Live California election results 2026: Tracking the governor and LA mayoral primaries
Raman edges past Pratt to advance to November runoff
City Councilwoman Nithya Raman was bound Tuesday for a November runoff election against incumbent Karen Bass in the race for Los Angeles mayor, with the latest vote tally putting Raman well ahead of former reality TV personality Spencer Pratt.
LOS ANGELES - Election officials across California continue tallying ballots in two of the most volatile, high-stakes primary contests in the state's modern history.
The early returns are beginning to shape the crucial November matchups under California's unique voting system.
By the numbers:
Here are the latest results in the key races:
Local perspective:
California Governor Race
Xavier Becerra has advanced to the November general election in the race for California governor, the Associated Press reported on June 5.
Once an afterthought in the race, he surged in the final months and vowed he would maintain the state’s mantle as a chief antagonist to President Donald Trump.
Who Becerra will face in the general election remains unclear, with Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat Tom Steyer in the no. 2 and no. 3 spots, respectively.
Steve Hilton reacts to California primary election results so far
Hilton saw a boost in support, moving past Bianco, after being endorsed by President Donald Trump in April. He has urged voters to back his bid for governor to avoid the possibility of being locked out of the November election by two Democrats. Hilton has spent most of his career as a political strategist and observer. He worked for former British Prime Minister David Cameron, after which he moved to California, where he's resided for close to 15 years. Hilton has made tax reductions, spending limits and curbs on bureaucratic red tape some of his central campaign themes.
With returns still being counted statewide, Becerra received 2,177,556 votes, or 28%, while Hilton had 1,975,062 votes, or 25%, according to the California Secretary of State's Office.
RELATED: LIVE: 2026 California governor primary election votes
Democrat and billionaire hedge fund manager Tom Steyer was third with 1,759,328 votes, or 22%, followed by Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco with 806,486 votes, or 10%.
LA Mayor's Race
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass advanced to November's general election in her bid for a second term in the mayoral primary, with Nithya Raman now leading second place, with Spencer Pratt trailing in third.
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- LA mayor's race: Nithya Raman now leads Spencer Pratt for No. 2 spot in runoff election
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- LIVE: Los Angeles mayor election results
With returns still being counted, Bass received 275,992 votes or 34%, of the ballots counted by the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. Raman had 229,576 votes, or 29%, with Pratt holding 26% with 207,757 votes.
Tech entrepreneur Adam Miller was fourth with 28,782 votes, or 4%.
LA County Sheriff's Race
In the race for Los Angeles County Sheriff, Robert Luna was leading with 811,208 votes, or 44%, over Alex Villanueva, who had 22%, or 398,758 votes, according to the latest data.
Eric Strong was a distant third with 15%.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: LIVE: LA County sheriff election results
If no candidate wins a majority in the primary, Luna and Villanueva will likely face off in the November general election. However, if either candidate secures more than 50% of the vote now, they win the sheriff’s race outright.
Big picture view:
California uses a "top-two" primary system—often called a jungle primary—for all statewide and congressional races. Instead of separate ballots for each political party, every candidate is pooled together onto one single ballot that all registered voters can use, regardless of their own party affiliation.
SUGGESTED: Efforts underway to get rid of California's top-2 primary system
The two candidates who receive the most votes move on to the November general election.
California election results: Tracking governor, LA mayor's races
In the sprawling race to succeed term-limited Governor Gavin Newsom, a crowded field of 61 candidates has left voters highly fragmented, while in Los Angeles, an equally tense nonpartisan mayoral primary is seeing incumbent Karen Bass fight to defend her seat against reality TV star Spencer Pratt and progressive council member Nithya Raman.
This means party lines do not guarantee a spot in the fall; a candidate must survive the initial, crowded vote-split, which can occasionally result in two candidates from the identical party facing off against each other in November.
What's next:
Election workers continue to scan the first wave of results, which primarily consist of mail-in ballots received before election day.
However, because California law allows mail-in ballots to be counted as long as they are postmarked by election day and arrive up to seven days later, a definitive winner may not be known on election night if the margins are tight.
Ballot counting, processing continues in City of Industry
As of 9 a.m., more than 1 million ballots had officially been counted.
County officials have a maximum of 30 days to conduct a mandatory post-election audit, verify provisional ballots, and finalize the official tallies before the election results are formally certified.
Because California uses a "top-two" primary system, every candidate is pooled together onto one single ballot. The two candidates who receive the most votes move on to November, regardless of party affiliation.
Tight margins mean definitive winners in the closest setups may not be known for several days.
The Source: This report is based on data provided by the California Secretary of State and the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk.