Democrats nominated historic figures for the Iowa Senate and New Mexico governor, but Trump’s Republican primary winning streak ended.
Highlights of the California gubernatorial primary election
TODAY Californian’s Paris Barraza brings you the latest on the California gubernatorial race, including leading candidates and the latest polling, ahead of the June 2 primary.
On June 2, President Donald Trump’s favorite candidate for governor of Iowa lost to a newcomer in the Republican primary for governor, bringing his winning streak in the Republican primary to a screeching halt.
Other high-profile results from the six-state primary included Democrats nominating a former wheelchair basketball gold medalist to the U.S. Senate and the first Native American female governor in U.S. history.
But the largest state that conducts elections didn’t answer the question everyone wanted to know: whether the two TV stars became first-time candidates as California’s Republican Party advances to the general election.
California is slowly counting votes in the closely watched June 2 gubernatorial race, with early results showing Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat Xavier Becerra in the lead.
By 2 a.m. ET on June 3, about half of the votes had been counted, with Hilton, the Trump-supporting former Fox News host, leading with about 27%, followed by Becerra, a former Biden administration official, with about 26%.
“The California dream is alive tonight,” Becerra told supporters.
Democrat Tom Steyer, the billionaire climate activist who ran against Becerra in the final weeks of the campaign, held steady at about 20%, followed by Republican Chad Bianco at 11%.
“We’re going to wait until all the votes are counted,” Steyer said at a campaign party in San Francisco. “We’re going to give democracy time to work.”
And in Los Angeles, another Republican with President Trump’s blessing, former “The Hills” personality Spencer Pratt, came in second in the mayoral race. But like the gubernatorial race, the race remained too close to call.
In New Jersey, Democrats held a four-person primary to determine the best candidate to challenge Republican Rep. Tom Keene, who has not appeared at the Capitol since early March.
The following are key takeaways from the June 2 battles that took place across the country.
Why Steyer still has hope
Only the top two vote-getters in the Golden State’s nonpartisan “jungle primary” would advance to this fall’s general election, and Democrats feared they would be shut out from the early stages of the gubernatorial race.
Early polls show the state’s liberal majority to succeed term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom evenly split between a number of Democratic candidates, with Hilton and fellow Republican Chad Bianco leading the pack.
But things changed in the final stages of the campaign, with former Rep. Eric Swalwell withdrawing from the race in April after being accused of sexual assault and misconduct, which he denies, and Mr. Becerra rose to the top in the polls.
Becerra seems very likely to finish in the top two. Mr. Steyer may not, but some political observers have suggested he could break through and shut out Republicans.
That’s because many Democratic voters waited until Election Day instead of voting by mail early, potentially creating a so-called “red mirage” in which Republican candidates take an early lead that subsides as subsequent votes arrive.
LA Mayor Karen Bass avoids embarrassment
Incumbent Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass will advance to the November general election and will most likely face Republican Spencer Pratt, a reality TV star who came in second with 29% of the vote with just over half of the votes counted, while Bass came in first with 37% of the vote.
Los Angeles City Council member Nitya Raman, a progressive democratic socialist, followed in third place with 21%.
Bass appeared to be at risk of an upset defeat due to his low approval ratings.
“The mayor knows the election is coming, and I hope he’s ready,” Pratt told reporters at a campaign party.
Could Republicans be on the defensive in the Iowa Senate race?
Recent elections have turned Iowa from a battleground state to a solid Republican, but the retirement of Sen. Joni Ernst and voter anxiety over President Trump’s trade war have made Iowa Republicans unusually nervous.
Forecasters are calling the 2026 Hawkeye state Senate race competitive now that voters have finalized the general election rankings between Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek and Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson.
Mr. Turek, a two-time Paralympic gold medalist, gained national attention as a self-proclaimed “populist of the prairie” with an inspiring career as a Paralympian born with spina bifida, a result of his father’s exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.
Hinson, a third-term congressman, won the Republican primary with Trump’s support and said he would be the president’s “greatest ally” if elected to the Senate.
But she has also begun to pivot to the center of politics, stressing in a statement to the USA TODAY Network that she will fight to “make life more affordable.” Hinson regularly touts his support for President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” including the tip and overtime tax cuts.
“I will work with anyone from any party to get things done for Iowans,” she said.
Democrats are expected to campaign against Hinson, focusing on the negative impact the Trump administration’s trade policies are having on Iowa agriculture.
Zach Rahn defeats Trump-backed candidate in Iowa
Republican businessman Zach Rahn, who entered the Iowa gubernatorial primary as a virtual unknown, won the party’s nomination over the likely favorite, Rep. Randy Feenstra, CNN and Decision Desk Headquarters reported.
Republican President Donald Trump endorsed Feenstra in the final stages of the campaign, but it wasn’t enough to get Feenstra over the finish line as he struggled to gain ground with grassroots supporters.
The Associated Press confirmed Rahn’s candidacy at 11:50 p.m. local time on June 2, but Feenstra conceded much earlier. Rahn will face Democratic State Auditor Rob Sand, who ran unopposed for the party’s nomination.
Trump supports missing congressman
Where the hell is Congressman Tom Keene Jr.? That was the question swirling in the minds of some New Jersey voters after the Republican lawmaker was absent from the Capitol for nearly three months, citing undisclosed “health issues.”
“We will be transitioning from virtual to in-person work in the coming weeks,” Keene said in a June 2 statement.
President Trump said in a social media post that Keene, 57, who missed out by more than 100 votes, is “working tirelessly” for New Jersey.
Democrat Rebecca Bennett, 39, a former Navy helicopter pilot, came out on top in a four-way primary to challenge former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean Sr.’s son Keene in November.
The Garden State’s 7th Congressional District, located along the Pennsylvania border northwest of the Delaware River, is one of the key issues in the 2026 midterm elections, according to various political forecasters.
The district is one of the wealthiest in the nation, with a median household income of about $105,000, and Mr. Keene initially won the district by less than 3 percentage points in 2022. Trump also won the district in 2024, but Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill won the district in last year’s statewide election.
If Democrats win back the House from Republicans with a 217-212 majority, this election could be the harbinger of a significant “blue wave.”
Historic showdown for New Mexico governor
Former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland has announced herself as the Democratic candidate for governor of New Mexico, setting the stage for a potentially history-making election this fall.
If the 65-year-old former congressman defeats Rio Rancho Mayor Greg Hull in November, she will become the first Native American woman to lead the state. She has already broken barriers as the first Native American woman elected to Congress in 2018 and the first Indigenous Cabinet member.
Haaland began her campaign shortly after leaving the Biden administration in 2025, relying on her fundraising network and progressive resume that includes being an early supporter of the Green New Deal and “Medicare for All.”
She began by pledging to tackle the state’s critical issues around crime, addiction and education. For example, New Mexico ranked last in the nation in math and reading test scores, as well as median SAT score, according to a WalletHub study last year.
Haaland and Hull are likely to be at odds over President Trump, but they also have differences in policy, primarily over what to do with rapidly increasing tax revenues due to soaring oil prices due to the continued war with Iran.
New Mexico is the nation’s second-largest oil-producing state after Texas, and state officials estimated earlier this year that the war would generate an additional $850 million in tax revenue by the end of the budget year in June, according to the Associated Press.
Contributors: Stephen Gruber-Miller, Brianne Pfannenstiel
