# Fiona Ma, Gloria Romero lead in California lieutenant governor’s race > Source: > Published: 2026-06-03 03:46:37+00:00 **Getting your** [Trinity Audio](//trinityaudio.ai)player ready...Democratic state Treasurer Fiona Ma and Republican former state Sen. Gloria Romero held the top two spots in early returns Tuesday night in the race to become California’s next lieutenant governor, the state’s second-highest office. Ma led with 20.2% of the vote, followed by Romero with 19% of the vote, according to results posted to the Secretary of State’s Office at 8:34 p.m. Trailing behind was California Chief Service Officer and former Novato Mayor Josh Fryday, who was endorsed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, with 14% of the vote and former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs at 11.7%. The top two finishers, regardless of party, will advance to the November general election. The No. 2 job, currently held by term-limited Eleni Kounalakis, is often dismissed as a ceremonial understudy to the governor. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who held the office from 2011 to 2019, has described it as a “backwater.” But the lieutenant governor serves as acting governor when the governor is out of state, becomes governor if the office becomes vacant and holds seats on influential boards overseeing higher education, public lands and coastal policy. The [six leading candidates for lieutenant governor pitched bold visions for the job](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/05/10/california-lieutenant-governor-candidates-election-2026/) and how they’d make headway on the state’s housing crisis, drive down the cost of tuition at public universities and use its bully pulpit to bring attention to other critical state issues. The race also drew nearly $8.4 million in outside spending, a 60% increase from the last open-seat contest in 2018, according to a review of campaign finance data from the Secretary of State’s Office. A rising star in the Democratic Party, Tubbs saw more than half of all outside dollars — $5.7 million — flow in support of his candidacy. Most of the money came from an independent expenditure committee called Friends of Tubbs, whose major donors included Snap CEO Evan Spiegel, investor Patty Quillin and author Steve Phillips. Fryday, who was endorsed by Newsom, had the second most outside money spent in favor of him, with $1.8 million backing his bid, followed by Ma with roughly $107,000 in support of her run. Ma was the only candidate who saw opposition spending, with a committee named Taxpayers Against Sexual Harassment By Government Officials shelling out nearly $753,000 for ads trying to persuade voters not to cast their ballots in favor of the current treasurer. The committee attacked Ma over a $350,000 settlement agreement paid for by the state to a former employee of Ma’s who alleged she exposed herself and climbed into bed with her in a hotel room on a work trip. Ma has denied the accusations. The committee received major funding from Phillips and the Friends of Tubbs committee. Former Sausalito mayor and environmental attorney Janelle Kellman had roughly $15,000 spent in favor of her long shot bid, while Romero saw $10,000 in outside dollars spent in support of her candidacy.