California’s Primary Election Results and What It Means for Policy in the Golden State

Jun 4

An exciting night for California as voters took to the polls and cast their first of two votes for several races across the state, including narrowing down Gubernatorial candidates in what appears to be an early top two, pending official election results.

While election officials have until July 10 to certify the primary election results to determine who will be in the November General Election run-off to become California’s next governor, Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton were leading in the race with early returns as of June 3. With over 4 million votes counted so far, the unofficial election results have Steve Hilton receiving 27.8% (1,386,966) and Xavier Becerra receiving 25.4% (1,267,070) of the votes cast. Several Democrat candidates had already conceded after initial vote returns on June 2, but candidate Tom Steyer had refused to concede after capturing 19.6% (979,007) of the votes cast. Meanwhile, in several down ballot constitutional races, there is a more definitive picture of who the top two candidates will be heading into the General Election.

The likelihood of the two early vote leaders for governor holding firm remains high which means a Republican (Hilton) and Democrat (Becerra) will likely face off in the General Election. Given California's heavily Democratic electorate, former California Attorney General Becerra remains the favorite if current trends hold. However, there are varying views and policy platforms that are important to consider. As the race intensifies ahead of November, the stark contrast between the two candidates' policy platforms will take center stage.

Where the Gubernatorial Candidates Stand on Top California Issues

Health Care

Hilton (R) - Hilton is in favor of a free-market, anti-single-payer health care system focused on reducing state spending and lowering costs for citizens. He has developed a “Califordable” campaign platform which would end full state-funded health coverage for undocumented immigrants and includes a savings and cost redirection of $20 billion annually to reduce costs and wait times for legal residents.
Becerra (D) - Becerra has been a strong health care advocate his entire career, pledging to be the “health care governor.” His guiding principles include lowering health care costs for all Californians, guaranteeing access and working towards universal coverage, increasing investments in primary care, and building more support for a stronger health care workforce.

Energy

Hilton (R) - Hilton is focused on affordability, deregulation and cutting government waste as part of his “Califordable" platform. He proposes merging three major state energy agencies to help reduce utility costs, supports repealing the low-carbon fuel standard and the gas tax, and supports an "all-of-the-above" energy approach rather than a rapid switch to wind and solar.
Becerra (D) - Becerra is focused on balancing the state's aggressive climate mandates with strict consumer cost controls, which includes support for freezing utility rates to protect low- and middle-income families from rising electricity and gas bills. He also supports grid infrastructure upgrades as public investments but not at the expense of burdening low income residents.

Tech and AI

Hilton (R) - Hilton argues that aggressive state-level guardrails will choke innovation and drive tech companies and capital out of California. He believes California should naturally lead on AI because it is the global hub of the industry, but he leaves the door open to federal preemption if it prevents a patchwork of conflicting state-by-state laws from paralyzing tech developers.
Becerra (D) - Becerra advocates for robust transparency and human oversight standards for automated decision-making systems. He supports stricter safety regulations for AI chatbots interacting with children, and released a formal 11-point AI policy agenda framing his platform as a proactive state-level counterweight to what he calls an "abdicated federal responsibility" under the Trump administration.

Education

Hilton (R) - Hilton’s education platform emphasizes a return to foundational academics, more local control, alternative career pathways, backing parental rights initiatives, and expanding access to charter schools. He wants to pursue a shift away from having schools exclusively focus on a college-prep track. Instead, he wants to integrate robust vocational and skills-based training directly into the K-12 curriculum to support workforce development.
Becerra (D) - Becerra's educational focus leans on early childhood programs, robust public school funding, and addressing equity gaps in resources. He highlights expanding access to early childhood education and childcare as a core strategy for lowering family costs and improving long-term academic outcomes.

Housing

Hilton (R) - Hilton wants to restore the so-called “California Dream” of a single-family home for every family, and believes state regulations have artificially choked off the state’s housing supply. He supports prohibiting private lawsuits related to CEQA and capping local impact fees paid by developers to stimulate private building.
Becerra (D) - Becerra has set a target to double the housing production rate of the Newsom administration, and aims to build 1.5 to 2 million new homes in four years. He also proposes prioritizing housing production over agency procedural delays, supports restrictions on corporate ownership of single-family housing, and has pledged to freeze home insurance rates while pursuing long-term regulatory fixes.

Insurance

Hilton (R) - Hilton explicitly opposes artificial premium caps, maintaining that suppression of free-market rate adjustment destroys the availability of insurance, thereby stalling new home construction. He also wants to remove state-level barriers by allowing insurers to adjust pricing based on actual risk data, and believes an overhaul of state forest management and vegetation policies will help reduce fire risk and lower premiums.
Becerra (D) - Becerra has indicated he will declare a statewide emergency and issue an executive order to freeze home insurance policy premiums to protect low- and middle-income families from sudden rate hikes, and wants to audit insurance companies rates and homeowner cancellations without adequate explanation. He also wants to ensure development is not placed in high-risk wildfire zones, arguing that expanding footprints into high-hazard areas worsens the insurance and safety crisis.

Top Two Constitutional Office Outcomes (top two primary winners)

Lieutenant Governor:

Fiona Ma (D)
Gloria Romeo (R)

Attorney General:

Rob Bonta (D)
Michael E. Gates (R)

Secretary of State:

Shirly Weber (D)
Donald P. Wagner (R)

State Controller:

Malia Cohen (D)
Herb W. Morgan (R)

State Treasurer:

Eleni Kounalakis (D)
Jennifer Hawks (R)

Insurance Commissioner:

Jane Kim (D)
Ben Allen (D)

State Superintendent of Public Instruction (non-partisan race):

Sonja Shaw
Richard Barrera

Key Congressional Races

CD 01 (R-LaMalfa Open Seat): In this rural Northern California district, former Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher (R) currently leads the field with 47.2% of the vote, followed by former Senate President pro Tempore Mike McGuire (D) at 37.5%. If current results hold, Gallagher and McGuire will advance to the November general election.

CD 06 (D-Bera Open Seat): In this suburban Sacramento-area district, Representative Kevin Kiley (NPP) currently leads the field with 26.8% of the vote, followed by Republican Michael Stansfield (R) at 22.2% and former State Senator Richard Pan (D) at 21.2%. Pan is currently the leading Democratic candidate in a multi-candidate Democratic field.

CD 11 (D-Pelosi Open Seat): In this San Francisco-based district, State Senator Scott Wiener (D) currently leads the field with 41.3% of the vote, followed by San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan (D), Nancy Pelosi's endorsed candidate, at 28.6%. Former tech entrepreneur Saikat Chakrabarti (D) trails with 14.9%. If current results hold, Wiener and Chan will advance to the November general election.

CD 22 (R-Valadao): In this Central Valley district, Representative David Valadao (R) currently leads the field with 44.5% of the vote. Visalia Unified School District Trustee Randy Villegas (D) follows with 29.8%, while Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains (D) has received 25.7%. With additional ballots remaining to be counted, the contest for the second spot on the November ballot remains too close to call.

CD 40 (R-Kim): In this Inland Empire district, Representative Ken Calvert (R) currently leads the field with 36.2% of the vote. Representative Young Kim (R) follows with 21.6%, while Esther Kim-Varet (D) has received 15.5%. Representative Young Kim currently holds the second position in the race as ballots continue to be counted.

CD 48 (R-Issa Open Seat): In this San Diego County district, San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond (R) currently leads the field with 41.6% of the vote, followed by San Diego City Councilmember Marni von Wilpert (D) at 19.5%. If current results hold, Desmond and von Wilpert will advance to the November general election to succeed retiring Representative Darrell Issa.

Key Legislative Races

AD 36 (R-Jeff Gonzalez): In this Riverside and Imperial counties district, incumbent Assemblymember Jeff Gonzalez (R) is seeking a second term after flipping the seat in 2024. Jeff Gonzalez currently leads the field with 46.7% of the vote. Imperial City Councilmember Ida Obeso-Martinez (D) follows with 23.7%, while Indio City Councilmember Oscar Ortiz (D) has received 20.6%. With additional ballots remaining to be counted, the contest for the second spot on the November ballot remains too close to call.

AD 58 (R-Castillo): In this San Bernardino and Riverside counties district, first-term Assemblymember Leticia Castillo (R), who flipped the seat in 2024, currently leads Riverside City Councilmember Clarissa Cervantes (D) by 120 votes, 50.2% to 49.8%. As the only two candidates on the ballot, Castillo and Cervantes will advance to the November general election, setting up a rematch of their 2024 contest.

AD 67 (D-Quirk-Silva Open Seat): In this Los Angeles and Orange Counties district, former Cypress City Councilmember Paulo Morales (R) currently leads the field with 35.1% of the vote. Cerritos City Councilmember Mark Pulido (D) follows with 25.3%, while labor leader Ada Briceño (D) has received 19.8%. The race attracted more than $10 million in outside spending during the primary election, largely from technology and business interests supporting Pulido. If current results hold, Morales and Pulido will advance to the November general election to succeed termed-out Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva.

SD 04 (R-Alvarado-Gil): In this rural Northern California district, Tuolumne County Supervisor Jaron Brandon (D) currently leads the field with 39.1% of the vote. Alexandra Duarte (R), the wife of former Congressman John Duarte, follows with 32.7%, while incumbent Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil (R), who switched parties from Democrat to Republican during her term, has received 28.1%.

SD 24 (D-Allen Open Seat): In this coastal Los Angeles County district, Republican G. Rick Marshall currently leads the field with 20.5% of the vote, followed by Democrat Brian Goldsmith at 18.5% and West Hollywood City Councilmember John Erickson (D) at 16.4%. Republican Kristina Irwin (R) trails closely with 16.2%, while California Democratic Party-endorsed candidate Dr. Sion Roy (D) has received 12.9%. The race has attracted significant independent expenditure activity from technology and labor interests. With additional ballots remaining to be counted, the contest for the two spots on the November ballot remains unsettled.

SD 40 (R-Jones Open Seat): In this inland San Diego County district, former San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott (D) currently leads the field with 44.1% of the vote as the only Democrat on the ballot. Republican Kristie Bruce-Lane (R) follows with 30.0%, while San Marcos City Councilmember Ed Musgrove (R) has received 25.9%. Bruce-Lane currently leads Musgrove by approximately 6,500 votes in the contest for the second spot on the November ballot. Bruce-Lane was backed by Reform California, while Musgrove received support from incumbent Senator Brian Jones, business groups, and technology interests.