Election 2026 updates: Democrat Becerra, Republican Hilton advance to CA governor face-off

Tom Steyer, the former hedge fund manager turned climate activist, spent nearly $200 million of his money on advertising alone.

The billionaire's ad campaign was the most expensive in the country by far this election cycle. The data comes from advertising tracker AdImpact.

MORE: Billionaire Tom Steyer's ad spending breaks records in California governor's race

Steyer's rivals in the governor's race and his critics have accused him of trying to buy the election.

But he's defended his spending, saying he is fighting against powerful corporate interests that are driving up the price of living in the state. Pacific Gas & Electric, a major California utility, is among the corporations and business interests funding anti-Steyer ads.

"I'm only working for the people of California," Steyer said last week.

By any measure, Bass' first term has been challenging. The worst wildfire in city history began while she was traveling with a presidential delegation in Ghana. Homelessness continues to be a challenge.

"I haven't always got it right," Bass says.

But now she wants a second term, which would allow her to keep leading the city of 4 million people as it hosts the Olympics in 2028.

Bass is facing challenges from the left and the right. Progressive city council member Nithya Raman and Republican reality television personality Spencer Pratt are among the 14 names on the ballot.

With so many candidates, no one is likely to get a majority of the vote on Tuesday, meaning the election would be settled by a November runoff between the top two.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday urged his followers to vote for Hilton, a former Fox News TV host and British political adviser.

"He will work with me and the Federal Government, the money will flow because I have confidence in him (but not any of the others!), and we will MAKE CALIFORNIA GREAT AGAIN!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Meanwhile, Vice President J.D. Vance called Hilton a "good guy" and encouraged Californians to vote for him.

"California is such a beautiful state--it just needs better political leadership!" Vance wrote on X.

A San Mateo County voter says she arrived to an empty and unlocked voting center on Sunday.

San Mateo County voter Madelyn Webster went to drop off her ballot at a voting center at Notre Dame de Namur University Sunday night.

The only issue was there was no one there.

"We also checked the front door thinking maybe they're taking a break in the front but that was locked. And then we called out again because there were restrooms there," Webster said.

Webster says she walked around the building for about 10 minutes trying to find someone before eventually leaving.

She tells us she arrived to the voting center around 6 p.m., about an hour after it had closed.

But, unaware of the operating hours, she thought it was still open since the doors were unlocked and a vote here banner was flying outside.

MORE: Who's running for California governor? Hear from top candidates

The incident prompted Webster to send an email to the county's chief elections officer.

The election's office says the voting center at NDNU is not one that's operated by the county.

They say every day at 5 o'clock their staff secures the voting machines and removes all ballots from the facility.

It's then up to the school staff to ensure the building is locked and secured.

The elections office was unavailable to go on camera Monday night but told ABC7 Eyewitness News in an email:

"The matter was reviewed by our Vote Center and supervisory staff and confirmed that all ballots, voting equipment, and election materials remained secure and were not compromised."

MORE: New poll shows Steyer edging Hilton in CA governor's race as battle for 2nd tightens

In addition to the county election's office, Webster also reached out to Supervisor David Canepa.

Canepa himself is on the ballot Tuesday- running for chief elections officer against the current assistant.

He says the regardless of who is responsible for keeping the facility locked, the incident raises unnecessary concerns.

"How did this happen? We need to understand how did this happen? And was this a one-off or has this happened before?" said Canepa.

The voting center was locked after hours Monday when ABC7 arrived to check.

Welcome news to Webster who says she just wanted to make sure everything was okay.

"I kept my ballot because I wanted to make sure it got into the right hands. So only after dinner did we drop it off at the Belmont police station," she said.