Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat Xavier Becerra are running neck-and-neck atop a crowded field of candidates for California governor and appeared to be heading for a November runoff.
With returns being slowly tallied Tuesday night, Hilton had 26.8% of the vote, with Becerra at 25.8%. Billionaire Tom Steyer had 19.7%, while Republican Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco's support was slipping, falling to 11.2%.
The race to succeed termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom has been a lively one, but the campaign in recent days appeared to boil down to a toss-up among Hilton, Becerra and Steyer, and Tuesday night's results showed that scenario playing out.
Becerra had surged in recent polls, with Hilton and Steyer trailing right behind.
Hilton saw a boost in support, moving past Bianco, after being endorsed by President Donald Trump in April.
Hilton has urged voters to back his bid for governor to avoid the possibility of being locked out of the November election by two Democrats. Hilton has spent most of his career as a political strategist and observer.
He worked for former British Prime Minister David Cameron, after which he moved to California, where he's resided for close to 15 years. Hilton has made tax reductions, spending limits and curbs on bureaucratic red tape some of his central campaign themes.
Hilton spoke to his supporters Tuesday night in Huntington Beach, standing on a stage with the words "Change is Coming" behind him.
"I thought, is that a little premature to write the words `change is coming'?" he said. "I don't think so, because change is coming. Change is coming to California. Change is coming to California and it's long overdue."
He added, "It looks very much as if Californians really will have the chance to vote for change in November and take our state in a new direction, a fresh start for our state, which is long overdue. But I just want to say something to every single person who voted for me, and every single person who voted in this election, whether you voted for me or not. I am here for you, for every single one of you."
Hilton has leveled sharp criticism at Becerra over a campaign finance scandal involving two of the candidate's employees caught misappropriating funds. Becerra has denied any knowledge of the fraud.