Becerra and Hilton Win California Primary. DOJ Fraud Probe Has Zero Evidence.

Becerra and Hilton Advance to November

Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton advanced from California’s June 3 primary to face each other for governor in November. Becerra, the Democratic lieutenant governor and former U.S. attorney general, finished first at roughly 28%. Hilton, a conservative commentator and former Fox News host, came in second at approximately 25%.

Tom Steyer, the billionaire Democrat who entered late, finished third at around 23%. Chad Bianco, the Riverside County sheriff and the second Republican in the race, came in at about 10%.

DOJ Announced Fraud Probe With Zero Targets

Before counting was complete, Trump-appointed officials deployed the fraud narrative. Bill Essayli, the First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, announced “multiple election fraud investigations underway” with no named targets, no stated basis, and no specifics.

Zero named targets. Zero evidence. The DOJ’s California fraud announcement contained neither.

Trump’s own attorney had been asking Essayli’s office for evidence and found none. House Speaker Mike Johnson then said the fraud was “so bad it can’t be proven.” That formulation converts the absence of evidence into proof of conspiracy.

Vice President Vance called the Los Angeles mayor’s race result “pretty shady,” objecting to Spencer Pratt’s loss to progressive incumbent Nithya Raman. He offered no evidence. Harmeet Dhillon, the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, is reportedly directing voter roll audits across California counties.

Why California’s Count Takes 13 Days

California law requires that mail ballots postmarked by Election Day be accepted through June 9. Most counties will report the bulk of results by June 15. Final certification is July 10.

This timeline is the law, not a malfunction. Under AB 37, passed in 2021, California automatically mails a ballot to every one of its 22 million registered voters. Scale and statute together produce a drawn-out count. Ballots take days to arrive, verify, and tally.

Mail ballots lean Democratic in California because Donald Trump spent four years telling Republicans not to use them. His base followed that advice. The result is a count that gets bluer as mail ballots arrive.

What Fraud Claims Are Designed to Do

Courts dismissed more than 60 post-2020 election fraud lawsuits filed by Trump and his allies. State officials found no evidence of systematic fraud in California in 2020, 2022, or 2024. The DOJ’s current announcement follows the same pattern: announce investigations before results are certified, name no targets, produce no evidence, let the claims circulate.

The goal is not prosecution. If Republicans lose in November, the fraud infrastructure is already in place.

What You Can Do

California voters: Check your mail ballot status and signature cure deadline at Track My Ballot. If your ballot was rejected, you have the right to cure it before the county deadline.
Demand specifics: The DOJ announced investigations with zero named targets. If charges are filed, they should name defendants, evidence, and alleged crimes. Contact your representatives and ask them to demand the same.
Contact Collins and your senators: The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would restore federal oversight of election administration changes. Use the letter below.