The race for California governor is still too close to call after the primary election on Tuesday.
Even though the state is big on mail-in voting, most Californians reportedly held onto their ballots because of the very crowded race for governor, with 60 candidates in the running.
The mayoral race for Los Angeles also proved to be competitive.
According to The Associated Press, incumbent Mayor Karen Bass has advanced to the November runoff election.
“I appreciate you for standing with me when others doubted me, because you know who I am,” she said, as per the report.
“I have devoted my entire life to serving the city that I love, where I was born, and I’m going to continue to do that all the way to victory in November.”
Bass will face either former reality TV star Spencer Pratt or City Council member Nithya Raman in November but the second candidate to advance to the runoff hasn’t been called yet.
In the governor’s race, political pundits noted in the weeks and days ahead of the election that the results were uncertain given the many shake-ups, starting with former U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, previously the front-runner, dropping out of the race over sexual assault allegations earlier this year.
A handful of candidates for governor captured the attention of California voters, but none of them has managed to coalesce enough support to become the clear front-runner in a very uncertain race.
As the votes continue to be tallied, Republican Steve Hilton leads the field with nearly 30% of the vote, followed by Democrat Xavier Becerra with 27% and Democrat Tom Steyer with nearly 21%.
Trump and Vance encourage Californians to vote for this candidate
Becerra previously was the favorite in the field to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom in recent polling. But politicos wondered whether he would manage to consolidate enough Democratic support.
Meanwhile, the momentum picked up for Hilton, British-born and a former Fox News host who also received words of encouragement from the White House on Tuesday.
Late Tuesday, Hilton and Becerra were ahead of the other candidates with over a million votes each. Only about 50% of the expected votes had been counted.
President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that Hilton “will work with me and the Federal Government, the money will flow because I have confidence in him (but not any of the others!), and we will MAKE CALIFORNIA GREAT AGAIN!”
Vice President JD Vance wished Hilton luck in a post on X.
“He’s a good guy and I encourage everyone to get out there and support him. California is such a beautiful state — it just needs better political leadership!” said Vance.
Steyer, who has poured more than $200 million of his wealth into the race, rode the Los Angeles Metro line Tuesday to speak to voters and emphasize his promise for building an affordable and more functional California.
On election night, former Rep. Katie Porter conceded in the race and released her final campaign message on social media.
Why California didn’t expect results on Election Day
In the Golden State’s “jungle primary system,” two candidates with the most votes advance to the general election regardless of their party affiliation, as the Deseret News previously reported. A candidate can win the race outright if they secure over 50% of the vote.
L.A. County officials said that vote counting has begun but the 400,000 ballots that dropped on Election Day will not be counted until later.
“We will continue to process and count ballots until all of the ballots that were cast today at the vote centers are included in the vote totals. So yes, that will go into the late hours of tonight and probably even the early hours of tomorrow morning,” said Dean Logan, the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, as per NBC News.
Logan said typically the June primaries don’t generate a high turnout in comparison to the November general election. But by midday Tuesday, more than 1 million voters mailed in their ballots and more than 100,000 voters cast their ballots in person, he said.
Spencer Pratt says he sees ‘tsunami’ of support for him
In the Los Angeles mayoral race, which has also garnered national attention this election cycle, the major candidates also made their final appeals on Tuesday.
Mayor Bass joined volunteers at the Women’s March Action headquarters for a phone baking event in the morning. In her final pitch, she pointed to the work she’s accomplished — like trying to make it easier for Hollywood to film in L.A. — and promised to do more if reelected.
Bass’ major opponents are Republican former reality TV star Pratt, running as an independent, and City Council member Raman, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.
Late Tuesday, Bass and Pratt were in the lead, with Raman behind Pratt by about 30,000 votes.
Earlier in the day, Pratt said he doesn’t believe there will be a need for a runoff election.
“I’m winning outright,” Pratt told CNN. “There’s a tsunami of votes coming from all the people who are done with politics as usual.”
He went on to dismiss the polls, saying, “All those people I have they’re not talking to pollsters. They’re moms trying to dodge naked zombies with a stroller. They’re walking their dog in a park and making sure their dog doesn’t step on a fentanyl needle … they don’t have time to talk to a pollster.”
Pratt held a private watch party on election night at the restaurant Don Antonio’s in Los Angeles, as NBC News reported.