Election 2026 updates: Latest on race for California governor and more

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass wants a return trip to City Hall after a shaky first term.

Bass says she has made mistakes but also progress on homelessness, crime and other problems besetting the nation's second largest city.

Yet she is still trying to overcome fallout from her absence when the most destructive wildfire in LA history ignited in a wealthy seaside neighborhood in January 2025.

In Tuesday's primary, Bass faces challenges from both ends of the political spectrum in reality TV personality Spencer Pratt and progressive city council member Nithya Raman.

The last time San Francisco voters had someone other than Nancy Pelosi representing them in Congress, there were no self-driving taxis on the streets, no AI ads competing for space around the tie-dye shop in Haight-Ashbury. The youngest San Franciscans who could have voted then are now nearing retirement age.

Pelosi had long been quiet about the race but became more explicit when she endorsed San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan weeks before the primary.

"I know and love this district. I know the Congress, and I know Connie," Pelosi said. "I'm proud to endorse Democrat Connie Chan and ask you to join me in electing her to Congress."

Despite Pelosi's endorsement, recent polls show the race remains tight with State Sen. Scott Wiener leading and former tech executive and former chief of staff for Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Saikat Chakrabarti close behind.

The top two vote-getters will keep this race going all the way to November.

Polls officially opened at 7 am Tuesday for the Primary election in California.

Voters head to polls for California primary election

Voters can head to the numerous voting centers across the Central Valley and cast their ballot.

Click here to find the closest voting center to you.

Polls close at 8 pm. You are urged to stay in line even after 8 pm to still cast your vote.

The governor's race has been the most wide open in a generation. More than 50 names are on the ballot.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is banned by law from seeking a third term. Other candidates seeking to replace him include former Democratic U.S. Rep. Katie Porter,Democrat Matt Mahan, the mayor of San Jose, and Bianco, the Riverside County sheriff.

Rebecca Katz, a strategist with Steyer's campaign, said Sunday that they are "feeling pretty good" but emphasized how close the race was with a sporting reference, "It's three candidates for two spots, every possession counts."

Steyer, a former hedge fund manager turned liberal activist, has set spending records hoping to advance to the November contest. Hilton, a former Fox News host who has been endorsed by Trump, has promised to bring down costs in a state with some of the nation's highest gas prices, utility costs and taxes. Becerra has been stressing his experience in arguing he's best prepared to lead the nation's most populous state, having served as the Biden administration's health secretary, a former U.S. House member and state attorney general.

Broadly, Republicans in the race are promising drastic change after years of Democratic governance - Democrats haven't lost a statewide race in two decades and Republicans last elected a Los Angeles mayor in 1997. Democrats, though in charge for years, are promising to bring down costs and continue to fend off the Trump administration in its numerous conflicts with Democratic California.