California governor’s race: Steve Hilton, Xavier Becerra, Tom Steyer lead early returns

The early election results in the crowded race to succeed California Gov. Gavin Newsom show Republican Steve Hilton in a tight race with Democrat Xavier Becerra.

Hilton, a former Fox News host, entered election night as the candidate with the clearest path to blowing up Democrat’s political grip on deep-blue California, and the first returns — only 12.7% of precincts across the state have reported — suggest Golden State voters may be open to the message.

However, Becerra took a narrow lead as more returns came in, with the Democrat drawing 720,539 votes, or 26.4%, while Hilton followed closely with 701,767 votes, or 25.7%.

Progressive billionaire Tom Steyer trailed in third with 538,634 votes, or 19.7%, while Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco gained ground but stayed well back with 319,289 votes, or 11.7%.

Former congresswoman Katie Porter was next with 139,286 votes, or 5.1%, followed by San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan with 116,575 votes, or 4.3%, and former Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa with 42,561 votes, or 1.6%.

The top two finishers in the “Jungle Primary” advance to the November general election regardless of party.

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Hilton scored President Trump’s endorsement in April, giving the former TV personality and adviser to ex-UK Prime Minister David Cameron a late MAGA boost. 

Steyer, a progressive billionaire who has spent more than $200 million of his own money trying to muscle his way into the governor’s mansion, has been locked in a “toxic” fight with Becerra, the former Biden Cabinet secretary and California attorney general, to lock up support among Democrats and the left.

That endorsement also animated Democrats, who have framed the midterms as a referendum on Trump.

Hilton, in turn, has accused of letting crime, homelessness, and the affordability crisis to explode under sustained one-party Democratic rule since Arnold Schwarzenegger left the governor’s office in 2011.

The election will decide whether California’s November governor’s race becomes a referendum on Democratic control or a lefty billionaire versus the Democratic establishment.

Becerra hammered Steyer over his past financial ties to PG&E — despite the utility dropping huge sums to oppose him — and the billionaire responded by suggested Becerra could be at risk of being charged in the corruption scandal involving one of his former campaign accounts, leading to threats of a lawsuit from Becerra’s campaign.

Porter, once viewed as a progressive darling, has been steadily fading into spoiler territory since leaked videos showed her cursing out staff and storming out of a TV interview. Mahan, meanwhile, tried to pitch himself as a moderate Silicon Valley mayor in a field crowded with national names, rich guys and wounded Democratic egos — and the grand result appears to be burning millions from wealthy donors, like billionaires Rick Caruso, a Los Angeles businessman, and Google co-founder Sergey Brin.

The governor’s race was mostly ignored by Californians up until early April, when disgraced ex-congressman Eric Swalwell’s campaign and career imploded over rape and sexual assault allegations, which he has denied.

Swalwell’s collapse — he’s now the subject of multiple criminal probes — opened space for Becerra, who appeared to benefit most as party insiders in Newsom’s orbit began searching for an alternative who could stop Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, also a Republican, from slipping into the top two to box out Democrats.

California’s infamously slow vote counting means the final answer may not come Tuesday night. Mail-in voting often causes delays and final official results are not due to the state by July 3, with certification scheduled for July 10. Newsom sent a letter last month demanding counties speed up their tallies

Becerra’s rise has been a surprise to many, but in recent weeks signs started popping up that the career politician benefited from a surge in activity by social media bots propping up his “not flashy” record.

Steyer’s campaign generated its own bizarre headlines after paying social media influencers like “Foos Gone Wild” and “The Shade Room” to push his “class traitor” pitch calling for his fellow billionaires to be more aggressively taxed. 

More returns are expected to come rolling in over the course of the evening. Check back for more results.