The nonpartisan, top-two system was put in place under former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) as a way to create more competition in races that Democrats won year after year. All candidates for a particular office run on the same ballot, and the two who secure the most votes face off in the general election, regardless of their party affiliation.
It could take days or weeks for final counts to be determined and some projections to be made, but early returns are showing a competitive race in the Los Angeles mayoral election and the California governor's race.
In L.A., where 16 candidates were on the ballot for mayor, incumbent Karen Bass (D) and Spencer Pratt (R) took an early lead. Bass finished first (35%) and advanced to the November runoff; the second runoff spot is contested between Pratt (30%) and Democrat Nithya Raman (23%).
In the state governor's race, Republican Steve Hilton is currently in the lead with 28% of the vote, and Democrats Xavier Becerra (26%) and Tom Steyer (20%) are trailing closely behind him.
Kevin McGary, president of The Fredrick Douglas Foundation of California, says the races are 50-50 right now. He thinks Steve Hilton and Spencer Pratt are well-spoken and represent well, and he believes both are in good shape to make it to the November election.
Still, he cautions conservatives against celebrating just yet.
"Right now, we're feeling good, but we can't really claim victory," he states. "These people are notoriously anti-democratic in the sense that they're in back rooms and they're rigging machines, and they're doing whatever they have to do to try to get the vote counts as close as possible to their preferred candidate."
California, the most populous state in the country, is home to 23 million registered voters, and the state relies on a significant number of mail-in ballots, with some not arriving until a week after voting ends.
"What we're seeing at this point in time seems to indicate that we're in good shape, but we can't really rest yet," McGary reiterates.
However, he is convinced there are enough independent and Republican voters to carry the conservative candidates across the finish line in November, so, he is encouraged and "cautiously optimistic."
"I think the odds then flip in our favor. I think while we have a lot of crazy, zombie-type people that only vote based on political party affiliation and only vote based on leftism communism, there are a number of people who are independent and Republican and conservative who can carry both candidates, Spencer Pratt and Steve Hilton, over the line," McGary says.
He recognizes, though, that a lot depends on how much the Department of Justice and the California GOP will intervene to ensure the votes in November are untainted.
"We need to significantly limit and really get a handle on the blatant fraud that goes on here in California," McGary asserts.
