Early, uncertified returns give the former attorney general about 64% of the vote as Hilton concedes and counties keep tallying mail ballots.
Xavier Becerra, the Democrat who served as California attorney general and later as U.S. health secretary, will be the state’s next governor after defeating Republican Steve Hilton on Tuesday. The Associated Press called the race for Becerra shortly after polls closed at 8 p.m.
Becerra had 4,653,207 votes, or 64.1%, to Hilton’s 2,608,939, or 35.9%, in the Secretary of State’s unofficial count as of 12:45 a.m. Wednesday. Those figures are preliminary and uncertified, with 20,301 of the state’s 23,860 precincts partially reporting and mail, provisional and other ballots still to be counted.
Becerra will succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom, who was barred by term limits from running again. Under the state Constitution, the new governor takes office the Monday after Jan. 1, which falls on Jan. 4, 2027.
Becerra declared victory in a post on X at 8:25 p.m.: “We did it, California. Thank you. I’m honored to be your next Governor, and I’ll fight for every family in this state, every single day. Let’s get to work.”
Hilton conceded at his election-night event in Garden Grove, telling supporters that “the change we hoped for may be delayed, but the change is coming.”
Later Tuesday night, in a post that also called the California Dream “undeportable,” Becerra wrote: “To everyone who has been made to feel afraid: there’s a new sheriff in town, and he’s got a law degree and a union card.”
Becerra, who spent 24 years in Congress representing Los Angeles before serving as attorney general and as health secretary under President Joe Biden, ran on that experience and cast himself as a check on President Donald Trump, who endorsed Hilton. Becerra will be California’s first Latino governor since the 1870s.
In the closing weeks, Becerra discussed proposals including a possible new income tax aimed at the wealthiest Californians, a health care fee on major employers and changes to the high-speed rail project.
Hilton, a former Fox News host and onetime director of strategy for then-British Prime Minister David Cameron, had never held elected office. He blamed one-party Democratic rule for the state’s high cost of living and homelessness and pledged to cut gas to $3 a gallon and abolish the DMV.
In the campaign’s closing days, he held “$3 gas” stops, most recently in Compton on Monday, according to his posts on X.
Counting will continue for weeks. Under Secretary of State guidance, mail ballots postmarked by Election Day still count if they reach county election offices within seven days, and local election offices get about a month to complete the official canvass, which includes audits and certification.
The Secretary of State’s office is scheduled to certify the statewide results by Dec. 11.
Minutes after claiming the win, Becerra posted again: “Now the real work begins.”
