- sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)CA Secretary of State — Statement of Vote, June 2, 2026 primary (certified 2026-07-10)
- calmatters.org (opens in a new tab)CalMatters — 2026 primary voter guide and statewide race coverage
- nbclosangeles.com (opens in a new tab)NBC Los Angeles — June 2026 primary results coverage, recent news
- ballotpedia.org (opens in a new tab)Ballotpedia — June 2026 California primary
- laist.com (opens in a new tab)LAist — June 2026 primary voter guides
- sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)Cal-Access raw data export — California Secretary of State
Last updated August 30, 2026.
State of California
Governor
This person is California's chief executive. They sign or veto laws, propose the state budget, appoint judges and agency heads.
No incumbent is running for California Governor, and 61 candidates ran in June. Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton finished first and second and meet again on November 3. Tom Steyer ran second in LA County, but the statewide count decides who advances.
The governor signs or vetoes every state law, writes the first draft of a roughly $300 billion budget, and appoints judges and agency heads — a four-year term that will shape how California handles housing costs, wildfire and insurance recovery, and its relationship with Washington.
A useful question for this race: do you want deep government experience steering the machine, or an outsider promising to shake it?
Xavier Becerra
Xavier Becerra is a Democrat and a former U.S. Health Secretary. He is a former California Attorney General and a 24-year member of Congress. He runs on housing, cost of living, and clean energy. He says he has already run huge public institutions. Critics call him a career insider in a change election.
Steve Hilton
Steve Hilton is a Republican and a former Fox News host. He is a former adviser to the UK government. He ran as a small business owner. His message is affordability on housing, gas, and groceries. It is also a sharp break from one-party rule in Sacramento. He has never held elected office.
Recent News
Becerra does not join requested debate
October 6, 2026
The Los Angeles Times and LAist hosted a one-hour forum for the governor candidates on October 6. Steve Hilton took part. Xavier Becerra did not. LAist reported that Becerra was invited and his team did not respond.
Hilton posted on X the day before that Becerra "PULLS OUT of tomorrow's LA Times debate." LAist described an invitation that went unanswered rather than a withdrawal, and CalMatters reported on September 30 that Becerra had agreed to only one debate. No second debate had been announced after the two met on September 30 for their only debate hosted by CNN.
Becerra's campaign had not commented as of October 6.
Per LAist, CalMatters, and Hilton's post on X.
Financial info
- Small donors
- Individuals
- PACs & committees
- Businesses & other orgs
- Self-funding
Xavier Becerra
Primary — $22,373,949
- Small donors$1,925,1839%
- Individuals$11,922,05154%
- PACs & committees$3,923,40318%
- Businesses & other orgs$4,372,40220%
November — $5,336,226
- Individuals$2,796,07352%
- PACs & committees$1,306,75324%
- Businesses & other orgs$1,233,40023%
Steve Hilton
Primary — $17,432,985
- Small donors$3,375,42219%
- Individuals$12,864,38174%
- PACs & committees$69,380<1%
- Businesses & other orgs$840,5085%
- Self-funding$178,2041%
November — $1,828,532
- Individuals$1,749,99096%
- PACs & committees$15,8301%
- Businesses & other orgs$62,6083%
- Self-funding$104<1%
1Becerra's biggest backers are organized labor — sixteen Laborers' union committees gave a combined $496,400 — tribal governments (San Manuel, Pechanga, and Agua Caliente together gave nearly $210,000), and Wonderful Company owners Stewart and Lynda Resnick at $47,000 each.
2Hilton's single largest contributor is investor Tim Draper at the $78,400 two-election maximum, and donors listing themselves as retired supplied about $6.7 million — over a third of everything he raised.
3Figures are CA Form 460 filings through June 30, 2026 by committees controlled by each candidate, and can include transfers from a candidate's earlier committees. Semi-annual reports covering January–June 2026 were due July 31, 2026, so some totals lag a period behind. Per the California Secretary of State's Cal-Access raw data export, retrieved 2026-09-21.
4Total is itemized (Schedule A) contributions and self-funding loans dated after the June 2, 2026 primary, through June 30, 2026 — small-dollar unitemized (under $100) contributions aren't independently dated in Cal-Access's raw export, so they aren't reflected here and this may undercount true small-donor activity since the primary. This also doesn't include money reported only on 24-hour late-contribution reports (Form 497) that haven't yet appeared in a periodic Form 460 filing. Per the California Secretary of State's Cal-Access raw data export, retrieved 2026-08-30.