Live Election Results: Who won the 2026 California Governor's race?
LOS ANGELES - Votes continue to be tallied Wednesday for several high-profile races, including contests for governor, Los Angeles mayor, and Los Angeles County sheriff.
Below are the live results from the Nov. 3 midterm elections:
California Governor's Race
Becerra has leaned into his long resume in government as he maneuvers to take charge of the state, pointing to more than 35 years in state and federal office – including leadership roles in the U.S. House, as California's attorney general, and former President Joe Biden's health secretary. On the campaign trail, he has paired that experience with a platform focused on expanding affordable housing, protecting healthcare access, and investing in clean energy.
Xavier Becerra wins California governor’s race, defeating Steve Hilton
Democrat Xavier Becerra has made history after defeating Republican Steve Hilton in the California gubernatorial race, becoming the state’s first elected Latino governor.
Meanwhile, Republican Steve Hilton has focused his platform on lowering everyday living costs by cutting state income taxes, reducing regulatory red tape, and bringing down energy and gas prices. Hoping to become California's first GOP governor since Arnold Schwarzenegger's 2006 re-election, Hilton is appealing to voters frustrated by punishing taxes, high expenses, and the homeless crisis. Regarding immigration, Hilton cites his background as the child of European immigrants, with his pledge to protect "legal immigrant communities" and prioritizing "removing dangerous criminals."
Los Angeles Mayor's Race
Bass is anchoring her reelection campaign on her four-year record, highlighting achievements in homelessness, lower crime rates, entertainment tax credits, and opposition to federal immigration policies. Backed by key Democratic establishment figures – including Gov. Gavin Newsom, former Vice President Kamala Harris, and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi – she has also secured police union support to hire more offices. However, after winning just 34% of the vote in the June primary, the former congresswoman and 2020 vice-presidential contender faces a challenging path forward.
Raman overtakes Bass in tight LA mayor's race
City Councilwoman Nithya Raman narrowly overtook Mayor Karen Bass for the lead in the race for Los Angeles mayor Wednesday, as ballots continued to be counted.
Meanwhile, Raman, who could become the city's first South Asian woman to hold the post, is challenging the mayor by targeting slow emergency response times, City Hall corruption, and neighborhood livability issues like street cleanliness, entertainment job retention. While Bass has focused on expanding police staffing, Raman advocates keeping LAPD numbers steady while replacing the police chief over trust issues tied to federal immigration enforcement, framing her campaign around accountability, accelerated housing construction, and delivering visible citywide results.
LA County Sheriff's Department Race
The Los Angeles County Sheriff race presents a sharp contrast in leadership styles and policing philosophies between Luna and Villanueva.
Luna, leaning on his 36-year law enforcement career, East Los Angeles roots, and his tenure since 2022, campaigns on reform, accountability, and stability—emphasizing sustained drops in violent crime, constitutional policing, anti-deputy gang initiatives, and collaborative ties with county oversight bodies and local organizations.
One-on-One with L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna
We talked to Sheriff Luna about everything from the Governor's new law to ban the use of shock gloves to new fire safety equipment for the LASD.
On the other hand, Villanueva, who led the department from 2018 to 2022, runs on the mantra "Rescue. Rebuild. Restore," promising aggressive enforcement, financial discipline, and operational strength; he positions himself as an independent outsider ready to push back against county oversight, rapidly hire 2,000 deputies to end forced overtime, revive specialized units targeting retail theft and street takeovers, and leverage his past executive and crisis-management record to restore public safety.
Alex Villanueva on what he'd do if he's LA County Sheriff again
Alex Villanueva details what he'd do if he were elected Los Angeles County Sheriff once again.
Big picture view:
What does "too early to project" mean?
"Too early to project" means analysts simply do not have enough data yet to declare a winner. This usually happens when very few votes have been counted, major counties have not reported their results, or the types of remaining ballots are unknown. In short: experts do not know enough yet.
What does "too close to call" mean?
"Too close to call" means analysts understand the race well, but the vote difference is so small that the remaining uncounted ballots could change the winner.
For example, in a primary race where the top two advance, analysts might easily project the first-place winner while the fight for second place remains too tight to declare. Simply put: experts know the state of the race, but the margin is too slim to name a winner yet.
The Source: This report is based on live election results from the Office of California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber and the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. Additional information was provided by the official campaign websites of each candidate mentioned. The Associated Press contributed.