希尔顿、贝塞拉领跑加州州长选举 选票仍在计票中

Hilton, Becerra, in the lead with votes still being counted in battle for California governor

2026-06-03 03:12 EDT / Fox News

‘Change Is coming’: Surge by Trump-backed Hilton lifts Republican gubernatorial candidate towards November showdown in California

By Paul Steinhauser Fox News

Published June 3, 2026 3:12am EDT

Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton tells Fox News Digital ‘change is coming to California’

Steve Hilton, the GOP gubernatorial candidate in California who is likely to advance to the general election, speaks exclusively with Fox News Digital after his primary night speech.

NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

blob:https://www.foxnews.com/276c79e7-64e6-4f02-b852-c1e649fd25f5

Listen to this article

4 min

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

Hilton, a one-time British political strategist turned American conservative commentator and former Fox News Channel host who is backed by President Donald Trump, and Becerra, a former California attorney general who later served as a Cabinet secretary in former President Biden’s administration, were in the lead early Wednesday morning, with votes still being counted and results not yet certified.

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

Hilton, in an exclusive Fox News Digital interview following his speech, said speaking “honest, simple truths” to voters boosted his campaign. “Everything is too expensive in California. We’re going to cut people’s costs,” he pledged.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST PRIMARY RESULTS FROM FOX NEWS

Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton speaks to supporters at his primary night watch party, in Huntington Beach, California on June 2, 2026(Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

Becerra, who, if elected in November, would make history as California’s first Latino governor since Romualdo Pacheco briefly served in 1875, told supporters that his campaign’s success is “more than a Hollywood ending. More than a milestone. That’s the everyday miracle of living in a state that makes the improbable seem inevitable. And I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Democrat-dominated California holds what’s known as a jungle primary in which all candidates, regardless of party affiliation, appear on the same ballot, with the top two finishers advancing to the general election.

Tom Steyer, a billionaire hedge fund founder turned environmental activist who unsuccessfully ran for his party’s 2020 presidential nomination and who has shelled out over $200 million of his own money in his bid for governor, was in third place as the results continued to be tabulated and as additional mail and provisional ballots remained to be counted.

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican, as well as 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 also among the whopping 61 candidates on the ballot.

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

In his speech, Hilton showed off the lining of his blazer, with American and California flags, that he said Schwarzenegger a few years ago urged him to wear. “Arnold, I did that for you,” Hilton said.

DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB

Xavier Becerra (D) speaks during CBS Television Stations’ California Gubernatorial 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 mulled launching Democratic bids for governor, but both last year announced they would take a pass. That resulted in the lack of a clear Golden State gubernatorial frontrunner for the first time in more than a quarter-century.

And the race was overshadowed for much of last year, as the devastation from the Los Angeles-area wildfires and President Donald Trump’s immigration raids grabbed headlines in California.

But the showdown for governor entered the spotlight earlier this year when one of the leading candidates, Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, dropped out of the race and then resigned from Congress after facing multiple allegations of sexual assault and misconduct that 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, US, on Wednesday, April 22, 2026. California will hold its primary election on June 2, where the top two finishers advance to the general election in November regardless of party affiliation.(Jason Henry/Nexstar/Bloomberg – Pool/Getty Images)

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

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Steyer, who unsuccessfully ran for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, spent more than $200 million of his own money to blanket the airwaves and the internet with ads. Meanwhile, more than $80 million in outside money has also been spent on the race.

Bianco, who launched his campaign for governor in April of last year, was among the top contenders in the race until Trump’s endorsement of Hilton in early April appeared to blunt his momentum.

Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast.