Republican Steve Hilton leads in California governor primary, Becerra trails in second

Republican California gubernatorial hopeful Steve Hilton on Wednesday night led a wide pool of candidates who are hoping to advance to November's general election, with former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra trailing in second at the time of publishing.

Hilton and Becerra have been neck-and-neck since Tuesday, but Hilton has the edge, according to the Associated Press, with 27.6% of the vote compared to Becerra's 25.6% and an estimated 56% of the vote counted. 

Democratic California Rep. Tom Steyer is in third with 19.8%, while Republican Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco trails in fourth with 11.2%.

Several other candidates have conceded the race, including former Democratic Rep. Katie Porter and San Jose Democratic Mayor Matt Mahan, according to ABC-7.

Elsewhere in California, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has advanced to the general election in her attempt to secure reelection, but the Associated Press has not named the second candidate as of press time. However, Republican hopeful Spencer Pratt currently leads Democrat Nithya Raman 29.9% to 22.8% with approximately 62% of the vote counted.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.