Tom Steyer, a Democrat running for California governor, speaks in Santa Barbara at a town hall event on Wednesday.
Tom Steyer, a Democrat, speaks in Santa Barbara at a town hall event on April 16. Credit: Rebecca Caraway / Noozhawk photo

If Santa Barbara County residents had their way, the November gubernatorial election would be a face-off between two Democrats: Tom Steyer and Xavier Becerra. 

Local voters overwhelmingly selected Steyer as their top candidate for California governor, but statewide, residents felt differently.

Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton are moving forward to the November election. One of them will be the next governor. 

Steyer is a billionaire climate change activist and former hedge fund manager.

Becerra is a former congressman, California attorney general and U.S. Health and Human Services secretary under President Joe Biden. 

Hilton is a British American former Fox News host and former senior advisor to conservative Prime Minister David Cameron. 

After Tuesday’s voting, Democrat Xavier Becerra has emerged as one of the leading vote-getters in California’s crowded gubernatorial primary, positioning himself as a strong favorite heading into the November general election.
Democrat Xavier Becerra has emerged as one of the leading vote-getters in California’s crowded gubernatorial primary. Credit: J.W. Hendricks / CalMatters photo

In Santa Barbara County, 29.9% of voters chose Steyer compared to 24.5% for Becerra and 23.3% for Hilton, according to Elections Office numbers. 

Across California, 28.1% of voters chose Becerra, 24.7% chose Hilton and 22.8% chose Steyer, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.

Steyer and Hilton both made campaign stops on the Central Coast.

Steve Hilton speaks during a gubernatorial campaign town hall Sunday at Cal Poly’s Christopher Cohan Center in San Luis Obispo.
Steve Hilton speaks during a gubernatorial campaign town hall at Cal Poly’s Christopher Cohan Center in San Luis Obispo in May. Credit: Melissa Chavez / San Luis Obispo Tribune photo

Santa Barbara County’s voter registration by party is similar to the state’s at large. 

Democrats make up 46.2% of the county’s registered voters and about 45% of the state’s registered voters. 

Republicans make up 24.8% of the county’s registered voters and about 25% of the state’s registered voters. 

Latest Ballot Count 

All Santa Barbara County ballots have been processed, and Elections Office staff are now working to “cure” about 800 ballots submitted without signatures or mismatched signatures. 

The latest count released Tuesday shows 111,588 ballots cast, which represents a 44.6% voter turnout for the June 2 primary election. 

Most county races have been decided, but the Fifth District Supervisor seat will go to a November runoff between the top two candidates. As of now, that’s still Ricardo Valencia and Maribel Aguilera-Hernandez, ahead of Cory Bantilan. 

No results have changed since last week’s updates, according to the Elections Office.

The final results have to be certified by July 2. 

Noozhawk executive editor Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com.