{"id":527,"date":"2026-06-06T18:31:46","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T18:31:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\/?p=527"},"modified":"2026-06-06T18:31:46","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T18:31:46","slug":"republican-drops-from-top-spot-in-california-governors-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\/?p=527","title":{"rendered":"Republican drops from top spot in California governor’s race"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Democrat Xavier\u00a0Becerra overtook Republican Steve Hilton late Friday in the California\u2019s governor\u2019s primary race, clearing the way for Becerra to advance to the general election in November even as the battle for second place drags on.\u00a0<\/p>

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Hilton had maintained a sizable lead in early votes released Tuesday night, but Hilton\u2019s lead evaporated as California officials continued counting votes throughout the week. The Associated Press determined on Friday that Becerra would advance\u00a0after he overtook Hilton.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>

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Becerra\u2019s opponent in the general election is still to be determined. Fellow Democrat Tom\u00a0Steyer has steadily been increasing in vote counts throughout the week, and experts still consider the race between Steyer and Hilton too close to call.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>

Hilton was still beating Steyer by over 330,000 votes Friday, making it hard for the Democrat to climb into second place. However, the New York Times estimated Friday evening that only 67% of votes had been counted, meaning there are millions of votes yet to be tallied and giving\u00a0Steyer a possible path to second place.<\/p><\/div>

Republicans have criticized California\u2019s lengthy vote-counting process, with President Donald Trump alleging without any evidence that there is \u201ccheating\u201d in California. Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said Friday that he\u2019s launched multiple investigations, claiming without providing evidence that California\u2019s vote-by-mail system \u201chas serious structural vulnerabilities.\u201d<\/p><\/div>

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Philip B. Stark, a professor of statistics at UC Berkeley who created an election audit system used by states across the country to verify elections, said California\u2019s mail-in voting system does not have widespread evidence of fraud.<\/p><\/div>

\u201cWhile it does have some security vulnerabilities, there\u2019s no evidence that there is a problem at a scale bigger than a handful of votes in any particular election,\u201d Stark said in an interview with SFGATE.<\/p>

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While mail-in voting hasn\u2019t appeared to lead to widespread fraud, it does contribute to California\u2019s slow vote-counting process, as ballots can be received days after the election and still be counted. The process is further slowed by extensive allowances for correcting votes, and California\u2019s sheer size, with more registered voters than any other state.<\/p><\/div>

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