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If Steyer advances, a Democrat would be guaranteed to succeed term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom, but only after a campaign that would likely be expensive and brutal. Steyer, who made his fortune as a hedge fund manager, has already poured more than $200 million into his campaign. Some of that money has gone toward attacking Becerra over his record during the Biden administration.
Should Hilton prevail, the Republican would face a steep uphill climb in the general. There are roughly 4.6 million more registered Democrats than there are Republicans in California, according to the state’s most recent voter registration statistics. California hasn’t elected a Republican governor in 20 years, when voters gave Arnold Schwarzenegger a second term.
Tuesday night closed out a primary in which voters appeared to be continually underwhelmed by their options, particularly on the Democratic side. Former Vice President Kamala Harris and US Sen. Alex Padilla — high-profile Democrats who could have potentially consolidated the field — declined to run. Other candidates dropped out after failing to gain traction.
Former US Rep. Katie Porter’s early lead in the race crumbled last fall when two unflattering videos went viral — one of her sparring with a reporter and another in which she yelled at a staffer to “get out of my f**king shot.”
Earlier this year, it seemed that Democrats would gravitate towards then-Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Trump antagonist who entered the race in late November. But the lawmaker’s campaign imploded after CNN and the San Francisco Chronicle reported in early April that Swalwell was facing multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, claims he strongly denied. Swalwell left the race two days after the allegations were reported and resigned from Congress.