Californians are voting in a wide-open governor’s race that will send only two candidates to November’s general election, a system that could leave one of the leading contenders on the outside looking in. Xavier Becerra, Steve Hilton and Tom Steyer are the names shaping the final days of the primary, even as the field remains unsettled.
The latest Democratic Party poll showed Republican Hilton at 22%, Becerra at 21% and Steyer at 15%, a tight lineup that leaves little room for error before the June 2 primary. The same survey reflected the basic logic of the race: with the top two vote-getters advancing regardless of party, the fight is not simply for first place but for one of two surviving slots. A separate Public Policy Institute of California survey released on May 27 showed a similar split, though Becerra had edged ahead of Hilton. Mark DiCamillo said of the closing stretch: “We’re assuming that... the Democrats will in fact turn out in the final week after we had concluded our poll and begin to make up ground on what looks like an early lead for Hilton, and those voters favor Becerra.”
That pattern matters because California’s open primary, approved by voters in 2010 through Proposition 14, lets the two candidates with the most votes move on no matter what party they belong to. This year’s race is especially fluid because Kamala Harris and Alex Padilla did not enter, and early spring 2026 had looked different before Democratic voters began coalescing behind former Rep. Eric Swalwell. He later withdrew following allegations of sexual misconduct, opening the lane further and making the final tally harder to predict. For readers following the California governor race, the new filing with our full breakdown of the contest can be found in the report on California Governor Race Polls Show Becerra, Hilton in Tight Race.
The vote itself is already under way, and the count will not be quick. Mail ballots must be postmarked on or before Election Day and received by election offices within seven days, while county elections officials must begin reporting results to the secretary of state on Election Night no more than two hours after they start tallying votes. Officials then have 30 days to count ballots and finalize results for the state, which has 38 days to certify them. That means the first returns on June 2 may hint at the shape of the race without settling it, especially if late ballots shift the order among Becerra, Hilton and Steyer.
What happens next is straightforward, even if the path there is not: the top two finishers move on, and everyone else is done. In a contest this open, the only question that matters today is which two names Californians put through to November.
