Xavier Becerra, a Democrat who was practically an afterthought until the final weeks of the California governor campaign, will advance to the November election after a top-two finish in this week’s primary, The Associated Press determined on Friday.
Steve Hilton, a Republican former Fox News host, and Tom Steyer, a Democrat and former hedge fund manager, remain locked in a close race for the second spot as election officials continue counting millions of ballots. In California’s nonpartisan primary, the top two finishers, regardless of party, advance to the November election.
Mr. Becerra’s primary performance caps his extraordinary come-from-behind surge in the tumultuous race and positions him to become California’s first Latino governor of the modern era if he wins in November. In interviews, voters said they appreciated his long career in government, which distinguished him from a sprawling field of less experienced competitors.
Mr. Hilton led in initial returns this week, but he was the beneficiary of Republican voters who turned in their ballots early. Many Democrats said they waited until the final week of voting because they found it difficult to choose among their party’s candidates and wanted to see how the race evolved up to Election Day.
The race was called on Friday when Mr. Becerra passed Mr. Hilton and moved into first place in returns. It remained to be seen whether Mr. Hilton could stave off Mr. Steyer, who has gained ground since Election Day but may remain stuck in third.
Mr. Becerra, 68, would be an overwhelming favorite if he were to face Mr. Hilton in the general election. No Republican has won a statewide office in California since 2006, and Mr. Hilton would be further hamstrung by his endorsement from President Trump, who remains deeply unpopular in California.
If Mr. Becerra were to face Mr. Steyer, he would endure a blistering intraparty fight over the next few months. Mr. Steyer, a billionaire who ran a hedge fund, spent $216 million of his personal fortune in the primary, and he has shown no indication that he would slow down in a general election. His spending helped make California’s primary the most expensive governor’s race in American history, according to an analysis by AdImpact, an ad tracking firm.
In the final stretch of the primary, Mr. Steyer attacked Mr. Becerra with negative ads. One suggested that Mr. Becerra could be indicted by the Trump administration because two of his aides pleaded guilty in the past year to corruption charges for siphoning off Mr. Becerra’s own campaign funds. Mr. Becerra has said he was unaware of the transfers, and federal prosecutors described him as the victim of his aides’ crimes.
Other attacks portrayed Mr. Becerra as beholden to special interests because the California Chamber of Commerce and other business interests put about $54 million into campaigns opposing Mr. Steyer and supporting Mr. Becerra.
Mr. Becerra’s low-key persona and moderate positions made him an unlikely winner in a political climate that rewards brash moments that are shared widely on social media. But he emphasized his working-class roots and his decades of experience, as a congressman, California attorney general and health secretary to President Joseph R. Biden Jr. That combination helped him appeal to Democratic voters as well as political insiders whose financial backing propelled his rise.
“He is deliberate, he’s experienced, and his personal style, I think, really helped to sustain the interest in him and have him scale up that support,” said Fernando Guerra, a political science professor at Loyola Marymount University.
He added that Mr. Becerra likely benefited from being more centrist compared with liberal candidates like Mr. Steyer and Katie Porter, a former congresswoman.
“Only in California would his positions be considered moderate,” he said. “He is a liberal.”
Mr. Becerra had been ignored and dismissed by political insiders, and was urged by his own party chairman to consider leaving the race in March. But the abrupt departure of Eric Swalwell amid sexual harassment accusations created a surprise path for a Democrat with much experience in government.
Still, many Californians were uncertain about whom to back for governor and waited until the last minute to cast their ballots, which was expected to slow the tally of final results. The initial results reflect ballots that were cast early in the voting period. Republicans returned ballots at a faster pace than Democrats did, so the early results were expected to favor Republican candidates.
Maravilla Hernandez-Perez, 25, who recently moved to Los Angeles and is studying to become a paralegal, said she voted strategically when she cast her ballot in South Los Angeles on Tuesday night, just before polls closed.
“It was a struggle for me to choose today,” she said. “I ended up going with Becerra ultimately because it looked like he had a slightly stronger chance of winning. I really don’t want California to turn Republican, that is my main concern.”
Rachel Parsons contributed reporting from Los Angeles.
Laurel Rosenhall is a Sacramento-based reporter covering California politics and government for The Times.
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