Tom Steyer, Xavier Becerra, and Steve Hilton Lead California Governor Primary Results

California voters went to the polls Tuesday to choose the next governor in a top-two primary where the top two vote-getters advance to the November general election regardless of party.

ABC7 Bay Area reported that Tom Steyer said, "There are really only three people for two spots," as he campaigned Tuesday morning along Los Angeles' new D-Line extension.

ABC30 Fresno

The Los Angeles Times said polls would be open until 8 p.m., and that vote counting would continue well into the night with in-person votes arriving at the ballot-processing center by around 10 p.m.

NBC News said the governor primary field included two Democrats, former Cabinet secretary Xavier Becerra and billionaire Tom Steyer, and one Republican, Trump-endorsed commentator Steve Hilton, separated from a larger pack that included Democrats like former Rep. Katie Porter and Republican Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.

PBS reported that two candidates for California governor will emerge from a massive field of 61 hopefuls in a state primary on Tuesday, when voters also select U.S. House nominees using a new map approved in a 2025 ballot measure.

The NBC News results page framing said the top two candidates from the all-party primary advance to the general election regardless of party, with the governor race featuring Xavier Becerra, Tom Steyer, and Steve Hilton.

Le Grand Continent described Steve Hilton as a Trump-backed Republican who could become California’s next governor, noting that Trump endorsed Hilton on April 6 and that Hilton appears well positioned to finish first on June 2.

ABC7 Bay Area

PBS said Swalwell withdrew from the governor race on April 12 following sexual assault allegations he denied, and that he resigned from Congress two days later.

CalMatters reported that Steyer was still fighting for one of the top spots and that he self-funded his campaign to the tune of $213 million, while also quoting a Democratic strategist saying, "Those polls could become self-fulfilling."

The San Francisco Chronicle said Tom Steyer used the final hours of California’s primary to confront the tension of running as a billionaire against corporate power, writing on X, "Screw that," before criticizing wealthy people who "hoard their wealth and avoid paying taxes."

The Los Angeles Times said the stakes were high after a redistricting effort last November that could net Democrats an additional five House seats, a major factor in the fight for control of Congress.

PBS said voters approved new district boundaries in a Nov. 2025 referendum, and that the map favorable to Democrats complicated the reelection bids of several Republican House incumbents.

In the governor race, the top-two format meant the next governor would be chosen in November by the two candidates who finish first and second in the June 2 primary.

KTVU FOX 2 said the June 2 primary election would set the stage for November, narrowing the field of candidates for California governor to the top two contenders.

In the same election cycle, KTVU FOX 2 said San Francisco voters would cast ballots in the District 11 congressional race to decide who will replace storied Rep. Nancy Pelosi, while South Bay voters would decide who will represent District 14 formerly represented by Rep. Eric Swalwell.