Steve Hilton and Xavier Becerra advance in California governor race

Steve Hilton turned Donald Trump’s endorsement into a place in California’s governor runoff, while Democrats’ crowded field left Tom Steyer stranded in third. In the nation’s most populous state, where Gavin Newsom is term-limited and 61 candidates crowded the June 2 top-two primary, the result set up a November race between a Trump-backed Republican and a veteran Democrat, Xavier Becerra.

As of the latest unofficial statewide count, Becerra led with about 2,390,700 votes, or 27.9 percent. Hilton followed with about 2,137,910 votes, or 25.0 percent, and Steyer finished third with about 1,928,318 votes, or 22.5 percent. California election officials said the tally was still moving as vote-by-mail, provisional and other ballots were processed, with county officials due to report final results by July 3 and the Secretary of State set to certify the election on July 10.

The outcome hinged on California’s unusual top-two system, under which all candidates appear on the same ballot and the two highest vote-getters advance regardless of party. That structure gave Democrats a narrow but real risk of self-inflicted damage if their vote fragmented across a deep field. Ballotpedia noted that party leaders were worried about an all-Republican general election, and California Democratic Party chair Rusty Hicks warned in an open letter that two Republicans advancing was unlikely, but not impossible.

Hilton benefited from a clear lane on the right after Trump endorsed him on April 6. He campaigned on affordability and argued that California needed new leadership after more than 15 years of Democratic control, pressing a message of lower spending and fewer regulations that helped consolidate Republican support behind him. Becerra, a former California attorney general and former U.S. Health and Human Services secretary, leaned on experience and his readiness to confront Trump directly.

Steyer’s failure to advance was striking because he entered the race as one of the best-known Democrats and as a major self-funded candidate. The Sacramento Bee reported that he has spent more than half a billion dollars pursuing political office. Even with that spending, he could not overcome a divided Democratic electorate, a reminder that money alone does not erase fragmentation in a top-two primary.

The race now becomes a test of whether a Trump-aligned Republican can make a deep-blue state competitive by exploiting Democratic splits and voter frustration. For Democrats, Hilton’s second-place finish is not proof of a broader realignment, but it is an early warning that in California, a crowded primary can still produce a result that few in the party can afford to ignore.