Merced County leans Republican in primary vote tally for CA governor
.JPG "Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton speaks during the California Republican Party's launch of Victory '26 at the California Republican Party headquarters in Sacramento on Wednesday, June 3, 2026.")
Merced County has 9% more registered Democrats than Republicans, but the GOP did better here in Tuesday’s primary for California governor.
That’s mainly because 23% of the registered voters in Merced County have no stated party. They can swing right or left depending on the election, as shown in the early results from Tuesday.
This will not change the fact that a Democrat will likely become the next governor of the deep blue state of California. The Merced County numbers nonetheless can indicate the mood of the local electorate.
The top two primary candidates will advance to the November general election, regardless of party. Here’s where the count stood as of Thursday morning:
- Republican Steve Hilton led statewide for governor with 27.6%, but he got 31% of the Merced County votes.
- Democrat Xavier Becerra had 25.5% statewide and 22% in Merced County.
- Democrat Tom Steyer received 19.7% statewide and 16.8% in Merced County.
- Republican Chad Bianco was at 11.3% statewide and 17.6% in Merced County.
The party registration figures for Merced County are in a May 18 report from the California Secretary of State’s Office. Democrats make up 39.5% of the Merced County electorate to 30.1% who are Republicans. An additional 23% are independent, and the rest are minor parties.
Democrats are at 44.9% of the California total. Republicans are at 25% and independents at 22.8%. The other 7.3% belong to minor parties.
Republicans outperformed in nearly every state race in Merced County. The lone exception was the race for California Treasurer, where Democrat Anna Caballero, a popular state senator representing Merced, topped all vote-getters with 31%.
The Merced Sun-Star’s Jim Silva contributed to this report.
