Steve Hilton has secured a spot on the November ballot in California’s race for governor, reliable election analysts projected.
Mr. Hilton, a Republican businessman and former Fox News host running on an agenda to reform the state after decades of Democratic governance, was closely trailing Democrat Xavier Becerra, according to the latest tally posted Sunday on the state’s election website.
The results showed Mr. Becerra with 27.7% and Mr. Hilton with 25.1% after 83% of the votes were counted as of Sunday.
The two men will advance to the general election, analysts at Decision Desk HQ projected.
Billionaire businessman and environmental activist Tom Steyer, who spent $200 million of his fortune running in the primary, was in third place with 22.4% of the vote. He was not expected to win enough of the remaining ballots to surpass Mr. Hilton or Mr. Becerra.
Other outlets that track nationwide elections, among them The Associated Press, have not yet projected Mr. Hilton a winner, seven days after the June 2 primary.
Decision Desk HQ teams up with websites and news outlets and has a track record of providing data and calling elections accurately. The site frequently beats AP in declaring early victories.
Mr. Hilton told supporters on social media he “was not popping champagne yet” and was awaiting AP’s call on the race “the old fashioned way.”
“But it’s definitely time for a beer,” Mr. Hilton said in a video posted on X.
Mr. Becerra, who was Health and Human Services secretary under President Biden and was California attorney general from 2017-21, has already been projected by AP and other outlets to have won a spot on the November ballot.
California is facing criticism from Republicans over its slow tallying. State law requires election officials to count ballots postmarked by 8 p.m. on June 2 if the votes are received within seven days of that date. Ballots can be dated by hand, which critics say could lead to fraudulent backdating.
Mr. Hilton has been at or near the top of most state polls. He pledges to lower taxes, reduce government spending and slash burdensome regulations.
He told The Washington Times that Californians are “sick of it and they want change” after one-party Democratic rule has led to higher costs, higher unemployment, a massive homelessness crisis, terrible schools, increasing poverty and a housing shortage.
Mr. Becerra promised to declare California’s housing shortage “a state of emergency” and to steer the state, now $497 billion in debt, toward a universal healthcare system.
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