California governor’s race still a toss-up as leading candidates battle for top spots

An election worker processes the ballots at the San Diego county registrar of voters office during California's primary election. Photograph: Michael Ho Wai Lee/SOPA Images/Shutterstock View image in fullscreen An election worker processes the ballots at the San Diego county registrar of voters office during California's primary election. Photograph: Michael Ho Wai Lee/SOPA Images/Shutterstock California governor’s race still a toss-up as leading candidates battle for top spots Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat Xavier Becerra lead the field as votes continue to be counted The Democrats to watch after Tuesday’s primaries: from army doctor to Paralympian The key race for California governor is deadlocked as vote counting continued on Wednesday morning following primary elections to decide who would run in several critical districts in the US House and Senate in November, in a midterm year expected to favor Democrats. With nearly 60% of the votes counted, Steve Hilton, a Republican, former UK political operative and Fox News host who was narrowly ahead. Xavier Becerra, a Democrat and the former health secretary who led the field after a tumultuous campaign, was in second place while Tom Steyer, a billionaire environmental activist running as a progressive, trailed in third. The Democrats to watch after Tuesday’s primaries: from army doctor to Paralympian Read more Results could still change significantly in the coming days. The California system is such that the two candidates who receive the most votes then face off in the general election, no matter which party they are from. The state sends all registered voters a ballot in the mail about a month in advance, which can be returned ahead of election day. But due to the crowded field of candidates many Democrats opted to wait until the last moment to cast their ballot. That meant early results were expected to favor Republicans – and with many likely Democratic ballots still outstanding, support for Becerra and Steyer was expected to grow as more votes are counted. Other results across the US, stretching from California to New Jersey , underlined many of the forces shaping the 2026 midterms: Democrats’ desire for change in the wake of the party’s devastating losses to Donald Trump in 2024, the president’s enduring grip on Republican voters despite his falling approval ratings, and voters’ sour view of the US economy. In that vein, primary voters chose the safest, establishment Democrats in key races, who they deemed most electable when facing the opposition party. In more solidly blue districts, winners included a spate of candidates endorsed by Bernie Sanders, a progressive senator. View image in fullscreen Supporters cheer Xavier Becerra’s election party in Los Angeles on Tuesday night. Photograph: Chris Torres/EPA The most watched races included New Jersey, where a Democrat could oust a Republican incumbent absent with a mystery medical issue for months; and Iowa, where several Democrats are h