Becerra projected to advance in California governor race

As California's primary election vote counting continues, Xavier Becerra is projected to advance to the November ballot for governor. In the Los Angeles mayoral contest, Spencer Pratt's lead over Nithya Raman has narrowed, while incumbent Mayor Karen Bass has secured enough votes to advance. Pratt, a registered Republican, is trailing Bass significantly. In the latest tabulation, Pratt has 163,549 votes compared to Raman's 130,473, with Pratt maintaining a near 6% lead. However, Raman gained over 10,000 votes in the latest count compared to under 6,000 for Pratt. In the governor's race, Tom Steyer surged past Republican Steve Hilton after the latest batch of votes, adding nearly 24,000 votes to his total, while Hilton received 12,309. Both candidates trail frontrunner Xavier Becerra. Becerra's vote total increased from 390,154 to 418,130. If no candidate receives over 50% in the gubernatorial race, the top two will advance to a November runoff. California's election results may take weeks to finalize, with 81% of voters in 2024 having sent their choices by mail, compared to a national average of 43% for mail-in ballots.