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California Governor's Race Too Early To Call. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired June 03, 2026 - 04:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[04:31:30]

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome back. Let's take a moment now to check in on the results of California's key primary races. So far, there are still plenty of votes that are left to count in the race for governor, but the very latest data is now showing the two candidates are starting to pull ahead. Remember, this was a very, very packed bunch. It is now boiling down too.

You see Steve Hilton, Republican, supported by President Trump, former Fox News host, leading the pack there with Xavier Becerra closely behind, a fellow Biden administration official and former attorney general and potentially could become the first Latino governor to lead that state should he end up on the ballot and then eventually win come the midterms. And then Tom Steyer, the question here, can he still make up ground? It seems when you look on the bottom right hand corner of your screen that he still has some time with only 56 percent of the vote tabulated. And this is a tabulation that is likely to continue into the days, perhaps even weeks to come. So we're going to be tracking that very closely.

Let's look at the numbers live, though, and head back to Harry Enten, who's joining me at the magic wall. Starting again with LA mayor, it seems number ticked up slightly, right, in Terms of the numbers that have come in.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yes, it's been ticking up and ticking up and ticking up and you know, I have my hand drawn, 55 percent. And look, as we have been discussing Karen Bass, the incumbent mayor, this is a nonpartisan race, but she's a Democrat. She's advanced to the runoff. The question is, who gets the second spot in that runoff?

Is it Spencer Pratt who's currently in second place? Again, it's a nonpartisan election, but he's been backed by mostly Republicans. Or is it Nithya Raman who has been mostly backed by Democrats? Now, Karen Bass would love to face Spencer Pratt because LA is such a Democratic city and most of the polling for a runoff has suggested she would beat Pratt rather easily. Raman is someone she probably doesn't want to face based upon the city registration and more than that as well, the pre-election polling.

She has been gaining on Pratt as more of the vote has come in. It was 10 points when I first looked at it and it's now standing, what is this, some quick math here at about seven point, six points. And we do expect those later ballots, at least traditionally speaking, have been more Democratic leaning. Will they be Democratic leaning enough for Raman and catch Pratt? We'll just have to wait and see.

But at this point, what we do know is that Karen Bass is advancing to the runoff.

Now, beyond that, of course, we're talking about California governor. Now, California governor, the rule is pretty simple, the top two vote getters advance. Now, there is party registration. You do in fact see who's the Republican, who's the Democrat. Steve Hilton has been leading for most of the night, but only at what, 27.7 percent of the vote.

Xavier Becerra, you mentioned earlier, former AG, former Biden administration official, 25.4 percent. But again, the key nugget here, the key nugget is it's 56 percent of the estimated vote in. And the same rules that apply to Los Angeles apply statewide as well. Traditionally speaking, those later ballots and this year I believe that might actually be a little bit even more of a boost for Democrats have been Democratic leaning. Still, Xavier Becerra I think is in pretty good position.

Part of the reason why is I want you to look at all of this Columbia blue around the San Francisco area. That should be Tom Steyer's home base, but Xavier Becerra has actually been doing pretty gosh darn well there. So I think Becerra is in pretty good shape, Polo. I think the question is, can Steyer actually catch Hilton? Will Hilton's vote total fall?

That's what a lot of the pre-election polling was suggesting about the later results in but we'll just have to wait and see. But at this point, it's likely either one Republican, one Democrat or two Democrats, Polo.

[04:35:05]

SANDOVAL: Harry Enten following those numbers live. Thank you so much. Let's head back to our panel now.

ENTEN: Thank you.

SANDOVAL: And head over to Mike Madrid and Caroline Heldman for a little bit more as we continue to watch those numbers.

Caroline, let's pick up where Harry left off there in some of those numbers. It may be some time before we get a full picture, full results. For viewers around the world who may be unfamiliar with the tabulation process in California, I'm wondering if you just bring us up to -- bring them up to speed in terms of why it so meticulous and time consuming.

CAROLINE HELDMAN, PROF. CRITICAL THEORY & SOCIAL JUSTICE, OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE: Sure. And what we're seeing is called the red mirage, which is that Republicans return their ballots typically will vote earlier and return their ballots earlier than Democrats. And so what we are seeing is a lot of voters on the Democratic side, about 85 percent of them waiting to cast their vote to be more strategic. And as a result of that, we're seeing, you know, red meaning Republican early vic -- early success, early surging both at the California state level and even in LA.

And then we will see in the next couple of days as the counting happens that we will see a growth in terms of Democratic candidates and ballots cast. And in California, you know, we have an issue here and that we accept ballots up until the day of as long as they're postmarked, even if they arrive after Election Day, which means the count takes a long time. In fact, we are kind of known for that. And I will say that Governor Newsom passed a law moving the amount of time to count the votes from 30 days down to 13.

But 13 days is a long time. Hopefully we will get the results quicker than that in California.

SANDOVAL: Caroline, it's so early. But what's your prediction? Do you think we are -- we could possibly see a two Democrat race in terms of the governor's primary?

HELDMAN: We could. I will say that the seven point gap that Hilton opened over Steyer pretty early on, that's a lot to make up for Steyer. Now, could it happen? It certainly could. It's not likely.

SANDOVAL: Mike, to you, what is your prediction when it comes to the candidates that we're likely to see come November?

MIKE MADRID, CO-FOUNDER, THE LINCOLN PROJECT: Yes, I think that's a very accurate characterization. It is possible. It's highly unlikely. I'd probably put about 15 percent chance, maybe as generous as 20 percent.

We are seeing in the late count Tom Steyer, the kind of wealthy white billionaire candidate actually pick up over performing in places like San Francisco, Marin County, Santa Barbara County, some of these wealthy white exclusive enclaves where demographically he is doing better. The question really is, can he catch Hilton? And as was just pointed out, Caroline just pointed out, you know, Hilton was also benefiting from a late Republican surge too because there was a fear that Republicans could be locked out. So one of the unfortunate dynamics of California's Democratic system with a small D is you have voters voting more strategically as opposed to whether they're voting the candidates that they want to or not.

So Hilton will probably get a little bit stronger too as Tom Steyer does. But you also have to recognize that Becerra, all three of these, they're all heading in a forward trajectories, undecided start to consolidate. And as third tier candidates start to lose their support, the Mahan, Katie Porter, Antonio Villaraigosa supporters were fleeing those, those candidacies and supporting stronger campaigns.

SANDOVAL: Mike, you also keep your finger on the pulse of the Latino vote, particularly -- specifically. I'm just curious if you could just sort of look through that lens and how voters, we could start in California perhaps, are looking at this election, are looking at these candidates, perhaps if they live in Los Angeles when they're choosing their next leader and then also when they're choosing their next chief executive of the state.

MADRID: Sure, this does have really big national implications if, you know, if it is a Republican and a Democrat running, if it is Becerra, who would be the first Latino governor in modern times. We did have one Romualdo Pacheco back in 1857, but in 150 years we -- in California have not had a Latino governor running against the Republican Steve Hilton. What you're going to have is this California, which tends to be a trendsetter for the rest of the country and certainly for the Democratic Party, reorienting away from wealthy white establishment candidates like a Tom Steyer and going back towards its middle class, blue collar, multiracial roots where frankly the Democratic Party has had a lot of trouble over the past decade. They've been leaking, losing Black, Latino, middle class, working class voters. This is a signal that a lot of these voters are stepping up and kind of demanding something different from their party and could potentially reorient the narrative of where the party is heading going into the general election after these midterms as the party continues to try to search for who it is, what its identity is, and whether it is this sort of cultural elite party or a working class party.

[04:40:03]

The governor of California -- being the son of immigrants and a Latino working class family, I think positions them very strongly to be more competitive going forward.

SANDOVAL: Caroline, the last word goes to you as you help us look ahead as well into the November midterms. What will you be watching the closest from the Democratic side of things?

HELDMAN: Well, I will be looking at these redistricting -- redistricted states to see whether or not, for example, the California, the five seats that Democrats are supposed to pick up stick. We know that the Supreme Court had the recent rulings and the gutting of the Voting Rights Act has meant that Republicans will have about an eight seat advantage just through redistricting, meaning choosing voters rather than -- rather than voters choosing the candidates. Although I will say in the House, it's -- it -- all Democrats need to do is pick up two seats. And in an average year when you have a president who's underwater, you pick up 27 seats. So I'll be looking for that trend and that wave happening in November.

SANDOVAL: Caroline Heldman, Mike Madrid, thank you guys so much for your analysis and for your company on this post-election night coverage. Thank you for your time.

HELDMAN: Thank you, Polo.

MADRID: Thank you.

SANDOVAL: Still to come on CNN Newsroom. The U.S. and Iran, they are trading strikes. This fragile ceasefire as that still hangs in the balance. We have a live report from the region in a moment.

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SANDOVAL: We're following developments out of the Middle East where the U.S. and Iran traded strikes in one of the biggest nights of attacks and that since the ceasefire was put into place in April. But Iranian media outlets they're signaling the talks between Tehran and Washington are still ongoing. U.S. Secretary of state Marco Rubio says the negotiations on Iran's nuclear program would depend on whether Tehran reopens that critical Strait of Hormuz and that it would be highly technical and could possibly take months.

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MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: They have to commit to very specific negotiations on highly enrich -- the disposition of the highly enriched uranium that still is buried deep in a mountain somewhere.

Obviously these are highly technical matters. So I don't think you could work those out in five days. That would require a team of experts to meet over a 30, 60, 90 day period and work out the details. But they have to commit to their willingness to do that.

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SANDOVAL: Will they commit? And what is the latest side of the Middle East? Let's go ahead and go to CNN's Paula Hancocks who joins me live from Abu Dhabi.

Paula, good afternoon. The trading of these -- of these strikes, this back and forth between the U.S. and Iran, what is the latest there?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Polo, what we saw Tuesday into Wednesday was really among the most significant escalation of strikes that we have seen between the U.S. and Iran since the ceasefire be began back in April. What we heard from U.S. Central Command is that they did target and strike a vessel that was on its way to an Iranian port saying it hadn't complied with the U.S. blockade on the Strait of Hormuz. We then saw Iran's military targeting another vessel in the area. Now CENTCOM says that once that had happened, they then targeted what they called an Iranian military facility on Qeshm Island near the Strait of Hormuz as well. And we saw Iranian strikes against Gulf Nations.

Now it was Kuwait and Bahrain that had been targeted in the early hours of Wednesday morning, Tehran saying that it was targeting helicopter and air base and also the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain. But the U.S. confirmed none of its assets were affected.

Now what was affected in Kuwait was its international, international airports. We have heard from state media saying that several people were injured, that the international airport itself was damaged. It had only reopened just a couple of days ago after a strike in February. Polo.

SANDOVAL: And separately, Paula, there are these -- what is another round of talks on the -- on the front of Israel and Lebanon. Those talks expected in the U.S. Today is my understanding. Help us preview that.

HANCOCKS: So we've had a day of talks on Tuesday. These are U.S. mediated talks through the State Department between the ambassadors of the two countries and they are expected to continue today. The U.S. is really trying to push this process forward, realizing just how closely connected it is to success of a deal between the U.S. and Iran. Iran earlier this week suspending talks with the U.S. saying that Israel was continuing to target Lebanon. And so they were not going to entertain these ongoing precarious and fragile talks with the U.S.

Now we have since seen Israel pull back somewhat. They have said that they're not going to be targeting Beirut, but they are still targeting Hezbollah, they say, in Southern Lebanon. Polo.

SANDOVAL: CNN's Paula Hancocks with that live report from Abu Dhabi. Thank you, Paula.

There's also a new study that's finding a large majority of people in the U.S. are worried about money and facing tough tradeoffs. We come back here on CNN Newsroom, what separates financially fulfilled Americans from those who are financially stressed?

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[04:52:34]

SANDOVAL: There is a new study that shows more than eight in 10 Americans are feeling stress, strain or uncertainty about their finances. And the research comes as inflation hit a three year high in April as persistently high gas prices put pressure on household budgets. But the study also reveals a mixed picture about how Americans feel when it comes to their financial well-being. Here's CNN's Matt Egan to explain.

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Unfortunately, many Americans are stressing about money these days. They're struggling from years of high inflation and all too often their paychecks are failing to keep up with higher prices. So this survey finds that just 16 percent of Americans are financially fulfilled where they're feeling confident and their finances are stable. Far more, 51 percent are considered financially conflicted. They're not in crisis, but they're not feeling confident either.

And look at this, 32 percent, almost one in three are financially stressed where they are feeling overwhelmed by their finances. Now, among those who are financially stressed, this survey finds that only 19 percent can cover a $10,000 expense with savings. Presumably the rest of them would have to resort to borrowing. And about half, 52 percent, say that finances are controlling their lives. And the vast majority, 73 percent, say that they've experienced actual stress when thinking about money. So who is in this financially stressed category? Well, this survey finds that it skews towards younger generations. About four in 10 Gen Zers, four in 10 millennials are in this financially stressed category. Also tends to skew towards nonwhite households, specifically Black and Hispanic households. But look, this is a bipartisan issue. About one in three Democrats are financially stressed and almost one in four Republicans.

And this survey from Gallup and Edwards Jones -- Edward Jones, it's not an anomaly. It's backed up by other recent surveys. A recent CNN poll finds that 51 percent of Americans are dissatisfied with their own financial situation. University of Michigan found that consumer sentiment in May plunged to all-time lows, lower than even during the worst days of the 2008 financial crisis. And the New York Fed found that about one in 10 households are facing food insecurity where they are struggling to find enough food to feed their families and often, or at least occasionally have even had their children forced to skip meals.

[04:55:14]

And look, I think this is just another reminder of how beneath the surface of those often positive headlines about high stock prices and low unemployment, many Americans are struggling, often because of the cost of living. Let me just give you one example. I spoke to a 55- year-old woman in Montana who told me that she was forced to cancel her annual family vacation and she's delayed buying a new car to replace her aging one because she says that her income, it's just not keeping up with prices. Specifically, she said the cost of groceries feels like that's doubled in recent years. She said that her utility bill -- bills have basically doubled in recent years and so she's had to cut back elsewhere.

And I think that that financial pressure that she's feeling, clearly she's not alone in those feelings. Back to you guys.

SANDOVAL: CBS News has fired veteran "60 Minutes" correspondent Scott Pelley. This happened just a day after he accused the network's editor-in-chief of, quote, "murdering the network's flagship program." According to a source, Pelley said that Bari Weiss and the show's new executive director Nick Bilton would never be welcomed as and that they are not qualified for their jobs. Bilton responded in a letter to Pelley released by CBS saying, quote, "You hijacked my first meeting with staff to disparage me, my qualifications and my intentions with remarkable incivility and contempt."

Industry analysts are telling CNN that this is likely to lead to a Pelley lawsuit against CBS. So we'll see if that happens.

Thank you so much for watching. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York. Our coverage continues with CNN "This Morning with the Audie Cornish."

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