Candidates for LA mayor and California governor make weekend push

Primary election campaign season is winding down with candidates for California governor and Los Angeles mayor making final weekend appeals to voters ahead of Tuesday’s election.

Entering the weekend about %13 of California’s 23 million voters had cast ballots, including %13 of Democrats and %18 of Republicans. All Los Angeles County vote centers opened this weekend for the many voters who have been waiting until the final days before Election Day Tuesday to return their ballots.

In the governor’s race, some Democrats waiting for a frontrunner to emerge in the crowded field before casting ballots were offered insight from recent polls that showed former U. S. health secretary Xavier Becerra appearing to gain an edge among likely voters with billionaire Democrat and environmental advocate Tom Steyer and former FOX News host and political advisor Steve Hilton in a tight race for second.

The top two vote-getters advance to the November runoff.

In Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass is vying for reelection and made several stops Saturday in an effort to distance herself from two major challengers. They are Spencer Pratt, a registered Republican who gained a name on the reality TV show “The Hills,” and Nithya Raman, a progressive city councilmember in what is officially a nonpartisan race.

A poll released last week showed three candidates separated by just a few percentage points.

Here’s what to know as candidates and voters count down to Election Day, when vote centers in California will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

What the polls say

Among likely California voters, 25% supported Becerra, according to a poll released last week by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies that was co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times. The poll results mark a dramatic gain for Becerra, who was near the bottom of the previous Berkeley IGS poll in March with support at a dismal 5%.

The poll released Thursday night shows Republican Steve Hilton with 21% and Democrat Tom Steyer at 19%, suggesting three candidates have separated from the rest of the crowded field in the contest to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom. The poll showed Riverside County Sheriff and Republican Chad Bianco in fourth at 11%, a 5-percentage point drop since the March poll.

That poll came on the heels of a Public Policy Institute of California survey conducted earlier this month and released Wednesday night that showed 23% of those surveyed backing Becerra and 20% casting support for Hilton.

Steyer was at 15%, Bianco was at 13% and former Congress member Katie Porter was at 12% in the PPIC poll.

In a recent Emerson College Polling survey, Becerra widened the lead with support from 28% of likely voters in the state and Tom Steyer was in second place with 22%. Hilton was trailing Steyer at 21%, distancing further from the GOP competitor Bianco at 12%.

Hilton was asked by NBC4’s Conan Nolan whether he thinks two Democrats could advance from the primary.

“I don’t think that’s likely, but it’s not impossible looking at the numbers,” Hilton said.

The campaign for California governor

The contenders have been traveling across the state that includes roughly 23 million registered voters as they seek an edge over rivals. Becerra, Hilton, Steyer and Bianco will all be in the San Francisco Bay Area this weekend. Fresno and Los Angeles have also been popular campaign stops.

Becerra has been highlighting the more than 35 years he’s spent in state and federal office.

“This is not a place for on-the-job training,” he said on a podcast hosted by political commentator Ana Navarro. “You better know what you’re doing.”

He was scheduled to hit a text-banking event with Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta in San Francisco and rally with the Service Employees International Union in San Jose.

Hilton has been selling himself as someone who would bring a fresh set of eyes to state government, reduce regulations, and bring down housing and energy costs. In a social media video posted Saturday night, Hilton warned Republican votes to unite behind him or risk a “doomsday scenario” of losing a spot in the general election. He urged Bianco to suspend his campaign in the race’s final days.

“If we don’t get together as a party, if we don’t unite, then we could have Tom Steyer and Xavier Becerra in the general election and that is a disaster for California — it means no change,” Hilton said.

He’s pushed a message he has said is not ideological but commonsense, with a focus on cutting prices. Hilton held a town hall Silicon Valley on Saturday night. On Sunday, he spoke with supporters in Santa Monica.

Hilton has been cautious not to emphasize Trump’s endorsement. If he advances to the November election, he will need to appeal to voters outside his party to win in the Democrat-dominated state that hasn’t had a Republican governor since 2011.

Steyer is a billionaire who, on X Saturday, said he’s the “only candidate who would support the billionaire tax in November.” The candidate has framed the race as a contest between three candidates: himself, Hilton and Becerra. Steyer has described Hilton as “a hard-right Republican who’s endorsed by Donald Trump.”

Steyer on Saturday focused several social media posts on Becerra, repeating an argument he recently told a crowd of supporters at a sports bar in Berkeley. Becerra, “to my surprise, is a corporate Democrat,” he said, referencing Becerra’s acceptance of campaign contributions from Chevron.

“And the third person’s me,” he said. “And I am running because Californians can’t afford to live here anymore.”

Steyer’s headed to a campaign rally Saturday in San Francisco to put a finer point on his message to voters.

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, meanwhile, mingled with voters in Los Angeles, Porter motivated campaign volunteers in Orange County, and Bianco laid out his vision at a church in San Jose. He didn’t immediately respond to Hilton’s social media plea for him to exit the race.

The campaign for mayor of Los Angeles

Bass is pursuing her second term after a tumultuous first, which included devastating wildfires and a rebuilding process that critics say is too slow.

The mayor has focused her reelection on the progress that has been made, such a decrease in street homelessness, which she leaned into on a livestream on Instagram Saturday before going after her opponent, Pratt.

“You have a failed reality TV star who wants to be famous,” she told two actresses on the livestream, before seemingly referencing President Donald Trump. “We know what it means if you put somebody who is a reality TV star in a seat of power.”

Pratt, who loss of his home in the wildfires became central to his campaign against Bass, is running a buzzy, social media driven campaign with populist messaging with promises to rid the city of disorder and dysfunction. On Saturday on X, Pratt threw out a few attacks at Raman, the city councilwoman, who both Pratt and Bass have, in different ways, tried to paint as too progressive.

Pratt visited a Glassell Park residence Sunday for a campaign event.

Raman’s campaign is partly focused on affordability and infrastructure. Both Raman and Pratt have attacked Bass for her response to the wildfires, though their recent posts have been directed at each other.

In a video posted to Instagram Saturday, Raman cited a recent poll. “After millions of dollars of spending against us, we are still here and we are still competitive,” she said, before asking people to vote ahead of Tuesday.

A November runoff appears likely because there are more than a dozen names on the ballot.

Casting your ballot in the primary election

The ballots feature a long list of races for voters to decide, including contests for the U. S. House, California governor and eight more state offices, Los Angeles mayor and other important races, many of which will determine the candidates in the November runoff.

Once they’re filled out and signed, ballots can be returned to the county elections office by mail or dropped at one of hundreds of official ballot drop boxes. Ballots also can be submitted at a vote center, an additional 500 of which opened this weekend in LA County.

Voters also can track their ballots using this tool.

If a ballot is postmarked by Election Day on June 2 and received within seven days, LA County elections officials will process, verify and count that ballot. The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk recommended mailing ballots at least seven days prior to Election Day.

Here’s what to check before returning the ballot.

• Place your voted ballot card(s) inside the official return envelope.
• Securely seal the official return envelope.
• Sign and date the back of the official return envelope.

How to find a ballot drop box in Los Angeles County

The county offers a searchable map here. Here’s what to know about the drop box program, which started in 2017.

• Drop boxes are available to voters beginning 29 days before and on Election Day.
• Drop boxes close at 8 p.m. on Election Day.
• Drop boxes are bolted securely into cement or chained in place.
• Drop boxes are designed with security features identified in state regulations.
• Drop boxes have an exterior coating to reduce permanent graffiti or damage.
• Ballots are picked up regularly by two election workers.
• The county works with law enforcement agencies, cities, local stakeholders, and community-based organizations to monitor and safeguard all boxes.

Voter information for other Southern California counties is available below.

• Orange County
• Riverside County
• Ventura County
• San Bernardino County

What if I missed the voter registration deadline?

California offers same-day voter registration, which allows people to register at vote centers, then cast a provisional ballot. Anyone registering to vote less than 15 days before an election will need to complete the same-day registration process and request a ballot in person at a county polling location.

Voters who conditionally register will, in most cases, cast a provisional ballot. Once county elections officials process the registration and validates the information, registration becomes permanent and the provisional ballot will be counted.

Click here for more information about same-day registration.

Where’s my ballot?

Check the status of your vote-by-mail ballot here.

How does the California primary work?

California uses a top-two election format in which only the two leading vote-getters advance to the November general election, regardless of party affiliation. Even if one candidate receives a majority of all votes cast in the primary election, two still advance to the General Election in November.

The only exceptions are candidates for State Superintendent of Public Instruction or candidates for voter-nominated offices in special elections.