p>\n Mei Ju Liang, a home care worker for 14 years, said she\u2019d only made a final decision to vote for Steyer that morning. Like many Democrats in the state, she\u2019d been waiting to see which candidates seemed the most viable. Liang said she believed Steyer would help workers like her get higher wages and better working conditions. Plus, she said, \u201cOur union supports him.\u201d<\/p>\n Steyer took the stage just before 9:30 p.m. and elicited the first major spike in excitement, despite starting and ending his speech with a gingerly appeal for patience. The candidate, wearing Nikes and a suit but no tie \u2014 not too buttoned up \u2014 struck a defiant tone. Of the corporate interests who poured money into campaigns against him, he said, \u201cThey are unanimous in their hate for me, and I welcome their hatred.\u201d<\/p>\n The people packed on the ballroom floor screamed.<\/p>\n The crowd had begun to thin out by 10 p.m. \u2014 Steyer himself had reminded his guests that he did not foresee the race being called Tuesday night. He gave a tepid acknowledgement of the slog of California vote-counting.<\/p>\n \u201cIt might take some time to figure out where this is going. We\u2019re gonna wait till every ballot is counted,\u201d he said, to no applause. But, to cheers, he added, \u201cWe know we finished really strong.\u201d<\/p>\n The outcome of the race will likely not be officially certified for weeks, due to the state\u2019s notoriously slow vote counting process. The Secretary of State\u2019s office did not affirm the results of the November 2024 presidential race until weeks later in December.<\/p>\n The current race to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is term-limited and repeatedly declined to endorse<\/a> a successor, has been historically expensive and unusually unpredictable.<\/p>\n With more than $315 million in ad spending and reservations, the race is already the most expensive governor\u2019s race on record in any state, according to an analysis conducted by the media tracking firm AdImpact.<\/a> Nearly two-thirds of that spending came from Steyer, a former hedge fund manager turned progressive activist who has poured more than $200 million into his campaign.<\/p>\n A slew of the most established California Democrats decided to sit the race out, from former Vice President Kamala Harris to U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla. That left a swarm of lesser-known contenders jockeying to break out of the low double-digits heading into spring.<\/p>\n State party leaders pleaded with lower-polling candidates to drop out<\/a> amid fears that two Republicans could advance out of Tuesday\u2019s jungle primary, where the two highest vote getters will move on to the November general election. Those fears ebbed away in the last few weeks after one major campaign implosion and a flood of money surged into the race to sway voters via both traditional ads and new media platforms.<\/p>\n Former Rep. Eric Swalwell seemed to be gathering momentum before multiple women accused him of sexual misconduct<\/a> in early April. Swalwell denied the accusations but suspended his campaign<\/a> and resigned from Congress.<\/p>\n His exit created an opening for Becerra, a former state attorney general who shot up in polls<\/a> from the single-digits to frontrunner. Members of Newsom\u2019s political team threw their weight behind Becerra and began fundraising on his behalf.<\/p>\n In the final weeks and closing debates, the race took a negative turn.<\/p>\n Becerra\u2019s rivals played up his connection to a corruption case involving a former aide and advisor<\/a>, though the former attorney general has not been accused of wrongdoing. And they drilled him for his tenure serving as U.S. secretary of health and human services under former President Joe Biden, when critics accused him of mismanaging a surge in migrants<\/a>, some of whom were trafficked into child labor.<\/p>\n The candidates also piled on Steyer for his past investments in fossil fuels and private prisons<\/a>, and for his current holdings in offshore private equity funds<\/a>, accusing him of trying to buy his way into office.<\/p>\n By mid-May, several polls showed Becerra at the top of the pack for Democrats and Steyer in second place, with a series of other Democrats \u2014 former Rep. Katie Porter, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond \u2014 struggling to emerge from the single digits.<\/p>\n Hilton\u2019s path to the top tier was simpler: In April, the former Fox News host won an endorsement<\/a> from President Donald Trump, helping him to consolidate GOP support against another Republican, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.<\/p>\n That endorsement could be an albatross if Hilton advances to the general election given Trump\u2019s unpopularity in California; a Public Policy Institute of California poll released last week<\/a> found just 25% of California adults approve of Trump\u2019s performance as president.<\/p>\n The Bee\u2019s Ariane Lange contributed to this story.<\/p>\n This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 8:44 PM.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n Lia Russell<\/a><\/p>\n The Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n Lia Russell covers California\u2019s governor for The Sacramento Bee\u2019s Capitol Bureau. Originally from San Francisco, Lia previously worked for The Baltimore Sun and the Bangor Daily News in Maine.\n <\/p>\n![\"California](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SAC_1612_PK_20260602_STEYER.JPG\" "\\"SAC_1612_PK_20260602_STEYER.JPG\\"")
California gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer speaks during a election night watch party at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco on Tuesday, June 2, 2026. PAUL KITAGAKI JR. pkitagaki@sacbee.com <\/p>\n![\"California](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SAC_2239_PK_20260602_STEYER.JPG\" "\\"SAC_2239_PK_20260602_STEYER.JPG\\"")
California gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer\u2019s supporters listen to his speach during a election night watch party on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco. PAUL KITAGAKI JR. pkitagaki@sacbee.com <\/p>\n California Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton waves at his campaign watch party in Huntington Beach on Tuesday. MIKE BLAKE Reuters <\/p>\n
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