California's primary for governor is undecided as candidates vie to be in the top two

Hilton is a former Fox News commentator who also served as a political adviser to former British Prime Minister David Cameron. He was endorsed by President Trump in April, helping him to pull ahead of Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, the other major Republican in the race. Hilton has campaigned on the idea that California needs change after 16 years under total Democratic control.

The race is narrowing down after a tumultuous campaign

At his watch party in Huntington Beach, the British-born candidate -- who became an American citizen five years ago -- said it was the "honor of his lifetime" to receive over 1 million votes so far.

"Change is coming to California and it's long overdue," Hilton said. "We're not there yet, but it's looking good. 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."

Democratic billionaire activist Steyer spent more than $213 million of his own money to boost his candidacy and push a progressive, populist message. While he was trailing Becerra and Hilton on Tuesday night, he said at his watch party in San Francisco that he remains confident he can close the gap in the days ahead.

"Together, we've scared the hell out of the corporate interests used to getting their way," Steyer said. "It might take some time to figure out where this is going. We're going to wait until every ballot is counted. We're gonna give democracy a time to work. And we know we finished really strong."

The early results are not certain to hold, in part because of unusual voting patterns in this primary election: Ballot-tracking data heading into Tuesday evening showed that Republicans were more likely to vote early by mail, while Democratic voters in this deep-blue state held onto their mail-in ballots or chose to vote in person. That's the reverse of recent elections, which saw more Democrats voting by mail and Republicans tending to vote in person on Election Day.

The uncertainty on election night capped a race that remained crowded and unsettled to the end. To some extent, the race was defined by who wasn't running.

Some of the state's most high-profile Democrats — former Vice President Kamala Harris, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla and California Attorney General Rob Bonta — all passed on a potential bid to succeed Newsom.

The race was disrupted in April when then-U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell's campaign for governor imploded amid allegations of sexual assault and harassment. Swalwell resigned from Congress shortly after the accusations surfaced and has denied assault allegations.

Swalwell had been gaining in polls and racking up high-profile endorsements, and his exit seemed to primarily benefit Becerra, who had been stuck in single digits in many polls. Ultimately, it quieted fears among Democrats who worried that the messy Democratic field could result in Bianco and Hilton winning the top spots in the June primary.