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Former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, a Democrat, will advance to the November election in California’s governor’s race, CNN’s Decision Desk projects. It’s not yet clear who he’ll face.
Becerra’s advancement guarantees a Democrat will be in the general election after some feared that their wide field of candidates would split the vote, allowing Republicans to lock them out of the general election.
Becerra thanked his supporters and volunteers following his projected win Friday night.
“I’m so humbled and honored to be moving on to the general election to become your next governor,” Becerra said in a video on X. “Let’s go win this thing.”
The race to face him in November is still too early to call, with former Fox News host Steve Hilton, a Republican, and billionaire Democratic activist Tom Steyer in contention for the second spot in November.
In the votes reported since Election Day on Tuesday, Becerra pulled ahead of Hilton and also increased his lead over Steyer, making it clear he would finish inside the top two.