California governor, LA mayor races still unsettled as vote count continues. Here's when more results are expected
California’s governor and Los Angeles mayoral races were still undecided Thursday as ballots continued to be counted after Tuesday’s primary.
Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini
Vote counting in California’s biggest races was still ongoing more than 36 hours after polls closed. CBS News had projected Karen Bass into the Los Angeles mayoral runoff, while the governor’s contest remained too close to call.
California is still counting a lot of votes, like finishing a giant school roll call after everyone has left the room. The governor race and Los Angeles mayor race are so close that people have to wait for the last names to be checked before knowing who moves on.
Analysis
Slow count, high stakes
California election workers were still counting ballots Thursday, leaving the governor’s race and the Los Angeles mayoral contest unsettled more than a day after polls closed. The delay reflects the state’s counting process, which allows counties up to 30 days to finish provisional ballot counting and requires mail ballots to be counted if they were postmarked by election day and arrive within seven days.
Governor’s race still open
CBS News had not yet projected any candidate to advance in the race to replace term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom. Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat Xavier Becerra both appeared likely to move on, while billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer was still trying to close the gap as later ballots came in. Hilton cast his early showing as evidence that voters want a change in direction, while Becerra said he believed he was on track to advance.
Los Angeles mayoral race narrows
In Los Angeles, CBS News projected Mayor Karen Bass into the runoff as she seeks reelection, but her opponent was still undecided. The race had been unusually close for an incumbent in a heavily Democratic city, with Bass, Spencer Pratt, and city council member Nithya Raman all running closely in early polling. Pratt initially showed strength, but his momentum slowed as Los Angeles County released additional ballot drops.
More counting ahead
Several large counties were scheduled to release additional updates Thursday and Friday, including Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Riverside, Santa Clara, and Sacramento. Those updates could still affect the final order in close contests.
Key points
- California’s governor and Los Angeles mayor races were still undecided as ballot counting continued Thursday.
- CBS News had not yet projected any governor candidates to advance, though Steve Hilton and Xavier Becerra were both positioned well.
- In Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass was projected to advance to a November runoff, but her opponent was still unknown.
- California counties can count ballots for up to 30 days, and mail ballots postmarked by election day can still be counted if they arrive within seven days.
- Several large counties planned to release new vote totals Thursday and Friday.
If the remaining ballots are counted without major surprises, California will soon have clear November matchups in two major races. That would let voters and campaigns shift from waiting on results to debating the future direction of the state and Los Angeles.
Because the races are close, late ballot drops could still change who advances, extending uncertainty for candidates and voters. A long count also risks making the final outcome feel less settled, even if the process follows California’s rules.
