Morning Jolt: Welcome to California: You’ll Have Election Results in a Few Weeks

TODAY’S JOLT IS SPONSORED BY

WITH JIM GERAGHTY

June 03 2026

Welcome to California: You’ll Have Election Results in a Few Weeks

On the menu today: California will be counting the votes — some slightly singed from fire — for a few weeks; the U.S. contemplates deploying nuclear weapons in eastern Europe; Trump names a spectacularly ill-equipped nominee to the next director of national intelligence, and Jill Biden insists that if her husband had remained in the 2024 presidential race, he would have won reelection. Read on.

Democracy, at Glacial Speed

Republican Steve Hilton currently has the most votes in the California gubernatorial primary; if he finishes in the top two, he advances to the runoff. He currently has 27.8 percent of the vote, or about 1.38 million votes.

Democrat Xavier Becerra — the “Cardboard Box ...

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A message from A message from G.P. Putnam

The newest novel from Clive Cussler's bestselling series

When a NATO weapon that could ensure peace or start World War Three vanishes in the Arctic, Kurt Austin and NUMA race to recover it before it falls into enemy hands in the latest novel in the #1 New York Times–bestselling series created by the “grand master of adventure” Clive Cussler. 

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