Becerra advances in California governor's race, CBS News projects

CBS News projects that Democratic former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra has advanced in the primary for the 2026 California governor's race. A second candidate in the race has not yet been projected to advance. The race to replace term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom remained close throughout the week. Republican candidate Steve Hilton had remained at the top of the field throughout the vote count until Friday's ballot drops, which resulted in Becerra overtaking the top spot in the race. Hilton and Democratic billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer are now in a closely watched battle for the second spot in the general election. Steyer also notably gained some ground in the latest returns but still had a sizeable gap to close in on to catch up to the former Fox News host. California elections operate under a top-two primary system, meaning that the two candidates with the most votes will face off in November's general election. Becerra notably gained a significant boost in the race after former Rep. Eric Swalwell's exit in April. Once the first ballot returns started rolling in on Tuesday, showing Becerra as a leading candidate, he framed himself to supporters as the underdog in the race who "never gave up." California's vote-counting process has faced criticism from some Republicans, including President Donald Trump, who has questioned the pace of ballot counting without providing evidence of wrongdoing. …