Steve Hilton and Xavier Becerra leading gubernatorial contenders in California

HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA – Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat Xavier Becerra were leading in unofficial early returns Wednesday morning and appeared poised to advance into the November California gubernatorial election in term-limited Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s race to lead the nation’s most populous state and one of the world’s largest economies.

Hilton was a one-time British political strategist turned American conservative commentator and former Fox News Channel host who has been endorsed by the President. Donald Trumpand Becerra, the former California attorney general who later served as Cabinet secretary in former President Biden’s administration, were ahead early Wednesday morning; votes are still being counted and the results have not yet been certified.

“Change is coming to California, and it’s long overdue,” Hilton told supporters at his first vigil party in Orange County.

In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital after her speech, Hilton said telling voters the “honest, simple facts” strengthened her campaign. “Everything is very expensive in California. We will reduce people’s expenses,” he promised.

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If elected in November, Becerra, who would make history as California’s first Latino governor since Romualdo Pacheco briefly served in 1875, told supporters that the success of his campaign was “so much more than the end of Hollywood. More than a turning point. It’s the daily miracle of living in a state that makes the improbable seem inevitable. And I couldn’t do it without you.”

Democratic-majority California has a system known as the jungle primary, where all candidates, regardless of party affiliation, are on the same ballot and the top two candidates advance to the general election.

Billionaire hedge fund founder-turned-environmental activist Tom Steyer, who is running for his party’s 2020 presidential nomination and spent more than $200 million of his own money in his bid for governor, came in third place as results continued to be tabulated and additional mail-in and provisional ballots were still counted.

In addition to Republican Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, Democratic candidates former Democratic Rep. Katie Porter, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond were among the 61 top candidates on the ballot.

Hilton hopes to become the first California Republican to win a gubernatorial election since then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s re-election in 2006.

During her speech, Hilton showed off the lining of a jacket with American and California flags that she said she wanted Schwarzenegger to wear a few years ago. “Arnold, I did this for you,” Hilton said.

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Xavier Becerra (D) speaks during the CBS Television Stations California Governor’s Debate on April 28, 2026 in Claremont, California. (Leon Bennett/Getty Images for CBS Television Stations)

Former Vice President Kamala Harris and Sen. Alex Padilla considered launching a bid for the Democratic nomination for governor, but both announced last year they would accept the bid. This left the Golden State governorship without a clear frontrunner for the first time in more than a quarter-century.

The race was overshadowed for much of last year as the devastation caused by wildfires in the Los Angeles area and President Donald Trump’s immigration raids made headlines in California.

But the showdown for governor came to the fore earlier this year, when one of the leading candidates, Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, dropped out of the race and resigned from Congress after facing multiple allegations of sexual assault and misconduct, which he continues to deny.

Matt Mahan, Xavier Becerra, Chad Bianco, Steve Hilton, Tom Steyer and Katie Porter appear during a gubernatorial debate at KRON Studios in San Francisco, California, USA, on Wednesday, April 22, 2026. California will hold its primary on June 2, where the top two finishers will advance to the general election in November, regardless of party affiliation. (Jason Henry/Nexstar/Bloomberg – Pool/Getty Images)

Swalwell’s withdrawal from the race opened the door for Steyer and then Becerra to rise in the polls.

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Steyer, who ran unsuccessfully for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, spent more than $200 million of his own money to flood radio airwaves and the Internet with ads. Meanwhile, more than $80 million was spent externally on the race.

Bianco, who launched his gubernatorial campaign in April of last year, was among the top candidates in the race until Trump’s endorsement of Hilton in early April blunted his momentum.