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orywireSteve Hilton led Xavier Becerra in the latest unofficial California governor primary results, with Tom Steyer in third. Official results remain subject to ballot counting and certification.
Steve Hilton led the California governor primary in the latest unofficial statewide count, with Xavier Becerra in second and Tom Steyer in third, according to the California Secretary of State.
The state’s governor results page showed Hilton with 1,386,966 votes, or 27.8%, followed by Becerra with 1,267,070 votes, or 25.4%. Steyer had 979,007 votes, or 19.6%, and Chad Bianco had 566,679 votes, or 11.3%. The source displayed the update as June 3, 2026, 4:44 a.m., without a visible timezone label in the accessible version checked.
The California Secretary of State reported 19,788 of 19,788 precincts partially reporting in the governor race. That does not mean all ballots have been counted.
Hilton’s lead over Becerra was 119,896 votes in the official unofficial count checked by this newsroom. Becerra led Steyer by 288,063 votes for second place.
The Associated Press had not called the primary for any candidate at the time of this update. The figures should be treated as unofficial returns, not certified results.
California held its primary election on Tuesday, June 2, to narrow the field for governor before the November general election.
California uses a top-two primary system for voter-nominated offices. All candidates appear on the same ballot, and the two candidates with the most votes advance to the general election regardless of party preference.
Based on the latest official count, Hilton and Becerra held the top two positions. If that order holds through the canvass and certification process, they would advance to the November election.
The confirmed official count, as checked, showed Hilton first, Becerra second, Steyer third and Bianco fourth.
The Secretary of State’s results page labels the returns as “Unofficial Election Results.” The state also said vote-by-mail, provisional and other ballots will continue to be processed and counted after Election Night.
County reporting status showed 5,195,070 ballots cast statewide and 22.4% turnout for the election reporting status checked. State law requires county elections officials to report final official results to the Secretary of State by July 3, 2026. The Secretary of State is scheduled to certify the results on July 10, 2026.
The final certified vote totals are not yet known.
It is also not final who will officially advance until the count is completed and the results are certified, or until a reliable race-calling source determines that the remaining ballots cannot change the outcome.
The exact number and distribution of ballots still to be counted in the governor race were not provided as a final certified figure on the statewide governor results page checked.
The California Secretary of State’s election results site said results will change throughout the canvass period as vote-by-mail ballots, provisional ballots, conditional voter registration provisional ballots and other ballots are tallied.
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The state also directed readers to county reporting status pages to determine when each county submitted its latest report.
For readers looking for the immediate answer, Hilton is leading the California governor primary, Becerra is second and Steyer is third in the latest official unofficial statewide count.
The practical impact is that the top-two positions matter more than party placement. California’s system does not separately nominate one Democrat and one Republican for the governor race. The two highest vote-getters advance if the final results confirm the current order.
Because the count is still unofficial, the safer wording is “leads,” “is ahead” or “is in position to advance,” not “won” or “certified.”
Readers should check the California Secretary of State’s governor results page for the latest statewide vote totals and the county reporting status page for the latest county submissions.
The next meaningful updates are new county reports, any race call from a reliable election desk, the July 3 county final reporting deadline and the July 10 state certification date.
The race is to choose California’s next governor after a crowded primary field. The Associated Press described the primary as unresolved early Wednesday, with Hilton, Becerra and Steyer all looking toward November while votes continued to be counted.
The main rule to remember is California’s top-two format: the primary is not a traditional party primary, and two candidates from any party can advance if they finish first and second.
This article was updated with the latest official California Secretary of State governor returns, county reporting status and certification timeline checked June 3. It should be refreshed after each new statewide results update and again after certification.
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