California governor’s race remains unresolved as vote count continues – US politics live | US news

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The race to become California’s next governor in the Senate remains unclear, with voters likely waiting weeks until the results are announced.

State election officials continue to work through uncounted primary votes, a process that could take days or weeks as polls show a narrow lead for British-born conservative pundit Steve Hilton.

He is followed by former US human services and health secretary Xavier Becerra, while billionaire Tom Steyer continues to follow the duo. Under California’s primary system, the top two vote-getters advance to the general election to replace incumbent Gavin Newsom.

The question of who will face off in November could remain unanswered for weeks, according to election officials. Under state law, California counties must complete vote counting by June 15, but some ballots are exempt from that deadline. For example, mail-in ballots postmarked on election day and received by June 9 are valid and may be processed beyond the deadline.

An estimate of the number of remaining unprocessed ballots is expected on Thursday. Faced with a crowded slate of gubernatorial candidates, many Democratic voters used mail-in ballots leading up to election day to weigh which candidate had the best chance of landing one of the top two spots.

The ongoing situation did not prevent Donald Trump from declaring the victory of his favorite candidate.

“Congratulations to Steve Hilton for coming in first in the California Governorship vote last night,” he wrote in his Wednesday Truth Social post. “If Californians are smart, and I know they are, they will install Steve in the Governor’s Mansion and watch their state improve at a rate probably never seen before.”

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In other developments:

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• Bessent confirmed that he threatened to beat up a member of management. Bill Pultelast summer.