If the polls are right, Tuesday’s primaries for California governor and Los Angeles mayor are too close to call.
In the governor’s race, Republican Steve Hilton is the leading contender, followed closely by Democrats Tom Steyer and Xavier Becerra.
In the mayoral contest, it’s just as close between Mayor Bass and insurgent independent Spencer Pratt, with socialist City Councilwoman Nithya Raman apparently trailing.
But that could all change.
With that in mind, The California Post visited two polling places Monday in Beverly Hills to try make sense of it all.
While a cross section of voters from neighborhoods across Los Angeles were split on who they would be voting for, they agreed on the issues driving their votes.
As expected, one of the main issues for voters in Los Angeles were homelessness, crime and cost-of-living — but also the desire for change from the status quo.
Take Nikki and Aiden, who were keen to talk but wary of giving their surnames.
Both said they were voting for Pratt for mayor and Hilton for governor, citing their desire to change the way things were done in the city and state.
Here is the latest on the 2026 California governors race
‘’We want to make the city better; the homelessness crisis has been really bad and I feel like Spencer is the guy to do something about it,’’ Aiden said.
Nikki agreed and said her family also supported Pratt.
They also both voted for Hilton for governor, saying it was “time for a change.’’
‘’On housing and pricing and everything, these two candidates can bring that for us. I’m pretty hopeful,’’ Aiden said.
Beverly Hills real-estate agent Kevin Danialifar, from Westwood, was also voting for the Pratt-Hilton combination, also saying it was time for a change.
He was also critical of Bass over the homeless problem, which he sees as the biggest issue for Los Angeles.
‘’Bass hasn’t done much. Nobody sees any changes,’’ he said.
Registered Democrat, lawyer and makeup artist Chloe Majdipour couldn’t vote in the mayoral election because she is a Beverly Hills resident — but said that if she could, she’d be voting “for Spencer.’’
‘Turn for the worse’
“I’ve lived in LA my entire life and it’s taken a turn for the worse,’’ she said.
“He has common sense and wants to get the safety of our city back.
“That’s really important to me.”
Despite being a lifelong Democrat, she said she voted for Republican Hilton for governor.
“I’ve just lost the plot a little bit on the Democratic side,” she said.
“Since the last presidential election, I’ve been a little more conservative leaning.
“I’m definitely leaning a little more conservative this time around.”
Retired law firm administrator Carole, meanwhile, said she was voting for Becerra for governor.
She called Becerra a “very decent human being without the drama.’’
“I like his experience,” she said.
‘Handle on the issues’
On the Los Angeles mayoral vote, Carole would be “sticking with Karen Bass’’ despite having “issues’’ with the way the 2025 fires were handled and the homeless situation.
“I don’t think others are suitable,” she said.
Antoinette and Mark Leos, retired educators, were split on their vote for governor.
Antoinette said she voted for Becerra, again citing his experience and the fact he was a career politician.
“He knows how to work the system,’’ she said.
But her husband said he was going with billionaire Steyer because he “just loves his liberal, progressive policies.’’
Both said they voted for Raman for mayor.
“I heard an interview with her on NPR. She came across very intelligent,” Mark said. “She really had her handle on the issues. I liked what she had to say.”
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