California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Sunday night hit back after President Donald Trump’s latest conspiracy-fueled attack on last week’s primary elections in the state.
Writing on his Truth Social website, Trump claimed without evidence that two candidates he endorsed were being “cheated” as the state continues to count the vote:
Trump claims voter fraud in any election whenever he or his candidates do not win, going back to his very first contest: Iowa in 2016.
“Ted Cruz didn’t win Iowa, he illegally stole it,” Trump claimed the next day, later adding: “Based on the fraud committed by Senator Ted Cruz during the Iowa Caucus, either a new election should take place or Cruz results nullified.”
Trump’s fallen back on that line ever since, most infamously after he lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden.
Similarly, Trump claimed as recently as last week that he believed an “honest count” would show he “probably” won all 50 states in 2024.
Last week, Trump also said the California primary would be under investigation by the Justice Department, something federal prosecutors confirmed the following day.
Mandel NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images
California is notoriously slow in counting election votes, driven in part by the state’s reliance on mail-in ballots. While those ballots must be postmarked by Election Day, they can arrive up to a week later and still be counted.
So far, the results in last week’s primary are largely in line with many of the polls.
In the race to replace Newsom, recent polls showed Democratic candidate Xavier Becerra with an edge over Republican Steve Hilton, with Democratic candidate Tom Steyer in third place. That’s where the race currently stands, although there is a chance Steyer could leapfrog Hilton for second place.
Newsom is termed out and can’t seek reelection, but is considering a run for president in 2028.
In the nonpartisan race for mayor of Los Angeles, incumbent Karen Bass has led most recent polls, with a tight race for second between Trump-backed reality TV star Spencer Pratt and city councilmember Nithya Raman. Pratt was in second place early on, but as the count progressed, he fell behind Raman.
California’s “jungle primary” system means that in both races, the top two finishers will run against each other in November’s election, regardless of party.