Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat Xavier Becerra emerged as the front-runners in California's primary for governor, positioning the contest for a November runoff to succeed the term-limited incumbent. With more than half the ballots counted by Wednesday morning, Hilton, a former Fox News host, led with about 28%, ahead of Becerra, a former US health and human services secretary, on roughly 25%.
Under California's top-two system, all candidates appear on a single primary ballot regardless of party, and the two highest finishers advance to the general election. Democratic billionaire investor Tom Steyer ran third on about 20%, leaving him on the edge of the runoff as the slower-counting mail and provisional ballots, which in California tend to favour Democrats, continued to be tallied.
Former Representative Katie Porter conceded that she would not reach the top two, telling supporters that "the votes are still being counted and it may take a few days here in California to have final numbers." Her exit narrowed an unusually crowded field that had divided the state's dominant Democratic electorate among several well-known names.
The early lead for Hilton reflected the consolidation of Republican voters behind a single prominent candidate, while Democrats split their support. Analysts cautioned, however, that Becerra was well placed to secure one of the two slots as later ballots are counted, and that the second runoff place could still shift between Hilton and Steyer.
California was one of six states holding primaries, and the marquee governor's race drew national attention as a test of whether a Republican with a national media profile could remain competitive in a heavily Democratic state. The general election in November will set the direction of the country's most populous state for the next four years.
Final certified results are not expected for several days given the volume of mail ballots, a feature of California elections that routinely delays the call in close contests. Whoever emerges, the campaign now pivots to a five-month general-election fight likely to centre on the cost of living, housing and public safety.