Steve Hilton currently leads the California gubernatorial primary, but that could shift soon.
Recent updates show the Republican slightly ahead of Democrats Xavier Becerra and Tom Steyer, though expectations are that the polls might worsen as final votes come in.
As of the latest figures, Hilton holds 27.8% of the votes, while Becerra has 25.4% and Steyer trails at 19.6%. Votes were last updated around 6:45 a.m. Wednesday, with 58% of ballots counted.
Republicans have garnered about 1.38 million votes, Becerra around 1.26 million, and Steyer just under 980,000.
Another Republican, Chad Bianco, who had called for cooperation late in the campaign, was in the lead in Riverside County with 11.3%. His refusal to team up with Hilton likely impacted Hilton’s vote count.
Hilton displayed optimism about advancing to the general election during a watch party in Huntington Beach.
“We’re not there yet, but things are looking good. It appears Californians will have a chance to vote for real change in November…taking our state in a new direction—something that’s overdue,” he remarked.
The Associated Press has yet to finalize candidates for the early Wednesday primary, considering California’s history of significant updates post-Election Day due to late-arriving mail-in ballots that can alter results.
Election analysts share this sentiment.
“Considering that Steyer is slightly behind Hilton by around 300,000 votes, the late mail-in ballots play a crucial role here,” noted an NBC election expert on Tuesday.
Another analyst pointed out that Democrats would need a substantial influx of votes to push Steyer and Becerra ahead of Hilton.
Steyer, a progressive billionaire, stated that his campaign would await the counting of all votes.
“We’ll let our democracy take its course. We believe our finish was strong,” he said.
As of Wednesday morning’s tally, Hilton and Becerra are set to compete in the November general election.
