Hilton, Becerra lead California governor's race. June 2 primary takeaways – USA Today

President Donald Trump‘s winning streak in Republican primaries screeched to a halt as his preferred candidate fell to a novice in the Iowa Republican primary for governor.
Other headline-grabbing results from the six-state primary day June 2 included Democrats nominating a former wheelchair basketball gold medalist for Senate and a Native American female governor, which would be a first in U.S. history.
But the biggest state to hold an election didn’t answer the questions everyone wanted to know: Will two TV stars turned first-time candidates running as Republicans in California make it to the general election?
California is slowly counting the votes in its closely watched June 2 gubernatorial contest, with early results showing Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat Xavier Becerra at the top of the heap.
“The first time I’ve run for office, over a million people and rising voted for me to take this incredible state in a new direction,” Hilton told cheering supporters with a theme of “Change is coming” at his campaign party in Huntington Beach.
With roughly half of the votes counted by 2 a.m. ET on June 3, Hilton, a former Fox News commentator endorsed by Trump, led with about 27%, followed by Becerra, a former Biden administration official, at roughly 26%. Those results remained the same by 9 a.m. ET.
“The California dream is alive tonight,” Becerra told supporters.
Democrat Tom Steyer, a billionaire climate activist who jousted with Becerra in the campaign’s final weeks, held steady at about 20%, followed by Republican Chad Bianco with 11%.
“We’re going to wait until every ballot is counted,” Steyer said at his campaign party in San Francisco. “We’re going to give democracy time to work.”
And in Los Angeles, former “The Hills” personality Spencer Pratt − another Republican recipient of Trump’s blessing − was in second place in the mayoral race. But, like the governor’s contest, the race remained too close to call.
In New Jersey, Democrats had a four-person primary to decide who best to take on Republican Rep. Tom Kean, who hasn’t been seen on Capitol Hill since early March.
Here are the major takeaways from the June 2 battles across the country.
Only the top two vote-getters in the Golden State’s nonpartisan “jungle primary” advance to the general election this fall, and early on during the governor’s race Democrats were worried about being shut out.
Early polling showed Hilton and fellow Republican Chad Bianco leading the pack with the state’s liberal majority split among a large crop of Democratic contenders to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is term-limited.
But that changed in the final stretch of the campaign as Becerra emerged as the leader in the polls after former U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell departed from the race in April over allegations of sexual assault and misconduct, which he denies.
Becerra looks very likely to finish in the top two. And while Steyer may not, there’s a possibility he could break through and lock out the Republicans, as some political observers suggest.
That’s because many uncertain Democratic voters waited to cast their ballots until Election Day rather than mail in their vote early, which could create a “red mirage” where a GOP candidate takes an early lead that subsides as later ballots arrive.
But David McCuan, a political science professor at Sonoma State University, believes Hilton has the staying power to advance to November’s election, likely leaving Steyer on the sidelines.
“There were seven main Democratic candidates in a very blue state with two GOP candidates still in contention,” McCuan said, suggesting low-polling candidates still in the primary presence hurt Steyer’s chances by splitting the vote. “It’s simple math: GOP voters don’t flee.”
Incumbent Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass will advance to the November general election, most likely against Republican Spencer Pratt, a reality TV star who was in second place with 29% of the vote with just over half of the vote counted. Bass led with 37% of the vote.
Bass’ lead had narrowed by 4 percentage points with 63% of the votes in by 9 a.m. ET on June 3.
“We know what a city we have, what a city we can be. Tomorrow begins the second half of this journey,” Bass told her boisterous supporters in Los Angeles after advancing past the primary.
Progressive Democratic socialist LA Councilwoman Nithya Raman was trailing in third at 22%.
Bass had appeared to be at some risk of an upset loss because of her low approval ratings.
Pratt told reporters at his campaign party: “She knows it’s on. I hope she’s ready!”
In recent elections, Iowa has moved from a swing state to a reliably Republican state, but the retirement of Sen. Joni Ernst and voter anxiety over Trump’s trade wars have made Iowa Republicans unusually nervous.
Forecasters have rated the 2026 Hawkeye State Senate race as competitive now that voters set the general-election table with Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek facing Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson.
Turek, a two-time Paralympic gold medalist, drew national attention as a self-described “prairie populist” with an inspiring biography as a Paralympian born with spina bifida because of his father’s Agent Orange exposure during the Vietnam War.
Hinson, a third-term congresswoman, sailed through the Republican primary with the help of Trump’s endorsement, saying she would be the president’s “top ally” if elected to the Senate.
But she has also begun a pivot to the political center, emphasizing in a statement to the USA TODAY Network that she will fight to “make life more affordable.” Hinson regularly highlights her support for Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” that included tax cuts on tips and overtime pay.
“I’ll work with anyone, from any party, to get things done for Iowa,” she said.
Democrats are expected to campaign against Hinson by spotlighting the ill effects of the Trump administration’s trade policies on Iowa agriculture.
Republican businessman Zach Lahn, who entered the Iowa primary race for governor as a virtual unknown, stunned presumed favorite U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra to win the party’s nomination, CNN and Decision Desk HQ reported.
Though Republican President Donald Trump endorsed Feenstra in the final days of the race, it was not enough to propel him across the finish line as he struggled to win over grassroots supporters and consolidate the field.
The Associated Press called the race for Lahn at 11:50 p.m. local time June 2, but Feenstra conceded much earlier. Lahn will face Democratic state Auditor Rob Sand, who ran unopposed for his party’s nomination.
Where in the world is Rep. Tom Kean Jr.? That has been the question swirling in some New Jersey voters’ minds after the Republican congressman’s nearly three-month absence from Capitol Hill because of an undisclosed “health matter.”
“I will transition from virtual work to in-person work within a matter of weeks,” Kean said in a statement June 2.
Trump said in a social media post that Kean, 57 − who has missed more than 100 votes − is “working tirelessly” for New Jersey.
Democrat Rebecca Bennett, 39, a retired Navy helicopter pilot, came out on top in the four-way primary to challenge Kean, son of former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean Sr., in November.
The Garden State’s 7th Congressional District, nestled along the northwestern Delaware River border with Pennsylvania, is one of the crucial toss-up contests in the 2026 midterms, according to various political forecasters.
It is one of the wealthiest in the country, with a roughly $105,000 median household income, and Kean won it by a little less than 3 percentage points in 2022. Trump also won the district in 2024, but Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill prevailed there in last year’s statewide contest.
If Democrats do take back the House of Representatives from Republicans, who hold a 217-212 majority, this election will be a “blue wave” bellwether.
Former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland sailed to the Democratic nomination for New Mexico governor, setting up what could be a history-making election this fall.
The 65-year-old former congresswoman would be the first Native American woman to lead a state if she prevails over Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull in November. She has already broken barriers as the first Native American woman elected to Congress in 2018 and the first Indigenous member of the Cabinet.
Haaland started running almost immediately after leaving the Biden administration in 2025, leaning on her fundraising network and a progressive resume that included being an early supporter of the Green New Deal and “Medicare for All.”
She pledged at the outset to take on the state’s significant problems around crime, addiction and education. A WalletHub study last year showed New Mexico ranked last nationwide in math and reading test scores, as well as in median SAT scores. 
Haaland and Hull are likely to tussle over Trump but also their policy differences on what to do with a boom in tax revenue, thanks largely to surging oil prices caused by the war with Iran.
New Mexico is the country’s second-largest oil-producing state after Texas, and state officials estimated earlier this year that the war would inject an additional $850 million into its tax revenue before the budget year ends in June, according to The Associated Press.
Contributing: Stephen Gruber-Miller and Brianne Pfannenstiel, Des Moines Register

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