CA primary election results: California governor, Los Angeles mayor races now decided

President Donald Trump posted to social media late Wednesday night accusing the Democratic Party in California of trying to "steal" the California gubernatorial and Los Angeles mayoral primaries, offering no evidence to support the allegation.

In his posts, Trump complained about the alleged misuse of mail-in ballots and also accused the Democratic Party of delaying the tallying of votes - claims for which there is currently no supporting evidence.

The president also claimed that the votes are "under investigation" by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles. That office declined to comment on the president's statement in response to an ABC News request.

California Democratic Party Chairperson Rusty Hicks told ABC News that Trump's claims were "baseless."

"Everyone knows California will complete a fair and accurate count. End of story," Hicks further said.

"Trump is lying about California again," Gov. Gavin Newsom's press office posted online early Thursday morning about the president's assertion.

Trump has often claimed, without evidence, that elections are rigged and has complained about mail-in ballots and the possibility of fraud. Despite this, he voted by mail in a Florida special election earlier this year.

"As everyone knows, the President is a resident of Palm Beach and participates in Florida elections, but he obviously primarily lives at the White House in Washington, D.C.," spokesperson Olivia Wales wrote in a statement at the time regarding Trump's mail-in vote in Florida's special election in March for the state's 87th House district.

The White House said at the time that the president's mail-in vote qualified as a "commonsense exception" to the voting method, which the president supports, including for "illness, disability, military, or travel," but that he opposes universal voting by mail due to it being "highly susceptible to fraud."

The process of counting all votes in this week's California contests is expected to take several days or even weeks, a process that has played out regularly in the state.

The most populous state in the country is home to 23 million registered voters, which requires ample time for all ballots to be accurately counted. But in addition to the sheer volume of votes, the state also relies on a significant number of mail-in ballots, with some not arriving until a week after voting ends.

According to the California secretary of state, "vote-by-mail ballots postmarked on or before Election Day and received within seven days after the election, as well as any provisional ballots cast, must still be counted."

County election officials have up to 30 days after the election to count ballots. Final results from Tuesday's primary must be reported to the secretary of state by July 3, 2026.

The process of counting mail-in ballots and validating voters' signatures is also arduous, as each envelope signature must match the signatures on file, which can lead to additional delays.

On Tuesday, initial vote counts included early mail-in, early in-person, and day-of ballots. Early votes were allowed to be counted ahead of time but not publicly released until polls had closed.

"On Election Night, we will have a good picture of the outcome of most contests, but it will take weeks to know the final results. This is normal," Secretary of State Shirley Weber said in a statement Tuesday after polls closed.

A White House spokesperson said that Trump has supported "commonsense exceptions" to allow Americans to use mail-in ballots, including for "illness, disability, military, or travel," but that he opposes universal voting by mail due to his claim that it was "highly susceptible to fraud."

An analysis from the Brookings Institution from November 2025 found that voter fraud is rare in voting by mail.

ABC News' Oren Oppenheim contributed to this report.

With 56% of the votes in, the latest election results show California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton still leading with 28%, while Xavier Becerra went up from 25% to 26%. Tom Steyer is in third place with 20%.

Steve Hilton told reporters on Wednesday that he's "very encouraged" by the current vote count in the California gubernatorial race but that "nothing is final yet."

"Obviously, we're very encouraged by these results," Hilton said. "Nothing is final yet, but it does look as if change is coming to California, and that is good news for everyone, every small business, every working family, everyone who wants to see our state set back on track."

As of 1:20 p.m. PT, with 55% of the expected vote, Hilton is at 28%, followed by Xavier Becerra at 25%, and then Tom Steyer at 20%.

Hilton said he is "confident" that he will be in the top two.

Hilton said he hasn't spoken to President Trump yet, but that he "received a message of congratulations."

Trump posted on Truth Social on Wednesday, "Congratulations to Steve Hilton on coming in first, last night, in the California Vote for Governor. If Californians are smart, which I know they are, they will put Steve into the Governor's Mansion, and watch their State get better at a rate that has probably never been seen before. I know Steve - He is a hard driving WINNER, and he will turn California around, quickly - and the Federal Government will be there, with him, to help! "

ABC News contributed to this report.

California Democrats persuaded voters to let them redraw the state's congressional map so the party could potentially gain five seats in the U.S. House to counter GOP redistricting in Texas. Tuesday's primary was poised to be the first indication of whether that will pay off.

Democrats dodged the possibility of a primary shutout in one redrawn district near San Diego, but still ran a risk of having no candidates make it to the November ballot in a second district they banked on outside of Sacramento. California's unusual primary system, in which the top two vote-getters advance to the general election regardless of party, means that if one party runs too many candidates, they can split the vote and all miss making it to the general election.

Democrats had feared that scenario in the San Diego-area district held by the retiring Rep. Darrell Issa that was redrawn last year to become a swing seat. Republican San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond advanced to the November ballot for that seat Tuesday. An avalanche of nine Democrats also entered the running - and San Diego City Councilwoman Marni von Wilpert nabbed the other slot.

The situation was more dubious in suburban Sacramento, where Rep. Kevin Kiley, who left the GOP to become an independent after his conservative district was divvied up into more Democratic ones, was fighting to make the ballot along with a lone registered Republican and a host of Democrats. Only one Democrat was in the top three of the race late Tuesday.

California was Democrats' prize in midterms redistricting

California has been the bright spot for Democrats in a redistricting war kicked off by President Donald Trump to help his party retain control of the House. After Texas redrew its map to make as many as five more seats winnable for the GOP, California voters allowed Democrats to suspend their state's own independent redistricting commission and create a new map in retaliation.

But when Virginia Democrats tried to replicate that, they were blocked by their state Supreme Court. Meanwhile, the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court gutted a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, letting Republicans eliminate some majority-Black congressional districts in the South.

Younger progressives challenge veteran Democrats

The schism between establishment Democrats and a younger, insurgent progressive wing is a defining characteristic of many of this year's primaries across the country, and it's no different in California.

In Sacramento, city council member Mai Vang is challenging 81-year-old Rep. Doris Matsui, who succeeded her late husband after he died in 2005.

The split in the party was encapsulated at a polling place in the suburb of Elk Grove on Tuesday. Tamara Alton, a 65-year-old marriage and family therapist, said she was voting for Matsui, who seemed likely to end up in one of the top two slots as of late Tuesday.

"I'm going with who I know," Alton said.

Democrat Khydeeja Alam, 42, a small farmer who also works for the state, said she planned to vote for Vang.

Alam, who is Muslim, said Matsui didn't do enough to engage with Muslim Americans after the war in Gaza began.

"She's not been accessible, which has been a really big disappointment," Alam said.

Rep. Brad Sherman, whose Southern California district stretches from the San Fernando Valley to Malibu, made it to the November ballot while fending off a challenge by Democrat Jake Levine, a 42-year-old lawyer who argues that it is time to move on from the 15-term congressman. Republican Larry Thompson, a lawyer, also advanced to the general election for that seat.

In a redrawn district that stretches from Napa Valley into conservative Northern California farming communities, 14-term Democratic Rep. Mike Thompson drew a younger challenger, former venture capitalist Eric Jones, but advanced nonetheless.

And in a safe Democratic district in San Francisco, Scott Wiener, a state lawmaker and former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, advanced to the November race to replace retiring former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Supervisor Connie Chan, who was endorsed by Pelosi, took the second slot.

Republicans grapple with redrawn districts

California's congressional primaries also will determine the fate of Republicans targeted in the Democratic redraw.

In the Central Valley, they redrew the seat held by Republican Rep. David Valadao to make it even more Democratic. Valadao is a survivor of several targeted Democratic campaigns and one of two remaining Republican House members who voted to impeach Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

He made it to the general election on Tuesday, so the primary will determine which Democrat faces him - state Assemblywoman Jasmeet Bains, a moderate backed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, or Randy Villegas, a political science professor at College of the Sequoias and a school board member who represents the party's liberal wing.

The district was rattled Tuesday evening by an hourslong standoff in downtown Bakersfield between police and a man holding local residents inside a bank. Local officials said the main county building and its ballot drop box remained open, but Bains canceled her election night party, citing the standoff.

In Southern California, sitting Republican Reps. Ken Calvert and Young Kim were drawn into the same conservative district and had been battling over their pro-Trump credentials. That was on the mind of Brett Christensen, a 55-year-old school safety monitor who voted for Calvert - who ultimately advanced to the general election - because Christensen thought the congressman had been a more reliable conservative vote.

"Young Kim's voting record has not been consistent," Christensen said outside a polling place in the city of Orange.

Meanwhile, in the San Francisco suburbs, six Democrats and two Republicans are running for the seat formerly held by Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, who resigned and ended his gubernatorial bid amid sexual harassment allegations. The top two vote-getters advance to the November ballot to fill the seat starting in 2027, while a special election will be held June 18 for the remainder of Swalwell's current term.