The new political dawn for California is yet to fully emerge more than two days from the polls closing Tuesday.

However, Thursday’s sluggish ballot update did yielded modest jumps for candidates in both California’s governor’s race and the Los Angeles mayoral contest.

The slow-moving count is beginning to tighten California’s gubernatorial primary, where former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra slightly chipped away at frontrunner Steve Hilton’s lead.

He’s in second place with 26% of the vote, or 1,444,257 votes, trailing former Fox News host Steve Hilton, who leads the field with 27.2% of the vote, or 1,511,792 votes.

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“The Daily Show” took a vicious jab at LA mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt as he shocked Democrats with a strong showing in the early ballot count across the city.

Host Michael Kosta launched his verbal assault on the former reality TV star as the left scrambled to justify his meteoric political rise since his Pacific Palisades home was burnt down in the wildfires of 2025.

Kosta said last night: “How did this country get so stupid? Oh, that’s right. We stopped reading books. Mm-hmm. Yep. See? Spencer Pratt is standing up for the rights of all hardworking voters who look like ecstasy dealers.”

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California voters frustrated by the routine failures of state and local leadership look set to send Spencer Pratt and Steve Hilton to runoff elections for mayor and governor after the first few ballot drops.

In a major rebuke of Democrat rule in both Los Angeles and the state, both Pratt and Hilton held their positions steady Wednesday night. Hilton remained in the lead for the governor’s race with 27.6% of the vote and Xavier Becerra was in second place with 25.6% with 56% of the vote counted.

Pratt remained in second place with 29.91% of the vote behind Karen Bass at 34.97%. Nithya Raman trailed Pratt in third place with 22.81%.

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New numbers in from Associated Press (via CalMatters) reveal Democrat Xavier Becerra is gaining some ground on Republican Steve Hilton in the California governor's race.

The latest numbers have Hilton in the lead with 1,414,139 votes (27.6%), with Becerra at 1,309,846 (25.6%).

The last update from Wednesday morning showed Hilton with 1,387,459 votes (27.8%) and Becerra with 1,267,375 votes (25.4%).

Tom Steyer has posted a small gain as well, gaining 0.2% with 1,013,734 votes and 19.8% from the Wednesday morning update where he had 979,265 with 19.6% of the vote.

The three leading candidates in Los Angeles’ mayoral race showed little movement in the latest ballot count Wednesday afternoon, solidifying Mayor Karen Bass’ place in November’s runoff election while leaving the contest for second place largely unchanged.

Bass, Spencer Pratt and City Councilmember Nithya Raman remained in the same positions they held following Tuesday night’s initial results.

Bass’s share of the vote inched up from 34.78% to 34.97%, while Pratt slipped slightly from 30.44% to 29.91%. Raman gained modest ground, rising from 22.32% to 22.81%, according to the Associated Press.

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Xavier Becerra surged to a commanding lead on Polymarket Wednesday as bettors increasingly treated the former Biden health secretary as the heavy favorite to become California’s next governor.

Becerra was listed with a 79.3% chance of winning the governor’s race by early Wednesday afternoon, up 29% from Tuesday, according to Polymarket.

Billionaire Democrat Tom Steyer was a distant second at 13.1%, while Republican Steve Hilton — who led in the first wave of returns Tuesday night — had fallen to just 5.8%.

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Karen Bass’ chances of winning the Los Angeles mayoral race surged on Polymarket Wednesday as bettors increasingly backed the incumbent after primary night.

Bass was listed with a 75% chance of winning the election on the prediction market by early Wednesday afternoon, according to Polymarket.

That was up 27% as traders digested Tuesday night’s early returns, which showed the incumbent mayor leading the field but still short of the majority needed to avoid a November runoff.

Steve Hilton thanked President Trump on Wednesday after the commander-in-chief congratulated him for his strong showing in California's governors race.

"Thank you, President Trump," Hilton wrote on X. "I am fighting for each and every Californian, to restore the California Dream."

"Change is coming," he added.

Hilton shared Trump's post congratulating him for "coming in first" in Tuesday night's early returns and predicting he could still make it all the way to the Governor's Mansion.

"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!" Trump wrote.

Hilton is on track for a November showdown against Democrat Xavier Becerra.

Billy Bush says Karen Bass has "never taken on anybody" like Spencer Pratt — and even compared the reality TV star's grassroots buzz to Barack Obama's rise.

"Mayor Bass has never taken on anybody like him," Bush said in a video posted to X. "He's got the grassroots effort."

Bush said Pratt's support is being driven by frustrated Angelenos looking for something different at City Hall.

"There's all kinds of these people that have come out and said, wait a minute, can we get something a little different in Los Angeles than what we're seeing in front of us?" Bush said.

"Every one of you drives around and you see what's going on in the city — it's not good."

Asked why he is backing Pratt, Bush gave a simple answer: "Change. Just like to see some change."

Bush then made the eyebrow-raising comparison to Obama, saying Pratt has shown a similar ability to connect with people.

"This is the last time you saw a community organizer bring hope and excitement and change to a large populace," Bush said. "His name is Barack Obama. And Spencer Pratt has that ability to connect with people, and he's done it."

Why does it take so long to count the votes in California?

California’s vote count often stretches beyond Election Day because officials must verify signatures, process millions of vote-by-mail ballots, and conduct required audits before certifying results.

State law gives county election officials up to 30 days after an election to complete the official canvass, count every valid ballot, and perform post-election checks to ensure accuracy.

When will results come in?

Initial election results begin appearing shortly after the polls close at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, but those numbers are unofficial and can change as additional ballots are processed.

Early in-person votes and mail-in ballots that came in during the first weeks of voting will be released as the state’s initial results.

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Steve Hilton is still sitting in the lead in the California gubernatorial primary — but that could soon change.

An overnight surge placed the Republican slightly ahead of Democrats Xavier Becerra and billionaire Tom Steyer, but late ballots are expected to lean blue.

Hilton currently has 27.8% of the vote, Becerra is on 25.4%, and Steyer has 19.6%, according to the Associated Press. The last voting update was around 6:45 a.m. Wednesday morning, with 58% of the vote counted.

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Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag got the celebrity-couple treatment on Election Night as supporters hyped the reality TV duo's potential move into Los Angeles politics.

April Silverman, who posts as @CaliMAGABarbie on X, shared photos of Pratt and Montag walking hand-in-hand, calling them the "future Mayor and First Lady of Los Angeles."

"FREAKING ICONIC!" Silverman wrote. "LA is coming back, baby!!"

The post had racked up more than 258,000 views by Wednesday morning.