Xavier Becerra, a Democrat who served as Health and Human Services Secretary during the Biden administration, has advanced to the runoff in the California gubernatorial race in November’s general election, several media outlets projected on Friday.
His opponent is still unknown, but Republican Steve Hilton narrowly trails Becerra, according to the latest tally. Becerra overtook Hilton in the vote count over the past 24 hours.
With 66% of the votes in on Friday evening, Becerra leads with 26.7% support, ahead of Hilton at 26.4%. Both were ahead of billionaire Democrat Tom Steyer, who was at 21%. Under California’s top-two primary system, candidates from the same party can advance to the general election if they finish in the top two.
On Thursday evening, with 58% of the vote reported, Hilton led Becerra by more than a point, at 27.2%. Becerra was at 25.9%, while Steyer was third with 20.1%.
JUST IN:
Democrat Xavier Becerra officially advances to November’s election for California Governor.Still waiting on more results to determine who his opponent will be officially. pic.twitter.com/gl7k08SGJp
— Ashley Zavala (@ZavalaA) June 5, 2026
“More than ever, California needs our voices and our values,” Becerrra posted on social media Friday evening. “To all the people and the voters of California, this is your state.”
“We will not be bought. We will not be bullied. And we are never backing down,” he added.
President Donald Trump has commented on California’s lengthy ballot tallying process and accused Democrats of election fraud.
“Look what’s happening in California, the Dumocrats, right before our very eyes, are stealing the vote,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Thursday.
In another post, Trump said, “There’s BIG cheating by the Dumocrats in California. Votes are all tied up. May not be in for weeks. Under investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles. Why the vote counting DELAY???”
Becerra responded to Trump’s accusations, claiming the president is “trying to undermine confidence in our elections because he’s a repeat loser here.”
“Sorry Donald, the voters decide who leads California. Not you,” he added.
Donald Trump lost the 2020 election. He lost California by millions of votes in the 2024 election, and now he’s trying to undermine confidence in our elections because he’s a repeat loser here.
Sorry Donald, the voters decide who leads California. Not you. pic.twitter.com/juhpYvJ0LP
— Xavier Becerra (@XavierBecerra) June 4, 2026
Becerra served 12 terms in Congress and is a former California attorney general. He is considered more of an establishment, moderate Democrat than Steyer. He quickly rose in the polls after former Rep. Eric Swalwell dropped out of the gubernatorial race amid sexual assault accusations.
Delayed results are routine in California because of the state’s extensive vote-by-mail system, signature verification, and procedures for resolving ballot errors.
The final tally of California’s races could take as long as three weeks. Unlike many states that require mail ballots to arrive by Election Day, California accepts ballots that arrive up to 7 days later if postmarked on time. Then, those ballots have up to 7 days to reach a processing center. Counties must verify signatures, count provisional ballots, and allow voters to cure certain ballot defects before results are certified.