BDN projects Republican Steve Hilton will advance to November’s California gubernatorial election, where he will face former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, a Democrat. Hilton, a former Fox News host who has President Donald Trump’s endorsement, finished second in Tuesday’s primary with 24.9% of the vote to Becerra’s 27.9%.
Billionaire Democratic candidate Tom Steyer, who spent more than $200 million on his gubernatorial campaign, finished third with 22.6%. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a second Republican in the race, took 10.1%.
Concern had grown among Democrats that their scattered field could split the vote enough for Hilton and Bianco to be the top two finishers. Trump’s endorsement of Hilton in April helped consolidate GOP support and avoided that outcome.
Hilton faces a steep climb in November. California has roughly 4.6 million more registered Democrats than Republicans, according to the state’s most recent voter registration statistics, and hasn’t elected a Republican governor in 20 years.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.