Republican Steve Hilton clinched the second spot Monday night in California's gubernatorial primary, meaning he will face former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra in November's general election.
Nearly a week after polls closed, Newsmax and Decision Desk HQ called the second spot for Hilton, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump.
With 84% of the vote counted, Hilton had 25.2%, trailing Becerra (27.7%), a Democrat, by roughly 202,000 votes.
Democrat billionaire Tom Steyer (22.4%) finished third in a primary that featured more than 60 candidates.
It took nearly a week to determine who would face Becerra in November because of California's notoriously slow vote-counting process.
Ballots are mailed to every eligible voter and they are counted if they are postmarked by Election Day and arrive at an election office within seven days.
California processes and counts mail-in ballots in roughly the order they are received, so the last ones returned are the last ones counted.
Hilton's performance represented one of the strongest statewide showings by a California Republican in recent years.
His performance signals growing voter dissatisfaction with the state's Democrat leadership even as Republicans face a difficult path in November.
California's top-two primary system sends the two highest vote-getters to the general election regardless of party.
While advancing to November would not make Hilton the favorite in a state where Democrats maintain a substantial voter-registration advantage, his finish underscores voter concerns about affordability, homelessness, crime, and the state's business climate.
Hilton built his campaign around those issues, arguing that California's rising cost of living and quality-of-life challenges demanded a new approach in Sacramento.
Political analysts caution that primary results do not necessarily predict general-election outcomes in California.
Still, a Republican finishing near the top of the statewide ballot provides evidence that voter frustration with current conditions extends beyond the GOP base and could shape the debate through November.