California Election Update

Polls in California wrapped up at 8 PM local time on Tuesday, but counting votes is still ongoing. The spotlight is on the governor’s race and the Los Angeles mayoral election.

Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host and small business owner from the Republican side, is vying for the governorship against Democrat Xavier Becerra, who was previously the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary. In California, the top two vote-getters will progress to the general election, regardless of party.

As of Wednesday morning, only 58% of the votes had been tallied. As reported, neither candidate has declared victory as of yet. Hilton, currently leading with over 1,386,000 votes, holds a slight edge, while Becerra trails by a couple of points with around 1.267 million votes. Tom Steyer, the Democratic challenger, sits in third with 979,000 votes—about eight points behind Hilton.

Hilton expressed optimism, stating, “It feels good. Looks like change is coming to California,” while reiterating, “We’re still in the lead.”

In Los Angeles, no candidate captured more than 50% of the vote, which means the top two will face off again in November. By Wednesday morning, reports indicated that incumbent Mayor Karen Bass had enough votes to move on to the general election, especially since about 63% of votes had been counted.

About 12 hours post-voting, Bass led by over four points against Spencer Pratt, a former reality TV personality, with City Council member Nitya Raman trailing significantly behind them. Pratt had accumulated over 151,000 votes, compared to Raman’s 110,000.

If Pratt holds his ground, he will compete against Bass in the November runoff. He remarked on the situation, saying, “Well, obviously God wanted me to expose all the mayor’s failings for five more months. It’s going to be a fun journey. I hope she’s ready.”