Where the California Governor's Race Stands

Californians may not know which two candidates will compete for governor for a while. With 56% of the vote counted, nobody—including the AP—is calling Tuesday's primary. However, things are looking good for Republican Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host with the endorsement of President Trump, and Democrat Xavier Becerra, who the Washington Post reports won over voters with a "middle of the road" approach. As of Thursday morning:

• Hilton, 27.6%
• Becerra, 25.6%
• Tom Steyer, 19.8%

One reason for the slow pace is California's practice of not processing mail-in ballots until after in-person voting counts, notes USA Today. In two Truth Social posts overnight, President Trump raised a familiar theme, suggesting Democrats were trying to "steal" the election through mail-voting fraud. Roughly 4 million ballots still must be counted, and it would take an unusually strong finish by Steyer, a billionaire Democrat, to knock Hilton or Becerra out of the race. By one estimate, he'd have to get about 30% of the still-uncounted ballots. The top two finishers will face each other in the November election.