Hilton to face Becerra for California governor, CBS News projects

Local News Hilton to face Becerra in November election for California governor, CBS News projects By Austin Turner, Austin Turner Web Producer, CBS News Los Angeles Austin Turner is a web producer at CBS News Los Angeles. An Inland Empire native, Austin earned a degree in journalism from San Jose State University in 2020. Before joining CBS News in 2025, he worked at KTLA, the San Jose Mercury News, the Sedona Red Rock News and various other outlets as a news and sports reporter. Read Full Bio Austin Turner, Dean Fioresi Dean Fioresi Web Producer, CBS Los Angeles Dean Fioresi is a web producer for CBS Los Angeles. He covers breaking news throughout Southern California. When he's not writing about local events, he enjoys focusing on sports and entertainment. Read Full Bio Dean Fioresi Updated on: June 9, 2026 / 7:48 PM EDT / CBS LA Add CBS News on Google Republican Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host and adviser to former British Prime Minister David Cameron, will advance to November's general election in the race to become California's next governor, CBS News projects. Hilton will face off against Democrat Xavier Becerra, the former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary and California attorney general, who mounted a late rise in the race after the exit of former Rep. Eric Swalwell. Becerra overtook Hilton in the vote count on Friday, leading to CBS News projecting that he would advance.  Hilton held off billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer, a Democrat, for the second spot in California's top-two primary.  If elected, Hilton would become California's first Republican governor since Arnold Schwarzenegger left office in 2011. He served as Cameron's director of Strategy from May 2010 to May 2012. Before moving to California in 2012, Hilton unsuccessfully ran for a U.K. parliamentary seat as a member of the Conservative Party in 2005. Hilton has worked to position his candidacy as a potential catalyst for change in California, where Democrats also have a supermajority in the state Legislature. As results began to trickle in on Tuesday night, he framed his early success in returns as a referendum on what California voters want to see going forward. "It looks very much like Californians really will have the chance to vote for change in November and take our state in a new direction," he said on Tuesday. Several high-profile candidates saw their campaigns come to an end shortly after polls closed Tuesday. Former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa each acknowledged they would not become California's next governor. Other notable candidates in the race included State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, a Democrat, and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican. As of Sunday, neither candidate had conceded in the race.  Hilton was one of two major Republicans in the race. Bianco and Hilton kept a similar pace in polling throughout much of the campaign. It wasn't until President Trump endorsed Hilton in April that the former U.K. government officials began to pull away from Bianco. "I have known and respected Steve Hilton, who is running for Governor of California, for many years. He is a truly fine man, one who has watched as this once great State has gone to Hell," Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Steve Hilton has my COMPLETE & TOTAL ENDORSEMENT."   In the days since election night, Hilton has criticized the state's lengthy process for counting ballots. During a news conference in San Mateo County on Friday, he pledged to "make sure all votes are counted within 48 hours of the mail-in deadline" if elected governor. © 2026 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.