California held primary elections June 2, 2026, using a jungle primary system in which all candidates appear on one ballot and the top two advance to the November general election [1, 2, 3].
The governor's race featured about 60 candidates vying to replace termed-out Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, who led a redistricting effort against Republican gerrymandering ahead of the election [1, 2, 3]. As of June 3, with about 60% of the vote counted, Republican Steve Hilton led with 27.8%, followed by Democrat Xavier Becerra with 25.4% [2, 3]. Both advance to the November runoff.
The primary also covered competitive races for California's 52 US House seats, as well as state attorney general, lieutenant governor, and mayor of Los Angeles [1, 3]. In the Los Angeles mayoral contest, Democratic incumbent Karen Bass led with 34.8%, Republican Spencer Pratt was second with 30.4%, and Nithya Raman held 22.3%, based on 63% of ballots counted [3].
France 24 noted that Democrats campaigned on fighting Trump administration attacks on California's liberal policies and leadership under Newsom. Republicans promised change after more than 15 years of Democratic control in Sacramento [2].
Vote counts and results are continuing to come in across races in California following Tuesday's primary. The November general election runoffs are set for November 3, 2026, when the top two candidates in each race will compete for office.
