Becerra beats Hilton for governor; Hilton runs about 4.5 points stronger in San Diego County than statewide

Democrat Xavier Becerra was elected governor of California in the Nov. 3 election, defeating Republican Steve Hilton by more than 3.2 million votes statewide, according to unofficial results posted by the California Secretary of State at 4:21 p.m. Nov. 8.

Becerra had 6,850,798 votes, or 65.6%, to Hilton's 3,594,625 votes, or 34.4%. Counting continues across the state, and results will not be certified until December.

Becerra will succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is barred by term limits from seeking a third term. Becerra is a former California attorney general and a former U.S. secretary of health and human services. Hilton, a former Fox News host and onetime adviser to British Prime Minister David Cameron, ran as the Republican nominee.

San Diego County voted for Becerra by a smaller margin than the state as a whole. In the county, Becerra had 536,035 votes, or 61.06%, and Hilton had 341,840 votes, or 38.94%, according to the San Diego County Registrar of Voters update posted at 5:46 p.m. Nov. 6. The Secretary of State's county breakdown, updated at 6:19 p.m. that day, shows the same totals.

Hilton's 38.9% share in San Diego County was about 4.5 percentage points higher than his statewide share. Becerra's county margin was 194,195 votes.

The registrar's Nov. 6 update counted 886,224 ballots, 776,998 of them mail ballots and 109,226 cast at vote centers. That is 43.6% of the county's 2,034,153 registered voters. The registrar projected about 390,000 ballots were still outstanding countywide and scheduled its next results post for Nov. 9 by 6 p.m.

With roughly 30% of the county's expected ballots still uncounted at the time of the Nov. 6 update, the final county percentages could shift. The 390,000 outstanding county ballots are far fewer than Becerra's statewide lead.

Becerra takes office in January. Voters on the same ballot were deciding Proposition 3, which would make permanent an existing tax on high incomes to fund schools and health care, along with several other tax measures. Proposition 3 had 60.4% yes statewide in the Nov. 8 Secretary of State update and 55.38% yes in San Diego County.

All results are unofficial. County registrars have until early December to finish counting and certify, and the Secretary of State certifies the statewide results after that.