LOS ANGELES (CNS) – Democrat Xavier Becerra barely maintained his lead in the California governor’s race Saturday, with Republican Steve Hilton closing the gap, making it even more likely the pair is heading for a November runoff election.
Figures released Saturday by the California Secretary of State’s office showed Becerra with 1,732,755 votes, or 26.8%, followed by Hilton with 1,704,820, or 26.4%. That is a gap of only 27,935 votes.
Billionaire Tom Steyer remained in third place with 1,361,104 votes, or 21%. That means he added 59,981 votes but maintained his percentage.
Some 3,055,949 ballots statewide are left to tally, according to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber’s website. Another 56,296 ballots still need to have signatures verified or minor mistakes corrected.
The results are expected to be certified by July 10.
“The people of the great state of California, in the greatest nation on Earth, have spoken — loudly and proudly,” Becerra said in a statement Friday. “We will not be bought. We will not be bullied. And we are never backing down. November, here we come.”
The race to succeed termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom has been a lively one, but the campaign in recent days appeared to boil down to a toss-up among Hilton, Becerra and Steyer, and Tuesday night’s results showed that scenario playing out.
Becerra had surged in recent polls, with Hilton and Steyer trailing right behind.
Hilton had urged voters to back his bid for governor to avoid the possibility of being locked out of the November election by two Democrats. Hilton has spent most of his career as a political strategist and observer and received the endorsement of President Donald Trump.
He worked for former British Prime Minister David Cameron, after which he moved to California, where he’s resided for close to 15 years. Hilton has made tax reductions, spending limits and curbs on bureaucratic red tape some of his central campaign themes.
Hilton spoke to his supporters Tuesday night in Huntington Beach, standing on a stage with the words “Change is Coming” behind him.
“I thought, is that a little premature to write the words `Change is coming’?” he said. “I don’t think so, because change is coming. Change is coming to California. Change is coming to California and it’s long overdue.”
He added, “It looks very much as if Californians really will have the chance to vote for change in November and take our state in a new direction, a fresh start for our state, which is long overdue. But I just want to say something to every single person who voted for me, and every single person who voted in this election, whether you voted for me or not. I am here for you, for every single one of you.”
Hilton has leveled sharp criticism at Becerra over a campaign finance scandal involving two of the candidate’s employees allegedly caught misappropriating funds. Becerra has denied any knowledge of the fraud.
Becerra has said his priorities as governor would be “fighting Donald Trump”; delivering affordable healthcare “without debt or delays”; building more affordable housing; using “the power of the state to lower prices where the market has failed,” ensuring artificial intelligence “that works for everyone” and to “govern differently” in the effort to reduce homelessness, which he called “a moral emergency and policy failure.”
If elected, the former state attorney general and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services would be California’s second Latino governor since statehood and first since Romualdo Pacheco, who served from Feb, 27-Dec. 9, 1875.
“The California dream? It’s alive tonight,” Becerra told his supporters in Los Angeles Tuesday night.
He said he ran “a campaign fueled by little more than grassroots support, some sweat equity and the full faith and confidence that California is always worth the fight.”
“Almost immediately, he’s counted out, an afterthought, overlooked by many, outspent by a ton,” Becerra said. “Even called along the way to drop out and save us all the trouble. Well guess what, the underdog stayed in the fight. Like my parents, I never gave up, never stopped putting one foot in front of the other, never stopped believing in the beacon-like goodness of California, and thankfully, neither did you. Because we know the true miracle of Democracy is this — after all the exhausting ads are run, the pundits are spun and the billionaires trying to buy their way in, it’s the people, only the people who get the last word. And tonight the people of the great state of California in the greatest nation on Earth have spoken, loudly and proudly.”
During his campaign, Steyer detailed plans to reduce gas prices and bring electricity costs down.
The billionaire investor said “corporations and billionaires (should) pay more taxes.” He has highlighted a desire to generate greater employment in the television and film industry statewide by combating runaway production with stay-at-home incentives, as well by eliminating burdensome regulations.