Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra is expected to advanced to the November general election after clinching enough votes in the California gubernatorial primary race, NBC News projected Friday. Becerra rapidly caught up to Republican frontrunner Steve Hilton Friday, trailing the GO P rival by about 8,700 votes, according to the latest vote count by the NBC News Decision Desk. Among over 63% of the expected ballots across the state, Hilton, former Fox News Host, received 26.6% of the votes, compared to Becerra, former Health and Human Services secretary, at 26.5%. The difference between the two candidates was just over 8,770 votes as of 2:45 p.m. Friday. Because Democratic and left-leaning voters turned in their ballots later for this primary election, the votes counted later the in week are more likely to be for Becerra. Becerra’s campaign released a statement, calling his advancement to the runoff “a landmark moment in California history.” “The people of the great state of California, in the greatest nation on earth, have spoken — loudly and proudly,” Xavier Becerra said as he said his campaign was galvanized by working families, including labor unions, nurses and firefighters. In an apparent jab to his Democratic rival and billionaire candidate Tom Steyer, who spent more than $200 million his gubernatorial race and went after his rivals mercilessly, Becerra said California voters “will not be bought.” “We will not be bullied. And we are never backing down. November, here we come,” Becerra said. Becerra’s gubernatorial campaign could be one for the history books. Just four months ago, the former congressman and state attorney general was among the candidates who were urged to leave the race by the California Democratic Party, which feared two Republicans could end up in the ruoff. But as his supporters called it, “the Becerra bounce” helped him go from polling at 3% in March to becoming the first gubernatorial candidate to advance to the general election. Democratic billionaire Tom Steyer in third place gained about 107,000 votes in the past 24 hours, the latest tabulation showed. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco remained at fourth place with 11.2%. The latest project came as First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli announced Friday his office has “multiple” probes underway into alleged voting fraud — one day after President Donald Trump alleged, without providing any examples or evidence, that Democrats were cheating this week’s California primary election. Essayli, a Trump appointee, wrote on social media Friday morning that “protecting the integrity of California’s elections is a top priority for my office.” “California’s election system has serious structural vulnerabilities,” he wrote. “Universal vote-by-mail with no voter ID requirements creates conditions where fraud can go undetected and unpunished, eroding public confidence. Without commenting on any specific investigation, my office has multiple election fraud investigations underway in coordination with (the FBI). We will follow the evidence wherever it leads and prosecute any violations of federal election law to the fullest extent.” Although he declined to provide any specifics, he pointed to a case announced last month charging a Marina del Rey woman with allegedly paying people — including the homeless living on Skid Row — to register to vote. “Yes, there is evidence of election fraud in California,” he said. Essayli also said his office is working with Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon in an effort to audit the state’s voter roll. The comments came one day after Trump — without evidence — publicly accused Democrats of engaging in election fraud in California, pointing to the legally established mail-in voting process. Trump posted on his Truth Social platform: “The Dumocrats are at it again! 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.” Gov. Gavin Newsom responded on X, writing, “Trump is lying about California again — time to take the phone away from grandpa and put him to sleep.” California Secretary of State Shirley Weber said Thursday that residents should expect continued updates in vote totals from Tuesday’s election as outstanding ballots are counted. She noted that California law allows county election officials up to 30 days to complete the official canvass and process eligible ballots that remain outstanding. “Accuracy comes before speed,” Weber said in a statement. City News Services contributed to this report. This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser. ...read more read less