Trump-backed Steve Hilton to face Xavier Becerra in California governor race

California’s top-two system produced an unusually stark general-election matchup: Steve Hilton, a Republican backed by President Trump, will face Xavier Becerra, a Democrat, after a crowded primary that exposed both Republican momentum and Democratic splintering. Tom Steyer, the billionaire Democrat who ran as an outsider, finished third and was left out of the November race.

With all 19,788 of 19,788 precincts reporting as of June 9 at 6:57 p.m., Becerra led the June 2 governor primary with 2,390,700 votes, or 27.9%. Hilton followed with 2,137,910 votes, 25.0%, while Steyer received 1,928,318 votes, 22.5%. Under California’s winner-take-top-two rules, only the two highest vote-getters advance, regardless of party affiliation.

The result keeps the governorship in play for Democrats, but it also shows how thin the party’s dominance can look when a crowded field fragments the vote. Becerra, the former California attorney general and Biden administration health secretary, benefited from a field in which several Democrats competed for the same electorate. Katie Porter finished with 373,518 votes, 4.4%, and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan took 308,841 votes, 3.6%. Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa finished with 100,362 votes, 1.2%.

Hilton’s finish is the clearest sign that Republican energy has not disappeared in a state where Democrats hold a registration advantage and have controlled the governor’s office for more than 15 years. Republican Chad Bianco, the Riverside County sheriff, drew 874,405 votes, 10.2%, but Hilton moved ahead after a week of vote counting and emerged as the party’s nominee in a race many had expected to be defined by Democrats alone.

The governor’s race is to replace Gavin Newsom, the termed-out Democrat who leaves office in January 2027. It also offers a direct test of whether California’s all-party primary is creating a genuine statewide contest or simply rearranging the state’s ideological blocs before November. Hilton’s advance gives Republicans a foothold in a race dominated by Democrats on paper, while Steyer’s failure underscores how a wealthy self-funded campaign can still be overtaken when Democratic voters divide their support among several familiar names.