SACRAMENTO, Calif.—The race to succeed term-limited California Gov. Gavin Newsom will be a bipartisan affair after Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton received the most votes in the state’s primary election held June 2. 
Voters chose among candidates vying in a nonpartisan, open jungle primary contest, where the top two vote-getters advance to the midterm election on Nov. 3 regardless of party affiliation. 
Campaigning started years in advance, and 61 individuals qualified for the ballot in the state’s first gubernatorial election without an incumbent or heir apparent since 1998. 
Becerra—former Health and Human Services secretary, state attorney general, U.S. representative, and state assemblyman—maintained a consistent lead in polling after initial frontrunner Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) exited the race. …