Counting the Ballots

The Governor of California is more like a head of state. The state’s economy ranks as the fourth-largest in the world, competing with Japan’s. The state is home to everything from Hollywood to Silicon Valley.

Artificial intelligence? Headquartered here.

Shohei Ohtani? Plays here.

So when it comes to counting their votes for Governor, Californians know a lot is at stake.

As I publish this morning, 58 percent of the vote is in. Republican Steve Hilton is in the lead with 27.8 percent, closely followed by Democrat Xavier Becerra at 25.4 percent.

Democrat Tom Steyer is third with 19.6 percent.

The only other candidate in double figures is Republican Chad Bianco with 11.3 percent.

California provides universal mail-in ballots, which are valid if postmarked by Election Day and received by election officials up to seven days later.

Many, many voters take advantage of mail-in ballots. Take me, for example. I’ve lived at my current address for six years but I’ve never been to my polling place. In fact, I don’t even know where it is.

As for which two candidates will ultimately prevail, it appears that will be Hilton and Becerra. But Steyer remains close enough behind the front-runners that no one can call the race yet.

The preponderance of mail-in ballots will be Democratic, which may well carry Becerra to the top of the pack. Hilton’s strong showing probably means he will be the other candidate to move on to the November ballot.

But the math gets really difficult for Steyer. He should get a bump from the mail-ins, just like Beceera, but it is not likely that that will be enough to overtake the top two.

So that is the report at press time. I believe it will Beceera v. Hilton in November.

And that Ohtani may win this year’s National League’s Cy Young Award.

HEADLINES:

• California primary election results: governor’s race too close to call (Guardian)

• Thune on Pulte pick: ‘We don’t need a weaponized’ director of national intelligence (The Hill)

• Alarm in Washington as Trump taps staunch loyalist to serve as intelligence chief (Guardian)

• Why the Worst Get on Top (Atlantic)

• Rebecca Bennett Wins New Jersey House Primary to Take On Thomas Kean Jr. (NYT)

• Supreme Court allows Alabama to use GOP-friendly map for midterms, cutting seat held by Black Democrat (CNN)

• Trump Signs Executive Order Seeking Oversight of A.I. Models (NYT)

• Pentagon hires convicted Jan. 6 rioter for sensitive counterterrorism job (WP)

• Trump vowed to revoke hundreds of citizenships. It’s proving harder to do (NPR)

• $1.8 Billion Fund Is ‘Not Moving Forward,’ Blanche Says (NYT)

• New Jersey sues Delaney Hall operators for access after allegations of inhumane conditions (CNN)

• Russian attack on Ukraine kills at least 16 and traps others in damaged buildings (NPR)

• As Russia fails to achieve war aims in Ukraine, Putin needs a way out (WP)

• Ukraine Turns the Tide (Foreign Affairs)

• Pentagon press office is now a classified area and off-limits to reporters (Politico)

• World’s Most-Used Weedkiller Found To Disrupt Honeybee Brains (ScienceTechDaily)

• New ways to remove CO2 from atmosphere must grow much faster, report says (Guardian)

• UN warns of extreme heat risk from El Nino. (Reuters)

• There Is Already a Word for the Deep Moral Failures of AI (Atlantic)

• AI stumbles on questions of faith (Axios)

• Young and unemployed? Remote work, not AI, may be the problem, study finds (AP)

• Trump Launches $88 Billion Fund For Anyone Who Has Ever Been Rejected By Woman (Onion)