Former Fox News host Steve Hilton has advanced to the general election in the California gubernatorial race, NBC News projects, where he will face former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Hilton, a Republican, emerged from a crowded primary where candidates from all parties appear on the same ballot and the top two-vote getters move on.NBC News projected Friday that Becerra, a Democrat, would advance.With 88% of the expected vote tallied one week after polls closed, Becerra was taking about 28% support compared to 25% for Hilton.
Billionaire Democrat Tom Steyer was in third with roughly 23%, while Republican Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco was the only other candidate in double digits, with 10%.See live results here.Vote-counting in California can take weeks because of the state’s heavy reliance on mail-in ballots, which take longer to process.And ballots that are postmarked by election day and received up to a week afterward are allowed to be counted.
The wait has fueled unfounded claims from President Donald Trump and some Republicans of a “rigged” election in California.Hilton will now enter the November general election as a significant underdog in a state where registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans nearly 2 to 1.
California voters haven’t elected a Republican governor in 20 years, and Trump lost the state by 20 points in the 2024 election.Hilton was born in the United Kingdom, where he previously worked as an aide to then-Prime Minister David Cameron before becoming a U.S.citizen in 2021.
He was able to consolidate Republican support after Trump endorsed him in April.Prior to Trump’s involvement, some Democrats feared they were at risk of getting shut out of the general election, with so many of their candidates on the ballot and no clear front-runner.Bianco, who stirred up controversy after seizing hundreds...