Despite a quiet surge for Republicans in California elections, President Donald Trump has suddenly launched a probe into the notoriously blue state’s election process.
Yesterday, Trump claimed the Democrats are “trying to steal” the California gubernatorial and the Los Angeles mayoral primaries and wants investigators to look into the state’s sluggish vote count.
Furious Trump launches probe into California election delays and claims Democrats are attempting to 'steal' key primaries as results slowly trickle in https://t.co/FbqjauWepq
— Daily Mail (@DailyMail) June 4, 2026
Trump lashed out on social media Thursday over how votes in California are trickling in two days after polls closed, and the election results may not be known for several weeks due to the vast number of mail-in ballots still being processed.
“The Dumocrats are at it again,” Trump raged on Truth Social.
“They are trying to STEAL THE GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA PRIMARY, AND THE MAYOR OF LOS ANGELES, PRIMARY, AWAY FROM TWO GREAT REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES. Here we go with the very late and massive numbers of MAIL IN BALLOTS.”
“There’s big cheating by the Dumocrats in California. Votes are all tied up. May not be in for weeks” Trump blasted in another post. “Under investigation by the US Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles. Why [is] the vote counting delay???”
Historically, California’s vote count often stretches beyond Election Day because officials must verify signatures, process millions of vote-by-mail ballots, and conduct required audits before certifying results.
State law gives county election officials up to 30 days after an election to complete the official canvass, count every valid ballot, and perform post-election checks to ensure accuracy.
However, Trump is still demanding a probe into the vote count process. It’s unclear who initiated the investigation.
Results for the state’s gubernatorial and the Los Angeles mayoral primaries started trickling in shortly after polls closed Tuesday, but those numbers can change as additional ballots are processed.
Early in-person votes and mail-in ballots that came in during the first weeks of voting will be released as the state’s initial results.
Because California accepts vote-by-mail ballots that can be postmarked by Election Day and received later, final results in close races may not be known for days or even weeks.
As of the time of publication, only 56% of the vote has been counted statewide in California — and Steve Hilton, a former aide to ex-British Prime Minister David Cameron and Fox News star, leads the way.
Hilton has currently received 27.6% of the vote and has a two percentage point lead over Democrat Xavier Becerra.
Billionaire Tom Steyer, founder of the San Francisco hedge fund Farallon Capital, is trailing in third place, despite pouring $215 million of his own cash into the race.
Hilton, who has been endorsed by Trump, has said California has lost its way under Democratic leadership and is vying to become the state’s first Republican governor in 15 years.
The top two candidates, regardless of party, will progress and face off against each other in November’s general election.
Meanwhile, ex-reality TV star Spencer Pratt, who has surged in popularity, is still waiting to find out if he will progress to November’s mayoral election in Los Angeles.
Incumbent Karen Bass will be on the ballot, having qualified for the run-off, but Pratt is currently in second place on 29.9% of the vote.
Trump’s opposition to mail-in voting is well-documented and consistent.
Last August, he wrote on social media, “ELECTIONS CAN NEVER BE HONEST WITH MAIL IN BALLOTS/VOTING.”
“I am going to lead a movement to get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS,” he said.
Ahead of the 2020 election, Trump claimed “universal mail-in voting” would lead to the most “INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history.”