California's primary for governor is undecided as candidates vie to be in the top two

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: NPR

National
California's primary for governor is undecided as candidates vie to be in the top two

June 3, 20264:14 AM ET
KQED
By Marisa Lagos

Xavier Becerra, Democratic gubernatorial candidate for California, and Steve Hilton, Republican gubernatorial candidate for California, shake hands while arriving for a gubernatorial debate at KRON Studios in San Francisco, California, US, on Wednesday, April 22, 2026.


Xavier Becerra, Democratic gubernatorial candidate for California, and Steve Hilton, Republican gubernatorial candidate for California, shake hands while arriving for a gubernatorial debate at KRON Studios in San Francisco in April.
Jason Henry/Getty Images North America

SAN FRANCISCO -- The primary election for California governor is too close to call, with vote counting continuing Wednesday. Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican business executive Steve Hilton lead the field with Democrat Tom Steyer in third place.

In California's unusual primary system, all candidates, regardless of party, appear on a single ballot open to any registered voter. The top two candidates then move on to the general election, even if they're from the same party. This year, voters had 60 names for governor to choose from.

The winner will lead the country's most populous state, where leaders often take on national political prominence. Incumbent Gov. Gavin Newsom is at his two-term limit and could be a Democratic contender for president.

Becerra, former Health and Human Services secretary under President Joe Biden, pitched himself to voters as an experienced political leader who isn't afraid of President Trump, but his lead caps one of the most surprising and dramatic comebacks in recent state political history. As recently as April, polls were showing Becerra -- also a former member of Congress and California attorney general -- languishing in single digits in a crowded field.

{snip}

Read more: https://www.npr.org/2026/06/03/nx-s1-5844747/california-primary-election-results-governor

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LBN rules say that the Associated Press is the only allowed source for election results. Right now, the result is ... no result, so ...

[Escape]

1. I don't understand the purpose of this "jungle" voting system.

The top two Democrats are splitting about 50% of the vote and the Republican is getting about 28%, so he wins?

What was wrong with having a Democratic primary and a GOP primary? Enough results would be in now that the November race would be set.

Plurality politics could open the door to more extremist nut job's being elected.

Californians? Can you explain how this system came about and why you prefer it?

[MichMan]

2. Nobody "wins" yet

The top two just qualify to run against each other in November

[SamuelAdams]

3. Not an expert on CA politics.

But I believe the issue was you could have two popular Democrats run in a primary that was essentially the general election but only Democrats voted for the winner. The Republican primary winner had no chance in November. This way the entire electorate gets to choose between the two popular Democrats in November.

[Dee0909]

14. Why in the world would Californians be voting Republican

I am so frustrated with California Voters
Do they have their head in the sand that much that they would vote for Hilton? A Fox News host and right wing lunatic! Can somebody please explain this logic to me?

[LisaL]

17. Democrats have a lot more votes combined than Hilton.

So I don't see any issues here, given this system of jungle primary-it could have been worse.

[jgmiller]

18. There are plenty of republicans in CA

and not all of them love Trump, so they aren't voting against Trump they are just voting for the republican they like. Of course just like in other places a lot do still love Trump. Outside of the coastal cities most of the counties are red counties and a lot of them are MAGA. If you got up into parts of the gold country and further north there is even a secession movement, they are easy to spot they fly the flags of "The State Of Jefferson".

[Karasu]

28. Anyone who's still voting Republican for any reason after 1/6 and everything else that's happened in the last 10 years

is de facto supporting Trump, whether implicitly or explicitly.

I've lived all over that state. You will be as hard-pressed to find an openly "anti-Trump" Republican in 2026 as anywhere else in the country.

[SomedayKindaLove]

22. There's more Republicans in CA

Than in any state in the country.

[cstanleytech]

26. To bad the MAGA voters nationwide just done don't move enmasse to only one of the deep red states.

[Karasu]

27. Well, yeah. Because CA has the most PEOPLE in the country. The actual percentage of registered Republicans to Dems

in the state is quite different.

Red states are red states because of the overwhelming PERCENTAGE of registered Republicans to Democrats (as well as voter turnout and insane gerrymandering, of course, but that's a whole other discussion).

[bobalew]

29. The same may be said about the democrats , in CA.

Although I do not posess those stats, just seems mathematically possible....

[obamanut2012]

23. CA has more GOP voters than the next two largest states

They are who is voting for Hilton. The main Dem vote is spread between Becerra and Steyer, with about 500k more Dem votes spread between Porter, Mahan, Villaraigosa, Swalwell, Yee, and Thurmond.

So, Dems are voting Dem and GOP are voting GOP. Just like always. There si no reason to be frustrated by CA voters. Why are you frustrated by GOP voting GOP?

[moose65]

9. I'm with you!

This system doesn't make any sense to me. Plus, there were 61 people on the ballot, which I find completely ridiculous.

They should at least have ranked choice voting, to eliminate all those candidates who got a few thousand votes.

I'm betting it was the Republicans who came up with this ridiculous system.

[LeftInTX]

13. It was Schwarzenegger's brain child

[RockRaven]

31. It was Abel Maldonado's baby. Arnie went along to get Maldonado's support for his budget.

I'm not a solving him of responsibility, but he didn't originate the idea.

[RockRaven]

30. It prevents run-offs by keeping the general election to two candidates instead of

one candidate from each party (which usually resulted in 4-8 candidates on the ballot), which could lead to the highest vote getter being below 50% -- which then would require a top 2 runoff.

That is pretty much the only advantage.

The system exists the way it does because it was instituted via Proposition 14 during the Governator's reign, designed by a Repug state legislator/Lt Gov. Along with the citizen redistricting commision, it was part of Repug efforts to bamboozle the naive public into structurally helping the Repugs win, via appeals to fairness and efficiency.

[Mr.Bee]

4. Californians Proving

they love some FoxNewsHilton!

[lostincalifornia]

6. No it isn't. The inane jungle primary distorts reality. That was another wonderful gift that Schwarzenegger

pushed when he was governor along with republican Abel Maldonado. It was one of the most stupid things that California did.

I am hoping we can get rid of it, since this last election not only demonstrated the real possibllity that Democrats could have been locked out of the general election because Democrats running would split the vote between, and actually propel republicans into a state-wide office that the majority do not want.

We had over 60 candidates on the ballot running for governor, which not only made the race confusing to voters in finding their candidate on the ballot, but most of thos candidates running for governor know they don't have a chance, and are just doing it as a "joke", or to make an already chaotic situation more chaotic.

The other stupid piece we have for a state our size is a low threshold for a recall. That is how Gray Davis got recalled, and Schwarzenegger beccame governor, along with the stupid celebrities pushing the bullshit how "arnold" was actually a "good choice".

He left our state in tremendous debt, and hurt a lot of people. Jerry Brown suceeded Schwarzenegger, which not only helped the state and take us out of debt, but set us up in a good direction.

[ShazzieB]

10. I don't live in California, but I think I would hate this system if I did.

I've been confused for a while about how this thing works, so thanks for clarifying. The more I learn about it, the less I like it.

In addition to being chaotic, this setup sounds like a wacky distortion of what a primary election is supposed to be. Primaries are supposed to be where each party chooses its candidate for the general election. This system takes away their right to do that.

It makes sense to me that Schwarzenegger, a Republican, pushed this idea. It sounds like a sneaky way to split the Democratic vote and try to create the possibility of 2 Republican candidates ending up on fhe November ballot. I can't see any possible benefit for anyone other than Republicans, and that creates a situation that sounds just plain unfair to the voters.

I get the GOP being frustrated about their chances in such a heavily Democratic state, but that's just too damned bad. The mayoral race in Chicago is the same way; it's always a foregone conclusion that the Democratic nominee will win in November. That's just the way the ball bounces when most of the electorate votes a particular way. It does not warrant turning the primary into THIS.

I wish you all the luck in the world getting rid of this mess.

[lostincalifornia]

11. You and I are on the same page.

[chia]

7. California inland is red, no surprises there. I am surprised about a couple coastal counties I didn't expect

to see go for Hilton. Early returns were all inland red counties on the NBC map, maybe because of sparser numbers. There are still a lot of mail in ballots to be counted, which skew blue.

[maxsolomon]

19. Like most states, the minute you leave the city it turns red.

If the coastal area is remote, it makes sense for it to be red.

The best thing about rural America is there aren't a lot of people in it.

[Mr.Bee]

8. Never Ceases To Amaze Me

A candidate can promise cheap $3 gas,
something he can never deliver on,
and people will vote for him.

[obamanut2012]

24. Wrong -- GOP love them some Steve Hilton

Dems voting for Dems.

[SpankMe]

5. The good news is...

...no matter what, there will be one fairly popular Dem on the ballot with the Republican, whichever Dem gets in. The nightmare scenario where two Repubs ended up being at the top didn't materialize.

Yeah, my California ballot had 61 gubernatorial candidates on it. I counted. Not sure why the AP article said 60. I don't like the jungle system. Some real wierdos get on the ballot and split the vote and cause unnecessary spectacle.

[Zorro]

12. Betty Yee dropped out but her name was still on the ballot

That's probably why the AP said 60 candidates.

She still got 25k+ votes, and even Swalwell got 18k+ votes. Barack D. Obama Shaw has over 10k+ votes, and LivingForGod AndCountry DeMott got 1k+ votes.

Don't know if those voters just don't GAF, or whether it shows there are a lot of people who need mental health counseling.

https://dp.electionresults.sos.ca.gov/returns/governor

[Initech]

15. Thank fucking god Chad Bianco won't be on the ballot.

Fuck that guy, may he rot in hell.

[BlueKota]

20. Thank you.

I am glad a Democrat will be on the ballot.

[kimbutgar]

16. If Hilton wins the primary I bet the 🍊🐖💩 will endorse him and he will lose biggly in California !

[obamanut2012]

25. He has already endorsd Hilton

[Karma13612]

21. The Term Undecided makes it seem

like the Primary is in limbo. It isn’t. It’s following the natural course of elections in California. It takes a lot of time to count all the mail in ballots considering it’s a popular form of voting and apparently many waited until the last second to vote.

It’s actually more accurate to say it’s just too soon to call. They have like 1/2 the ballots to count in places like LA which will be heavy for Becerra. Not to mention that mail in ballots will take days to receive because they do count them even if they arrive a few days after election day.

NPR and MSM have been pushing the narrative that it could go to Republicans. Of course it “COULD’, BUT I don’t think it will. And of course this is just the primary. As long as Becerra is one of the two who gets thru, then it’s up to the voters in November.

(I’m not criticizing the OP. I know that the terminology has been taken directly from the news article being quoted)

As an aside, I personally think that actual election day (ie June 2 for California this year) should be the drop dead date for all ballots. Regardless of the method of voting. Make sure the empty ballots are mailed early enuf to voters, and ensure voters are reminded repeatedly that they must get them back by Election day. Having to wait for up to a week or so for the ballots to arrive and be counted is what causes a lot of people to not trust the process. I understand how the tally can change as the votes are counted due to the make up of what ballots have been counted and what is still outstanding. If you think about it, there is no satisfactory deadline for all voters. There will always be voters who miss the deadline. Part of it is just procrastination. I’m very progressive and believe people should live in a vibrant happy democratically governed country. But, I think our whole election process needs to be updated and streamlined.

-All primaries for the entire country on the same day. Everyone gets to choose their candidate. No risk of someone dropping out after an earlier primary, so you can’t vote for the one you want. Every vote counts, every voice is heard.
-Four months to campaign prior to the general.
-No new election related laws passed within the same year as the elections they would affect. That pertains to IDs, redistricting, etc.
-All ballots must be in on Election Day by midnight.
-All ballots counted as soon as they are in the possession of the appropriate local Boards of election. No waiting until election day or days after. If more staff are needed, get them.

Just my 2 cents….