President Donald Trump said Wednesday that his public pressure campaign over California's prolonged vote-counting process helped ensure Republican Steve Hilton advanced to the state's gubernatorial general election.

According to The Hill, Trump said he publicly raised concerns that delays in counting votes could hurt Hilton's chances after a closely watched Los Angeles mayoral contest drew scrutiny.

"After a week, they determined that a kid who's leading and had all the mojo, all of the sudden he doesn't make the runoff, and then I hit them hard on that," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, referring to Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt.

"I started talking about Steve Hilton, who's a fantastic guy, and I saw them say it was going to be two weeks before they knew, and I started hitting them," he continued, recounting that he said "it's going to happen to Steve Hilton."

Trump said the attention he brought to the race changed the outcome.

"And they approved Steve Hilton very quickly," he said. "There was too much heat on them."

Hilton, who has been endorsed by Trump, secured a spot in the general election after finishing second in California's gubernatorial primary, ahead of former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, a Democrat.

Trump and his allies have repeatedly criticized California's lengthy vote-counting process, arguing that extended delays undermine confidence in election outcomes. He has cited the Los Angeles mayoral race as an example of concerns about ballot tabulation and election transparency.

California election officials warned before the June 2 primary that final results could take days or weeks because of the state's vote-by-mail laws.

Under California law, mail ballots can continue arriving after Election Day and still be counted if they meet state requirements, contributing to the extended tabulation process.