California’s crowded primary for governor remained unresolved early Wednesday after three leading candidates tested voters’ appetites for an experienced politician or promises of sweeping change.
Though votes were still being counted, Democrats Xavier Becerra and Tom Steyer and Republican Steve Hilton started looking to November, laying out their visions for leading the nation's most populous state and one of the world's largest economies.
Only two will advance to the general election, however, and The Associated Press has not yet called the primary for any candidate. The state has a history of substantial vote updates after Election Day that can sometimes shift the outcome of elections as late-arriving mail and drop-off votes are counted. Hilton and Becerra were leading so far, with Steyer running slightly further back.
“Change is coming to California, and it’s long overdue,” Hilton told supporters after polls closed, reflecting his campaign message that the state needs a dramatic reset after more than 15 years of Democratic rule.
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Steyer also campaigned on change, though through a vastly different lens. A former hedge fund manager turned climate activist, he pledged to raise taxes on corporations and the ultrawealthy like himself. He declared Tuesday that he would prevail over monied interests that strived to defeat him.
Becerra, meanwhile, pitched himself as the steady hand who can lead the state against intrusions from the Trump administration, touting his decades in public service in Congress, as state attorney general and as federal health secretary. Speaking to supporters, he said voters came around to his message after he initially was counted out.
“The underdog stayed in the fight,” Becerra said to applause.
California puts all candidates on a single primary ballot regardless of party, and the top two finishers advance to the November general election. About 60 candidates were on the ballot, most of them largely unknown to the state’s roughly 23 million voters.
Affordability at the center of campaign
The through line of the race was how to tackle the state's notoriously high cost of living.
Drivers were paying $6.08 per gallon at the pump as of the end of May, $1.65 higher than the national average, according to AAA. Meanwhile the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office has estimated that the typical home is about $775,000, more than double the national average. And Californians pay the second-highest residential electricity rates behind Hawaii, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Steyer blamed the state's challenges in part on corporations that he said are ripping off Californians. He supports eliminating private health insurance in favor of a government-run system and pledged to break up major utilities and take on fossil fuel companies. Utility Pacific Gas & Electric was among the businesses spending money to defeat him.
“We should have a system based on fairness, not asking for fairness,” Steyer said Tuesday, adding that his campaign “scared the hell out of the corporate interests who are used to getting their own way.”
Hilton said he would make Californians' first $100,000 free of income tax, increase oil production and freeze in-state tuition at public colleges and to try to make the state more affordable. He also pledged to slash regulations and to “revive” the state's economic prowess by reversing Democratic policies that make things more expensive.
That message resonated with voters like Republican Rosamaria Cerezo, a 57-year-old substitute teacher voted for Hilton.
“Both my husband and I have two jobs each just to make ends meet,” she said.
Candidates expressed optimism about state's future
Despite the state's challenges, the candidates delivered upbeat messages about its potential. They pledged to ensure government works to serve all of its roughly 39 million residents.
“I ran for the job because I know how important California is as a shining light to the world,” Becerra told supporters.
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He argued that his years of political experience prepared him to lead, and he highlighted his tenure as attorney general, when he filed more than 120 legal actions during Trump's first term, as evidence that he can protect Californians' interests.
Democrat Tamara Alton, a 65-year-old marriage and family therapist, was voting for Becerra because of his experience.
“I'm going to go with him because I want somebody that knows what they're doing,” Alton said.
Becerra also referenced his background as the son of two Mexican immigrants. In a state where nearly a third of voters identify as Hispanic or Latino, he would be the first Latino governor in more than a century.
California, he said, “regularly makes the improbable seem inevitable.”
Steyer vastly outspent rivals
Steyer ran the most expensive primary campaign in the country, dumping more than $215 million of his own money into it including a massive amount on advertising. That's likely just a preview of what he would spend should he advance to the general election.
His spending prompted some of his rivals to accuse him of trying to buy the election.
But some Democratic voters said they chose Steyer despite uneasiness with his wealth because of his focus on tackling climate change.
Jude Mayer, 24, said she was not thrilled about voting for a billionaire but Steyer “is talking about the environment in the way that I want to hear about it.”
