What Happened

President Donald Trump posted to social media late Wednesday night accusing the Democratic Party in California of trying to "steal" the California gubernatorial and Los Angeles mayoral primaries, offering no evidence to support the allegation. In his posts, Trump complained about the alleged misuse of mail-in ballots and also accused the Democratic Party of delaying the tallying of votes, claims for which there is currently no supporting evidence.

In the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump accused Democrats of trying to "steal" the California gubernatorial and Los Angeles mayoral primaries without any evidence to support his claim. He also told reporters that the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles is investigating the votes, but that office declined to comment on Trump's remarks.

Key points from Trump's posts:

  • Accused California Democrats of "big cheating" with no supporting evidence.
  • Claimed the Department of Justice is investigating the count.
  • Alleged that mail-in ballots are being misused to delay results.
  • Targeted both the governor's race and the Los Angeles mayoral primary.
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Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office responds on social media, accusing Donald Trump of spreading false claims about California elections in a sharply worded post.

How Officials Responded

State leaders rejected the claims directly and called them consistent with a pattern of political pressure.

"Trump is lying about California again," Gov. Gavin Newsom's press office posted online early Thursday morning about the president's assertion.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra said on social media that the president is "trying to undermine confidence in our elections because he's a repeat loser here." Tom Steyer, currently in third place, wrote, "We count every ballot. Thank you for your patience as we give democracy time to work."

Republican gubernatorial frontrunner Steve Hilton took a different tone. During a small business roundtable in San Francisco, Hilton said Californians should not have to wait so long for results, though he stopped short of repeating Trump's claims of election interference.

Why California Counts Slowly

California is known for having a slow ballot counting system. Final results for most elections often take days or weeks to be released due to the high volume of mail-in ballots. Slow ballot counting is also fueled by California allowing voters to register and vote on election day, as well as counting any mail-in ballots that are postmarked by election day but arriving after.

Some efforts have been made to speed up the count. Assembly Bill 5, signed into law last year, gives counties 13 days to finish counting most ballots, a reduction from the previous 30 days. However, counties still have 30 days to certify the results.

Final results from Tuesday's primary must be reported to the secretary of state by July 3, 2026. The process of counting mail-in ballots and validating voters' signatures is arduous, as each envelope signature must match the signatures on file, which can lead to additional delays.

Where the races stood as of Thursday:

  • With 57% of the expected vote counted, Steve Hilton led the governor's race at 27%, with Xavier Becerra at 26% and Tom Steyer at 20%.
  • Incumbent Mayor Karen Bass led the LA mayoral race at 35%, with 66% of the expected vote counted.
  • Voter turnout stood at just over 23% as of Thursday morning.