California gubernatorial candidates Steyer, Hilton and Becerra speak on primary night
On election night, California gubernatorial candidates Tom Steyer, Steve Hilton, and Xavier Becerra speak as primary vote counting continues.
- In the California gubernatorial race, Democrat Xavier Becerra is expected to advance to the November general election.
- As vote counting continues, Republican challenger Steve Hilton continues to trail Becerra by less than a point.
- Delays in vote counting drew intense scrutiny from former President Donald Trump and a federal investigation into possible election fraud.
- Hilton asked Governor Newsom to create an emergency force to speed up vote counting, but Newsom’s request was denied.
Vote counting continues in the closely watched California gubernatorial primary, a day after Democrat Xavier Becerra was expected to advance to the general election.
Becerra, a former Health and Human Services secretary in the Biden administration, is the first candidate to enter the November election, according to the Associated Press and NBC News Decision Desk Headquarters.. Mr. Becerra held a 26.8% lead late on June 5, less than a point behind his Republican challenger Steve Hilton. It was 26.4%.
Tom Steyer, a progressive billionaire Democrat, saw a slight increase, staying in third place with 21.1% of votes counted, compared to 68% of all votes counted, according to California’s Secretary of State’s Office.
In the Golden State’s nonpartisan “jungle primary,” only the top two vote-getters, regardless of party affiliation, advance to the November election.
David McCune, a political science professor at Sonoma State University, said Becerra is well positioned to maintain his lead or even extend his lead a little, given where the outstanding polling places are.
For Becerra, taking the top two spot is a surprising turnaround. As of April, some polls showed moderate Democratic support in the single digits. He emerged as a front-runner after former U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell withdrew from the race in April over allegations of sexual assault and misconduct, which he denies.
“The people of the great state of California, in the greatest country on earth, have spoken loud and proud,” Becerra said in a June 5 statement after the march. “We will not be bought. We will not be bullied. And we will never back down. November is here.”
Hilton also remained confident of finishing in the top two.
“Change is coming,” Hilton told supporters in the San Francisco suburb of San Mateo on June 5. “This cannot continue. This election shows us that change is coming. The belief that we can be the best at everything we do. It’s a great place to raise a family. It’s a great place to start a business.”
Saturday will be the fifth day state election officials will process California primary election ballots postmarked by Election Day, after in-person voting ended on June 2. President Donald Trump, who supports Hilton, is scrutinizing the slow-moving tally. In a series of posts on his platform Truth Social, President Trump wrote that Democrats were “stealing votes” in the gubernatorial race, without providing evidence.
Hilton calls on Newsom to create emergency force to count votes faster
Becerra’s promotion came on the same day that Hilton, a former Fox News commentator, called on California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), who is in his final term, to immediately establish an “emergency election assistance force” to speed up vote counting.
Hilton called the state “the laughingstock of the nation when it comes to election coverage.”
At a June 5 press conference, Hilton called on Newsom to issue an emergency executive order to send available state employees and rapid response support teams to counties facing significant delays in processing ballots.
“We cannot continue a process that forces millions of voters to wait weeks for results,” Hilton said. “If India can count more than 600 million ballots in 24 hours, California should be able to count a fraction of them in twice the time. Stop the travesty. Count the votes.”
In response, Newsom’s office told USA TODAY in an emailed statement that it is “troubling that gubernatorial candidates do not know that the governor has nothing to do with vote counting.”
The governor does not administer elections, tally votes or certify results. These responsibilities rest with local election officials, who operate under state law under the authority of a separately elected Secretary of State.
The governor’s office added, “Governor Newsom also hopes that the vote counting process will speed up.”
California targeted by federal investigation over delayed vote count
Meanwhile, California’s top federal prosecutor said in a June 5 post on X that he would work with Los Angeles FBI officials to “conduct a comprehensive audit of California’s voter rolls.”
Bill Ezeiri, first assistant attorney general for the state’s Central District, said his office will conduct multiple investigations into possible election fraud in Los Angeles.
“California’s election system has serious structural weaknesses. Universal mail-in voting without voter ID requirements creates an environment where fraud goes undetected and unpunished, undermining public trust,” Esseri said.
Prosecutors cited a plea deal with Brenda Lee Brown Armstrong, a longtime signature gatherer for voting campaigns in Southern California. Ezeiri said Armstrong admitted to paying homeless people on Los Angeles’ notorious Skid Row to register to vote in a federal election in 2025 as evidence of fraud in California elections.
Armstrong plans to plead guilty to a felony charge of paying someone to register to vote, a federal charge punishable by up to five years in federal prison, Esseri said. Federal prosecutors added that Armstrong routinely paid homeless residents $2 or $3 to encourage them to sign petitions.
Mr. Esseri is one of several federal prosecutors allied with Mr. Trump who have launched multiple election fraud investigations, alleging tensions over the slow-moving vote count.
But experts say claims of widespread voter fraud are greatly exaggerated.
“By and large, fraud is mostly a manufactured issue,” Paul Smith, senior vice president of the Campaign Legal Center, a government watchdog organization, told USA TODAY in 2024.
A 2025 analysis by the Brookings Institution also found that mail-in voting fraud is rare.
Justice Department sends prosecutors to monitor voting processing in Los Angeles
The Department of Justice sent an attorney to inspect ballot processing in Los Angeles on June 5, as the primary election vote count was still underway, the county’s elections office told USA TODAY.
“Our office was notified late yesterday that the U.S. Attorney’s Office plans to send an assistant U.S. attorney to the ballot processing center to monitor ballot processing activities,” said Mike Sanchez, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder’s Office. “This individual arrived this morning, was briefed on the public monitoring program, and participated in a demonstration of ballot processing operations.”
Sanchez said Los Angeles County’s ballot process is open to public observation, and election officials regularly invite observers representing a wide range of interests, including the public, candidates, political parties, advocacy groups and government agencies.
