The midterm primary elections in California in 2026 have garnered significant attention, particularly the fierce competition for the governorship and the mayor of Los Angeles. On June 2nd (Tuesday), voters flocked to the polling stations to cast their votes, with a continuous stream of voters throughout the day. By 8 p.m. that evening, all polling stations had closed, officially concluding the voting process. As of 10 p.m. that night, preliminary results had been announced for various elections.
According to the Secretary of State’s announcement, this primary election covered a wide range of public offices, including the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, controller, treasurer, attorney general, insurance commissioner, and superintendent of public instruction.
Voters also cast their votes for 52 U.S. House members from California, state senators from even-numbered districts, all 80 state assembly members, members of the California Board of Equalization, and county and local city officials. Due to a significant number of voters using mail-in ballots, the results for some seats will not be immediately available.
Over the next month, election officials in each county will officially tally the votes, and the data will be continuously updated. The following are preliminary results for some seats as of 10 p.m. on Tuesday night, based on the Secretary of State’s website, where 73.4% of the ballots submitted on election night had been counted.
With the incumbent Governor Newsom unable to run for re-election due to term limits, a fierce battle has erupted to succeed him, attracting around 60 candidates. Only the top two candidates with the highest votes in the primary will advance to the November election to ultimately compete for the governorship.
As of Tuesday night, the two candidates with the highest vote percentages are Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton with 26.9% and Democratic candidate Xavier Becerra with 25.8%.
Leading up to election day, the race for the Los Angeles mayor’s position has focused on three candidates: the incumbent Karen Bass seeking re-election, current Los Angeles City Council member Nithya Raman from the fourth district, and television personality Spencer Pratt.
If a candidate receives over 50% of the votes in the June 2nd primary election, they will win outright; otherwise, the top two candidates with the highest vote percentages will advance to the November runoff.
As of Tuesday night, no candidate had surpassed this threshold, with Bass leading at 36.59% and Pratt at 29.82%.
Additionally, the position of Los Angeles County Sheriff, the largest sheriff’s department in the U.S., has been a focal point for many. As of Tuesday night, incumbent Sheriff Robert Luna had a vote percentage of 46.91%, while former Sheriff Alex Villanueva had 23.36%.
The following are the two leading candidates for each position as of Tuesday night:
For Lieutenant Governor of California: Democratic candidate Fiona Ma at 20.4% and Republican candidate Gloria Romero at 19.6%.
Secretary of State: Democratic candidate Shirley Weber at 55.5% and Republican candidate Donald Wagner at 40.4%.
Attorney General of California: Democratic candidate Rob Bonta at 54.8% and Republican candidate Michael E. Gates at 41.7%.
Superintendent of Public Instruction: As of the deadline, no candidate had a vote percentage exceeding 50%. The two temporary frontrunners are Sonja Shaw, President of the Chino Valley Unified School District, at 24.6%, and Richard Barrera, Commissioner of the San Diego Unified School District, at 19.6%.