California Primary Results Remain Uncertain Days After Election as Ballot Counting Drags On

Three days after Californians cast their ballots, several pivotal primary contests remained too close to call, with officials cautioning that the tally could extend for days or even weeks.

In the gubernatorial race, British-born conservative commentator Steve Hilton held a narrow lead with roughly 60% of ballots counted by Friday morning. Former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra trailed closely behind, while billionaire Tom Steyer ran a distant third. The top two finishers will advance to the November general election.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass secured her spot in the runoff on Tuesday evening, though her opponent remains undetermined. With approximately 65% of votes tallied, former reality television personality Spencer Pratt held an edge over progressive City Councilmember Nithya Raman for the second position.

The current standings could shift substantially as counting continues. Under state law, counties must complete their tallies by June 15, though certain ballots are exempt from that deadline. Mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day and received by June 9 remain valid and may be processed after the cutoff.

Analysts anticipate that a significant portion of outstanding votes will lean Democratic. Republicans tend to return ballots early or vote in person on Election Day, and those ballots are counted first. This year, an unusually large number of Democrats waited until the final days to vote as they assessed which candidates had the best chance of securing a top-two position.

“What compounds things this time around is that Democrats have been holding on to their ballots,” said Richard Hasen, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.

The ongoing tabulation did not prevent former President Donald Trump from declaring victory for his preferred candidate. Trump congratulated Hilton, accused the state of election rigging, and claimed the Department of Justice would launch an investigation, though it remains unclear whether the department has done so.

“We don’t want cheating in our elections. You see it in California. Those numbers are coming down rapidly. They found a lot of mail-in ballots last night, shockingly. We don’t want that,” Trump said in the Oval Office on Thursday.

The office of Governor Gavin Newsom responded by sharing a CNN clip explaining how the nation’s most populous state prioritizes accuracy and accessibility over speed.

“For the record: we wish the votes were counted faster, too,” Newsom’s office posted.

Last year, Newsom signed legislation requiring vote counts to be completed within 13 days rather than the previous 30. Counties seeking an extension must notify the secretary of state’s office with a justification for the delay.

Democratic Assemblymember Marc Berman, who authored the bill to accelerate ballot counting, called Trump’s remarks about the process “disappointing and ‘a lie.'”

“While Trump is laser-focused on lying about our elections and undermining voters’ faith in our democracy, so that Republicans can then try to pass policies like voter ID laws that make it harder for people to vote, our priority is to make sure that every validly cast ballot is counted,” Berman said in a statement.

In a video posted on X, Hilton criticized the state’s counting as “just another shambles brought to you by California Democrats,” though he added that his campaign has so far seen nothing indicating a need for legal action.

Several congressional races also remain undecided. In California’s 6th Congressional District, which was redrawn to favor Democrats, former Republican-turned-independent Congressman Kevin Kiley led the field. Republican Michael Stansfield held second place, narrowly ahead of Democrat Richard Pan, a former state legislator, with tens of thousands of votes still uncounted.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.

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