California Governor Race Too Close to Call as Vote Counting Continues

With vote counting continuing across California on the morning after Election Day, the governor’s race remains highly competitive and too early to call in a closely watched statewide contest. Republican Steve Hilton led the field with 27.5% of the vote, followed closely by Democrat Xavier Becerra at 25%.

Democrat Tom Steyer, who has vowed not to concede until every vote is counted, trailed in third with 19%. Republican Chad Bianco garnered 11% of the vote, while the remaining gubernatorial candidates lagged in the single digits.

Three Democratic contenders — Matt Mahan, Katie Porter and Antonio Villaraigosa — conceded on Election Night.

Over the next several days, counties will continue processing vote-by-mail ballots returned on or around Election Day, along with provisional ballots that require verification. Updated vote totals are typically released once per day, though timing varies by county.

California allows vote-by-mail ballots postmarked by Election Day to arrive in the days following the election, meaning additional votes — often from larger urban counties — will continue to be added to the tally. Counties have up to 30 days to complete their canvass and certify results, with statewide certification occurring after all valid ballots are counted.

Initial results often reflect ballots counted earliest, including in-person votes and early-return mail ballots. As counting continues, later-reporting ballots — including those received closer to or after Election Day — can shift margins, particularly in closely contested races.

Election observers should expect steady but incremental updates rather than large, real-time swings. Counties must verify signatures, review provisional ballots, and process same-day voter registrations, all of which take time but are key safeguards in California’s election system.

Because of this, close races like the governor’s contest may remain unsettled for days or longer, even after early leaders emerge.

In Shasta County, a closely watched race for county supervisor remains too close to call. Unofficial results released early Wednesday show Francescut ahead by more than 12 percentage points, though new vote batches have chipped away at that margin.

Her support dipped to about 57.9% from roughly 59% earlier, while Curtis climbed above 42%, narrowing the gap as additional ballots were processed. The latest results highlight a geographic split across the county.

Curtis is performing better in more rural and mountainous areas, including communities from Lakehead to Castella and east toward Shingletown. Francescut, meanwhile, continues to dominate in population centers like Redding and parts of the county’s southwest and central regions.

Both candidates signaled the race is far from settled.

Early polling showed Steve Hilton and fellow Republican Chad Bianco leading the pack with the state's liberal majority split among a large crop of Democratic contenders to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is term-limited.

But that changed in the final stretch of the campaign with Democrat Xavier Becerra emerging as the leader in the polls after former U.S. Rep.

Eric Swalwell departed from the race in April over allegations of sexual assault and misconduct, which he denies. Becerra looks very likely to finish in the top two.

And while Democrat Tom Steyer may not, there's a possibility he could break through and lock out the Republicans, as some political observers suggest. That's because many uncertain Democratic voters waited to cast their ballots until Election Day rather than mail in their vote early, which could create a so-called "red mirage" where a GOP candidate takes an early lead that subsides as later ballots arrive.

But David McCuan, a political science professor at Sonoma State University, believes Hilton has the staying power to advance to November's election, likely leaving Steyer on the sidelines. "There were seven main Democratic candidates in a very blue state with two GOP candidates still in contention," McCuan said, suggesting low-polling candidates still in the primary presence hurt Steyer's chances by splitting the vote.

"It's simple math: GOP voters don't flee."

"The first time I've run for office, over a million people and rising voted for me to take this incredible state in a new direction," Hilton told cheering supporters with a theme of "Change is coming," at his Huntington Beach campaign party. As of Wednesday morning, with roughly 55% to 60% of expected votes counted, Hilton led with about 27.8% of the vote, followed by Becerra at roughly 25.4%, according to multiple live tallies.

Democrat Tom Steyer trailed in third at about 19%. Those margins remained tight as counting continued, with millions of ballots — many cast by mail — still left to process.

"The California Dream is alive tonight," Becerra told supporters. Under California’s top-two primary system, the two highest vote-getters will advance to the November general election regardless of party, positioning Hilton and Becerra as the likely contenders if current results hold.