California primary races remain unsettled as ballot count continues

California’s primary election left some of the state’s most closely watched races unresolved Friday, with millions of ballots still awaiting processing and the contests for governor and Los Angeles mayor still not fully settled three days after voters went to the polls.

Under California’s top-two primary system, the two candidates with the most votes advance to the November general election regardless of party. As of Friday morning, no candidates had been projected by CBS News to advance in the race to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is term-limited.

Steve Hilton, a Republican and former Fox News host, was narrowly leading with an estimated 60% of ballots counted by Friday morning, The Guardian reported. Xavier Becerra, a Democrat and former U.S. health and human services secretary under President Joe Biden, followed closely behind, while Democratic billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer was trailing the pair but looking for a late surge as counting continued.

Hilton, who has campaigned as a change candidate, said Tuesday night that the early results suggested voters wanted a different direction. “We’re not there yet, but it’s looking good,” Hilton said. “It looks very much like Californians really will have the chance to vote for change in November and take our state in a new direction.”

Becerra said Tuesday night he felt he was “on track to advance to November.” Other prominent Democrats, including former Rep. Katie Porter, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, conceded as early returns came in. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, the other major Republican in the race, had not conceded as of Thursday morning, CBS News reported.

In Los Angeles, CBS News projected Mayor Karen Bass would advance to a November runoff as she seeks reelection. Her opponent remained unclear Friday. With an estimated 65% of votes counted, The Guardian reported that former reality TV star Spencer Pratt was leading progressive City Council member Nithya Raman.

The race has been an unusually competitive challenge to an incumbent mayor in the heavily Democratic city. Polling had shown Bass, Pratt and Raman in a virtual deadlock before Election Day. “I haven’t seen a race this close in decades, especially for the city of Los Angeles. Everybody is tied within the margin of error,” campaign strategist Luis Alvarado told CBS Los Angeles before the election.

Pratt, a former star of “The Hills” and a survivor of the Palisades Fire, has criticized city leaders over their handling of the destructive blaze and homelessness. CBS News reported that he initially showed strength compared with Raman, but his progress slowed in Los Angeles County ballot updates Wednesday.

Statewide, an estimated 3,606,128 ballots still needed to be processed and counted, according to the California secretary of state’s office, The Guardian reported. Secretary of State Shirley Weber said county election officials were “hard at work counting the millions of ballots cast by California voters for the June 2 primary election, ensuring accuracy and preserving the integrity of every vote.”

California counties have time to keep counting. CBS News reported that counties have 30 days to count ballots on a provisional basis, and that mail ballots postmarked by Election Day must be counted if received within seven days. The Guardian reported that, under state law, counties must finish counting by June 15, though some ballots, including mail ballots postmarked by Election Day and received by June 9, are valid and can be processed beyond that deadline.

The slow count drew national attention. President Donald Trump congratulated Hilton, accused California of election rigging and said the Justice Department would open an investigation, The Guardian reported. It was unclear whether the department had done so. “We don’t want cheating in our elections,” Trump said Thursday in the Oval Office.

Newsom’s office posted a CNN clip explaining that California prioritizes accuracy and accessibility over speed. “For the record: we wish the votes were counted faster, too,” the office wrote.

Hilton criticized the count in a video posted on X as “just another shambles brought to you by California Democrats,” but said his campaign had seen nothing so far indicating it would need to go to court.