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 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.
