Results in the crowded race to succeed California Gov. Gavin Newsom showed Republican Steve Hilton holding a close lead over Democrat Xavier Becerra late Tuesday night.

Hilton, a former Fox News host, entered election night as the candidate with the clearest path to blowing up Democrat’s political grip on deep-blue California, and the early returns — 78.5% of precincts across the state had partially reported by late Tuesday — suggest Golden State voters may be open to his message.

Hilton had 26.9% of the vote with nearly 1.2 million votes tallied, while Becerra — a former Biden administration health secretary — followed with 25.7%. Progressive billionaire Tom Steyer trailed in third with 19.8%, while Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco remained well behind in fourth with 11.2%.

Before joining his election night party, Hilton told The Post in an exclusive interview that “change is coming” for California.

“I think this state is ready for change, and tonight’s results show that I think that we’re not taking anything for granted,” he said.

Late-night returns showed former congresswoman Katie Porter in fifth with 4.9% of votes, followed by San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan with 4.4%, and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa — who coneded defeat — with 1.3%.

The top two finishers in the “Jungle Primary” advance to the November general election regardless of party.

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Hilton scored President Trump’s endorsement in April, giving the former TV personality and adviser to ex-UK Prime Minister David Cameron a late MAGA boost. But it appears his message might resonate outside of the Republican base.

“Whether you’re a Republican, a Democrat, an independent, we all know that California needs change,” Hilton told The Post.

“I’m the only candidate in this race who’s offering change, and it’s change in a very positive, practical way. Your first $100,000 income tax-free, $3 gas, cut your electric bills in half, a home you can afford to buy — simple, positive things that everyone can get behind, not partisan, not ideological, just common sense change.”

Asked about a potential November matchup with Becerra, Hilton sounded bullish.

“Well, he’s the living embodiment of more of the same in an election where 56% of Californians — according to The Post’s poll last week — think the state’s going in the wrong direction and needs change,” Hilton said.

“He’s the opposite of what Californians want.”

Becerra, perhaps recognizing the heavy advantage Democrats have in California voter registration (nearly 45%), delivered his own remarks to supporters Tuesday night in Los Angeles in what sounded like a victory speech.

“LA is the starting line for millions of success stories across this state, and here in Hollywood’s hometown, we love a good underdog story,” Becerra said, referencing not only the story of his immigrant parents but also the slow start to his campaign.

Becerra’s campaign was mostly ignored by Californians up until early April, when disgraced ex-congressman Eric Swalwell’s campaign and career imploded over rape and sexual assault allegations.

“The underdog stayed in the fight,” Becerra said. “Like my parents, I never gave up, never stopped putting one foot in front of the other, never stopped believing in the beacon-like goodness of California.”

Steyer, a progressive billionaire who spent more than $200 million of his own money trying to muscle his way into the governor’s mansion, has been locked in a “toxic” fight with Becerra to lock up support among Democrats and the left.

In a speech to supporters Tuesday, Steyer did not suggest he was bowing out of the race as he took aim at his fellow billionaires and corporate interests that have opposed his campaign.

“California is the richest state in the richest country in the history of the world,” Steyer said.

“It’s unacceptable that right now so many Californians struggle to make ends meet. … Californians are being priced out of their homes every single day. While it happens, we see billionaires do whatever they have to to get whatever they can out of the system, and then do everything they can to hoard their wealth and avoid paying taxes, and we see corporations continue to rig the system for themselves, raising your prices to juice their profits.

“Screw that, California. California deserves better. Working people deserve better. Democracy matters, justice matters, the truth matters.”

While the president’s endorsement of Hilton animated Democrats, the Republican outsider managed to tap into the same angst that motivated many of Steyer’s supporters.

Hilton has accused one-party Democratic rule of letting crime, homelessness, and the affordability crisis to explode since Arnold Schwarzenegger left the governor’s office in 2011.

Becerra’s rise has been a surprise to many, but in recent weeks signs started popping up that the career politician benefited from a surge in activity by social media bots propping up his “not flashy” record.

Steyer’s campaign, meanwhile, generated its own bizarre headlines after paying social media influencers like “Foos Gone Wild” and “The Shade Room.”

Porter, once viewed as a progressive darling, steadily faded over the course of the race and its possible she’ll end up being a spoiler for Steyer. The former Orange County congresswoman never recovered after leaked videos showed her cursing out staff and storming out of a TV interview.

Mahan tried to pitch himself as a moderate Silicon Valley mayor in a crowded field, but his late entry and a lack of enthusiasm outside of wealthy donors — like billionaires Rick Caruso, a Los Angeles businessman, and Google co-founder Sergey Brin — appears to have resulted in little more than a campaign ritual that burned millions.

Swalwell’s collapse — he’s now the subject of multiple criminal probes — opened space for Becerra, who appeared to benefit most as party insiders in Newsom’s orbit began searching for an alternative to stop Hilton and Bianco from boxing out Democrats.

California’s infamously slow vote counting means the final answers on the primary may not come for days or weeks. Mail-in voting often causes delays, and final official results are not due to the state by July 3 while certification is scheduled for July 10.

Newsom sent a letter last month demanding counties speed up their tallies, but it’s unclear if the Secretary of State will be able to meet that goal.

Thad Kousser, a political science professor at UC San Diego, cautioned that the governor’s race may be far from over despite Hilton and Becerra’s strong showings.

“I think we’ll have to be patient as more votes are counted, because the remaining votes are likely to be more Democratic-leaning,” Kousser told The Post. “Many Democrats held on to their ballots until the last few days, for strategic reasons, and as those votes are counted, the results could shift leftward.”

“Still, I think that what these early returns remind us is that, even in blue California, the Republican Party still has significant strength, typically winning 40% of the vote. This is, after all, the state in which Donald Trump won the most votes.”