Steyer Narrows Gap in California Governor Primary — Gains in L.A. Not Enough to Overtake Steve Hilton

Democrat Tom Steyer has picked up significant votes in recent tabulations of California’s governor primary but still trails Republican Steve Hilton and Democratic front-runner Xavier Becerra in the statewide tally.

After Monday’s reporting update, Hilton stood at 25.0% of the vote, Steyer at 22.3%, and Becerra — already projected on Friday to advance to the November general election — at 27.6%.

Strong Gains in Los Angeles County

In the latest drop, Steyer added 58,642 votes in Los Angeles County compared with Hilton’s 26,496 in that same batch, narrowing the gap inside the state’s largest county. Those gains, however, have largely been offset by Hilton’s stronger performance outside Democratic strongholds.

The California Secretary of State says roughly 2.4 million ballots remain to be counted statewide, leaving room for movement but not an immediate guarantee of a change in the ordering of the top three candidates.

How The Top-Two Primary Shapes The Race

California’s open top-two primary advances the two highest finishers to the November general election regardless of party. If current totals hold, voters would see a match-up between Becerra and Hilton — a Democrat and a Republican — rather than two Democrats.

Context And Campaign Dynamics

Becerra, the former U.S. secretary of health and human services and former California attorney general, was not considered a frontrunner early on. His rise followed the withdrawal of Democratic front-runner Eric Swalwell in April amid sexual-misconduct allegations, which reshuffled Democratic support and polling.

Steyer — who has spent more than $200 million on campaign advertising, according to the Associated Press — has invested heavily in outreach and ad buys to climb back into contention. Hilton, a former Fox News host, has campaigned on criticisms of one-party Democratic control in Sacramento. No Republican has won a statewide election in California since Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 2006 reelection.

Hilton would face the additional challenge of running in a deep-blue state while carrying the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, who remains unpopular with many California voters.

On Monday, responding to Trump’s allegation that California’s protracted count was evidence of cheating by Democrats, Becerra wrote on X: "California isn’t the problem. Trump’s hatred of our democracy is. In California, we count every vote. Not just the ones Donald Trump likes."

With millions of ballots still outstanding, campaign strategists and voters will be watching county-by-county updates closely in the coming days to see whether the shifts in Los Angeles and elsewhere are enough to alter who advances to November.