CA Governor 2026 — Canvass Tracker

CERTIFIED — Statement of the Vote. The California Secretary of State has certified the June 2, 2026 primary election results. Xavier Becerra (D) finishes first with 2,591,857 votes (28.0%) and Steve Hilton (R) finishes second with 2,277,318 votes (24.6%). Becerra leads by +314,539. Both advance to the November 2026 general election.

Top two advance to November general · certified July 10, 2026

Xavier Becerra

Democrat · 1st place

2,591,857

28.0% · leads Hilton by 314,539

+1,324,787 since election night · +2.7pts ↑

✓ Advances to November

Steve Hilton

Republican · 2nd place

2,277,318

24.6% · trails Becerra by 314,539

+890,349 since election night · -3.1pts

✓ Advances to November

Tom Steyer

Democrat · 3rd · eliminated

2,110,707

22.8% · trails Hilton by 166,611

+1,131,697 since election night · +3.2pts ↑

✗ Eliminated

Becerra lead · C32

+314,542

was +120,084 Hilton at peak (C1)

↓ Hilton lead gone · Becerra now leads

D-R aggregate gap

+2.45M D

was +0.87M election night

+1585k D added in canvass

Total gov votes

9,237,499

was 4,994,976 election night

+4.24M canvass votes added

Hilton pct

24.6%

was 27.8% election night

−3.2pts certified

Becerra pct

28.0%

was 25.4% election night

+2.6pts certified

Unprocessed Ballots

7,054 left to cure

100.0% of returned ballots counted

Party aggregate vote — C32 latest

Republican 36.0%Democrat 62.5%

3,327,209 votes · R candidates5,777,918 votes · D candidates

D-R gap grew from +866k election night to +2.45M at C32 — +1.58M D added during canvass. D-heavy late VBM from LA, Alameda, Riverside, and Santa Clara driving the shift.

Batch share % — each vote drop

Share of newly added votes per snapshot. Gray dotted = historical R 2:1 baseline (~67%). S5 bounce = Kern/Shasta Polling Place flush. Every canvass batch has been 53–65% Democratic.

Hilton (R) Becerra (D) Steyer (D) R 2:1 baseline

Vote share % — Hilton, Becerra & Steyer

Hilton declining, Becerra rising — the gap closing through the canvass. Steyer gaining slightly as late D VBM arrives.

Hilton (R) Becerra (D) Steyer (D)

Canvass updates — Election night through certification

#	Date · Time	Type	Pcts	Hilton	%	Becerra	%	Steyer	%	H-S gap	Gap Δ	D bat%
S1	Jun 2 · 10:50p	Election night	76.1%	1,169,795	26.9%	1,120,455	25.7%	862,336	19.8%	+307,459	—	—
S2	Jun 2 · 11:46p	Election night	80.9%	1,272,843	27.5%	1,179,775	25.5%	908,505	19.6%	+364,338	↑+56,879	50.6%
S3	Jun 2 · 12:10a	Election night	82.3%	1,285,021	27.6%	1,188,080	25.5%	915,827	19.6%	+369,194	↑+4,856	56.2%
S4	Jun 2 · 12:24a	Election night	87.3%	1,310,392	27.6%	1,211,441	25.5%	932,645	19.6%	+377,747	↑+8,553	65.2%
S5	Jun 3 · 1:06a	Election night	94.6%	1,336,484	27.7%	1,230,085	25.5%	946,775	19.6%	+389,709	↑+11,962	62.0% ↓
S6	Jun 3 · 1:35a	Election night	94.8%	1,351,236	27.7%	1,240,220	25.4%	954,467	19.6%	+396,769	↑+7,060	est.
S7	Jun 3 · 4:44a	100% final EN	100%	1,386,966	27.8%	1,267,070	25.4%	979,007	19.6%	+407,959	↑+11,190	FINAL EN
C1	Jun 3 · 2:05p	Canvass	100%	1,387,459	27.8%	1,267,375	25.4%	979,265	19.6%	+408,194	↑+235	0.0%
C2	Jun 3 · 5:48p	Canvass	100%	1,417,689	27.6%	1,310,710	25.5%	1,013,488	19.7%	+404,201	↓−3,993	66.6%
C3	Jun 4 · 10:23a	Canvass	100%	1,423,464	27.5%	1,322,704	25.6%	1,022,601	19.8%	+400,863	↓−3,338	77.8%
C4	Jun 4 · 6:18p	Canvass	100%	1,532,037	27.2%	1,468,111	26.0%	1,138,088	20.2%	+393,949	↓−6,914	64.8%
C5	Jun 4 · 7:44p	Canvass	100%	1,533,435	27.2%	1,470,100	26.0%	1,139,517	20.2%	+393,918	↓−31	63.2%
C6	Jun 5 · 4:24p	Canvass	100%	1,610,211	26.7%	1,597,692	26.4%	1,251,997	20.7%	+358,214	↓−35,704	71.2%
C7	Jun 5 · 5:21p	Canvass	100%	1,666,320	26.4%	1,688,368	26.7%	1,328,227	21.0%	+338,093	↓−20,121	71.2%
C8	Jun 5 · 6:00p	Canvass	100%	1,691,360	26.3%	1,720,786	26.8%	1,353,302	21.1%	+338,058	↓−35	61.5%
C9	Jun 5 · 7:10p	Canvass	100%	1,704,820	26.4%	1,732,755	26.8%	1,361,104	21.0%	+343,716	↑+5,658	52.3%
C10	Jun 6 · 6:04p	Canvass	100%	1,757,533	26.0%	1,824,635	27.0%	1,437,976	21.3%	+319,557	↓−24,159	70.7%
C11	Jun 6 · 8:18p	Canvass	100%	1,763,414	26.1%	1,827,195	27.0%	1,439,865	21.3%	+323,549	↑+3,992	34.2%
C12	Jun 7 · 5:08p	Canvass	100%	1,787,476	25.8%	1,882,399	27.2%	1,487,806	21.5%	+299,670	↓−23,879	78.0%
C13	Jun 7 · 6:33p	Canvass	100%	1,790,532	25.9%	1,883,083	27.2%	1,488,520	21.5%	+302,012	↑+2,342	26.2%
C14	Jun 8 · 11:37a	Canvass	100%	1,794,651	25.9%	1,884,857	27.2%	1,490,192	21.5%	+304,459	↑+2,447	35.4%
C15	Jun 8 · 4:59p	Canvass	100%	1,900,892	25.0%	2,095,491	27.6%	1,696,191	22.3%	+204,701	↓−99,758	75.4%
C16	Jun 8 · 6:03p	Canvass	100%	1,974,675	25.1%	2,177,268	27.7%	1,759,073	22.4%	+215,602	↑+10,901	59.8%
C17	Jun 9 · 9:27a	Canvass	100%	1,977,968	25.1%	2,179,684	27.7%	1,760,354	22.3%	+217,614	↑+2,012	45.0%
C18	Jun 9 · 12:19p	Canvass	100%	1,978,382	25.1%	2,179,986	27.7%	1,760,620	22.3%	+217,762	↑+148	51.1%
C19	Jun 9 · 2:51p	Canvass	100%	1,996,316	25.1%	2,206,869	27.7%	1,784,096	22.4%	+212,220	↓−5,542	69.7%
C20	Jun 9 · 6:01p	Canvass	100%	2,128,001	24.9%	2,383,479	27.9%	1,923,769	22.5%	+204,232	↓−7,988	65.0%
C21	Jun 9 · 6:15p	Canvass	100%	2,137,567	25.0%	2,390,073	27.9%	1,927,945	22.5%	+209,622	↑+5,390	45.0%
C22	Jun 9 · 6:57p	Canvass	100%	2,137,910	25.0%	2,390,700	27.9%	1,928,318	22.5%	+209,592	↓−30	65.6%
C23	Jun 10 · 7:25p	Canvass	100%	2,188,131	24.8%	2,468,197	28.0%	1,996,086	22.6%	+192,045	↓−17,547	66.9%
C24	Jun 11 · 5:29p	Canvass	100%	2,223,568	24.9%	2,503,719	28.0%	2,025,169	22.6%	+198,399	↑+6,354	57.9%
C25	Jun 12 · 6:44p	Canvass	100%	2,259,445	24.7%	2,566,414	28.1%	2,086,209	22.8%	+173,236	↓−25,163	73.4%
C26	Jun 24 · 6:39p	Canvass	100%	2,274,959	24.7%	2,589,225	28.1%	2,108,547	22.9%	+166,412	↓−6,824	67.4%
C27	Jun 25 · 5:15p	Canvass	100%	2,275,537	24.7%	2,590,036	28.1%	2,109,271	22.9%	+166,266	↓−146	64.0%
C28	Jun 26 · 5:18p	Canvass	100%	2,276,043	24.7%	2,590,646	28.1%	2,109,692	22.8%	+166,351	↑+85	57.1%
C29	Jun 29 · 4:30p	Canvass	100%	2,276,101	24.7%	2,590,685	28.1%	2,109,722	22.8%	+166,379	↑+28	47.5%
C30	Jun 30 · 4:59p	Canvass	100%	2,276,271	24.7%	2,590,958	28.1%	2,109,984	22.9%	+166,287	↓−92	70.3%
C31	Jul 1 · 4:44p	Canvass	100%	2,276,310	24.7%	2,590,980	28.1%	2,110,005	22.9%	+166,305	↑+18	42.0%
C32	Jul 3 · 3:37p	Canvass	100%	2,277,315	24.7%	2,591,857	28.1%	2,110,704	22.8%	+166,611	↑+306	55.1%

S1–S7 = election night drops · C1–C32 = canvass updates ■ Pink row = lead peak (C1) ■ Blue row = latest (C32)

Note: Gaps in canvass updates (e.g. C25→C26) are due to technical difficulties receiving data from the SOS API during those periods. S5 R bounce caused by Kern (152k ballots, 33% turnout) flushing through late.

NPP / independent voter universe

NPP registered

6.97M

30.1% of electorate · PDI Jun 15 2026

NPP ballots returned

1,801,416

26% return rate · PDI Jun 15 2026

NP+Other share of returned

21%

D: 50% · R: 29% · NP+Other: 21%

NP+Other vs 2022

+1.0pt

20.1% → 21.1% share of returned ballots

NPP/Other voters returned 1.8M ballots at a 26% rate — up 5pts from the 21% pre-election estimate. Democrats held a 50% share of returned ballots vs 29% Republican. NP+Other grew slightly (+1.0pt) vs 2022 share of the electorate. These are PDI modeled estimates — CA SOS does not publish votes by registration type.

Estimated NPP vote by candidate

Methodology — modeled, not measured. NPP/Other return rate rose from 16% pre-election to 26% by Jun 15 — consistent with late-arriving VBM ballots. D share of returned ballots: 50% · R: 29% · NP+Other: 21%. Source: PDI CA Ballot Tracker, May 4–Jun 15, 2026 · CA SOS · politicaldata.com.

Turnout rate by party · age · race (PDI Jun 15, 2026)

By party

Democrat

41.2% turnout rate

Republican

42.4% turnout rate

NP+Other

25.9% turnout rate

By age

18–34

20.9% turnout rate

35–49

28.2% turnout rate

50–64

41.7% turnout rate

65+

57.8% turnout rate

By race

White/Other

30.4% turnout rate

Latino

26.0% turnout rate

Asian

28.1% turnout rate

Black

37.1% turnout rate

PDI Jun 15 UPDATE: Total returned 8,531,400 (37% of universe). Latino turnout rate reached 26.0% — up +7.2pts vs 2022, Becerra's strongest demographic. 18–34 turnout rate climbed to 20.9% — up +5.5pts vs 2022. 65+ turnout rate: 57.8% (+4.7pts). Dem turnout rate: 41.2% · Rep: 42.4% · NP+Other: 25.9%. Overall: 36.9% (+4.3pts vs 2022). Source: PDI CA Ballot Tracker, May 4–Jun 15, 2026.

Top 10 counties by ballots cast — current canvass

Los Angeles

2,227,290 · 37.8%

San Diego

849,587 · 42.0%

Orange

809,748 · 42.4%

Riverside

550,840 · 38.3%

Santa Clara

421,157 · 39.2%

Alameda

415,203 · 42.8%

Sacramento

404,964 · 44.1%

San Bernardino

403,549 · 32.7%

Contra Costa

327,699 · 44.8%

San Francisco

271,520 · 50.9%

Source: CA SOS county reporting status · Jul 3, 2026, 3:57 PM · Statewide: 9,446,450 ballots cast · 40.8% turnout.

Unprocessed ballots by county — unprocessed ballots report

County	Processed	Outstanding	Next report	Lean

CERTIFIED. Statement of the Vote issued July 10, 2026. Becerra: 2,591,857 (28.0%) · Hilton: 2,277,318 (24.6%) · Steyer: 2,110,707 (22.8%). Canvass processing is complete; remaining activity is routine ballot curing ahead of certification.

CERTIFIED — Becerra wins top spot, advances to November

The California Secretary of State certified the June 2, 2026 primary on July 10, 2026. Xavier Becerra (D) finished first with 2,591,857 votes (28.0%) and Steve Hilton (R) finished second with 2,277,318 votes (24.6%) — a final margin of +314,539. Both advance to the November 2026 general election. Total governor race votes cast: 9,253,058 across 58 counties at 40.8% statewide turnout.

Hilton led on election night by +120,084 after early in-person and initial VBM returns favored Republicans. The lead evaporated within three days as late Democratic mail ballots arrived. The C6 batch (Jun 5, 4:24p) was decisive: 396k votes at 60.8% D wiped out the remaining Hilton advantage in a single drop, handing Becerra the lead for good. Every subsequent canvass batch was majority Democratic.

Becerra's vote share climbed from 25.4% on election night to a certified 28.0%. Hilton declined from 27.8% to 24.6%. The canvass added over 2.9 million governor race votes to the election night total, running at roughly 61% Democratic — driven by late VBM returns from Los Angeles, Sacramento, and the Bay Area.

Tom Steyer (D) finished third with 2,110,707 votes (22.8%), trailing Hilton by 166,611. Steyer conceded after meaningfully closing the gap through the late canvass — at his peak he trailed Hilton by just over 192,000 votes. Ultimately, Steyer could not overcome Hilton's durable Republican base in a three-way split of the Democratic vote with Becerra.

Chad Bianco (R) finished fourth with 941,708 votes (10.2%). Democratic candidates collectively earned 62.3% of the governor race vote; Republican candidates earned 36.2%. Under California's top-two primary system, the November general election is set: Xavier Becerra (D) vs. Steve Hilton (R).

Hilton November framing: Led wire-to-wire on election night — first Republican to lead a California governor primary since 2006. Certified second with 2,277,318 votes (24.6%). Combined Republican primary vote: 36.2%. Path to November: consolidate 941k Bianco voters, sustain NPP crossover appeal (~47–49% of independents in the primary), and expand beyond the 36% R primary ceiling in a 16M-voter general electorate.

Becerra November framing: Certified first with 2,591,857 votes (28.0%), overcoming a 120k election night deficit. Combined Democratic primary vote: 62.3%. Structural advantages in November: 19-point D registration edge, Latino turnout rising from 15% pre-election to 26% at certification (PDI), 18–34 turnout up +5.5pts vs 2022, and full D consolidation in a two-person race — heavy favorite heading into the general.