Live updates: Becerra elected governor of California as election results for key 2026 races arrive

Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton took the stage at his election watch party Tuesday night to thank his supporters after CBS News projected Democrat Xavier Becerra to be elected governor.

“I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you have done for our beautiful state and this campaign,” Hilton said. “We really appreciate it.”

Despite Becerra’s expected victory, Hilton vowed to continue fighting for change in California.

“I just want to tell you right now: The change we hoped for may be delayed, but change is coming. Our fight continues,” Hilton said.

Hilton went on to thank his team and family, calling his wife the most important person who worked on his campaign.

The Los Angeles mayoral race appears to be a stalemate between Mayor Karen Bass and City Councilmember Nithya Raman.

Bass holds a slim lead over his former ally of about 50.9% of ballots cast in early returns, according to the Los Angeles County registrar. Raman is behind by just under 10,000 votes, according to the Los Angeles County registrar.

The Oct. 28 investigation by the UC Berkeley Institute of Government Studies and the Los Angeles Times showed the race tied, with Raman and Bass each in the lead. 40% among likely voters.

However, Berkeley pollsters said about 19 percent of the electorate remained undecided, according to the Oct. 28 Berkeley IGS-LA Times poll.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has won his re-election bid, according to CBS News.

Victory was expected about 40 minutes after polls closed at 8 p.m. in California.

Bonta, who was appointed to the position by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2021, has now won a second four-year term as California’s top law enforcement official.

During the first four years of his term, Bonta played a key role in the legal battles waged in California against President Trump and his administration.

Democratic state Treasurer Fiona Ma has been elected California’s next lieutenant governor, CBS News projects. Ma was challenged in the race by former Democratic Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero, who ran as a Republican.

Ma will succeed Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis as she is called upon. Kounalakis is running for state treasurer.

In an article on X on Tuesday evening, California Governor Gavin Newsom congratulated his future successor, Democrat Xavier Becerra, on his electoral victory on Tuesday.

“Xavier Becerra will be a governor who carries the torch for California – someone who, along with (Becerra’s wife) Dr. (Carolina) Reyes, will represent our state and its diverse communities,” Newsom said. “A son (of) immigrants, a product of the California dream who will stand up to Donald Trump and represent our values. Congratulations!”

Becerra is scheduled to take office on January 4, 2027. Newsom has not yet provided details about his political future, although there is strong speculation that he may do so. launch a candidacy for president in 2028.

Introduced by his wife and chanting “Si, se puede,” Governor-elect Xavier Becerra declared victory in the race against Republican Steve Hilton.

“What a great night to be a Californian. What a great night to be an American,” Becerra said during his election night in Sacramento. “Thank you for making tonight’s victory possible. Thank you for making history in this gubernatorial election.”

Becerra said he would aim to make the state more affordable in the face of rising gas prices and inflation. He called the next four years the “Becerra era” in California.

“I’m not going to sugarcoat it, the last two years have been tough,” he said. “Higher prices, more wars, corruption and lawlessness. But we held on, we fought back. It seemed like a mission impossible. We knew it was a necessary mission.”

Democrat Xavier Becerra will succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom as California governor after defeating Republican Steve Hilton, CBS News projects.

The projected victory gives California its first Latino governor in more than 150 years, dating back to 1875, when Romualdo Pacheco served 10 months in office.

Becerra spent 24 years in Congress representing Los Angeles before serving as California attorney general under Governor Jerry Brown. He later served as Secretary of Health and Human Services in President Joe Biden’s administration.

The Los Angeles County Registrar/Clerk said that as of 1:15 p.m. Tuesday, turnout had already surpassed the county’s overall turnout in the 2022 gubernatorial election, which was 28% of registered voters.

At a news conference Tuesday at 2 p.m., Dean Logan, Los Angeles County’s top elections official, said more than 1.9 million ballots had been received and cast in the county, representing about 32 percent of registered voters.

He said this total includes 1.5 million absentee ballots returned. He noted that more than 387,000 voters cast ballots in person at voting centers.

While speaking to reporters at his election night party in Garden Grove, Republican Steve Hilton acknowledged he has a fight ahead of him to pull off an upset in the California governor’s race against Democrat Xavier Becerra.

“Obviously, as we are already seeing with some results across the country“This is not the best year to run as a Republican,” he said. “We always knew it was an uphill battle… It was going to be very difficult to win, but it’s not impossible.”

The former Fox News host and adviser to former British Prime Minister David Cameron urged his supporters to remain hopeful just over 90 minutes before polls closed.

“I love this state so much,” Hilton said. “I’m not giving up the fight for California. There will be an important election in 2028 for the state legislature…One way or another, I will be part of this fight.”

As Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton face off in the race to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom as California’s governor, voters can maintain the Democratic Party’s long-standing dominance in the state, or take it in a new direction under the leadership of a Republican.

If Hilton succeeds in flipping the polls, he would become California’s first Republican governor since Arnold Schwarzenegger left office in 2011.

Meanwhile, Becerra would break another long streak if elected. He became California’s first Latino governor since Romualdo Pacheco, who served as the state’s 12th governor for a brief term in 1875.

The battle to lead California’s largest city, Los Angeles, could come down to the wire.

Incumbent Mayor Karen Bass and City Councilmember Nithya Raman are engaged in a heated and close race, according to the latest poll from the UC Berkeley Institute of Government Studies and the LA Times.

Polls showed a tie with 40% of likely voters for each candidate. This is a major change from September, when the same pollsters gave Raman the lead with 39% of likely voters, compared to just 28% for Bass.

Key congressional seats are up for grabs in the state for the first time since Proposition 50 passed last year, granting even more Democratic-friendly districts.

In the progressive stronghold of San Francisco, Sen. Scott Wiener and San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan are engaged in a tight race to fill the seat vacated by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who will retire at the end of her term.

The Inland Empire serves as a battleground between two staunchly pro-Trump Republicans, Reps. Ken Calvert and Young Kim. The two engaged in a competitive, often tense race after their districts were merged by Proposition 50. Only one will remain in Congress after the votes are counted.