By Eliza Collins and Alyssa Lukpat

Former Fox News Host Steve Hilton advanced to the general election to replace California Gov. Gavin Newsom in November, according to the Associated Press. He will face-off against former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, a Democrat.

The Republican had 25% of the estimated vote with 89% of the vote counted, the AP said. Becerra, who got 27.9% of the vote, clinched a spot Friday night.

Hilton, who was endorsed by President Trump, faces a difficult path in the general election because Democratic voters far outweigh Republicans. A crowded Democratic field made up most of votes cast in the June 2 primary election. Billionaire activist Tom Steyer, another Democrat, was seen as the other front-runner in the race. He finished third.

In California's primary all candidates regardless of party compete in the contest and the top two advance to a general election.

California heavily relies on mail-in voting, which takes longer to tally and has meant extensive wait times for results in various races throughout the state. State law, which favors voter participation over speed, requires that election officials verify and count every ballot that is postmarked by election day and arrives within a week after.

For a brief time this spring, the two Republicans, Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, had been the top two polling candidates, opening the possibility that they would both advance to the general election. Trump's endorsement of Hilton, who is also a former adviser to former British Prime Minister David Cameron, consolidated the Republican field.

A crowded Democratic field fractured the vote. The party had struggled this cycle with a series of difficult headlines, most notably, the implosion of former Rep. Eric Swalwell over sexual misconduct and assault allegations. Swalwell, through a lawyer, has denied the accusations but dropped out of the governor race and left his post in Congress.

Write to Eliza Collins at eliza.collins@wsj.com and Alyssa Lukpat at alyssa.lukpat@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 09, 2026 20:12 ET (00:12 GMT)

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