The survey of 986 likely voters, conducted earlier this month, found Becerra leading with 23% support, followed by Hilton at 20%. Democrat Tom Steyer was at 15%, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco at 13% and former Rep. Katie Porter at 12%.

The numbers are especially significant in California’s top-two primary system, where the two candidates with the most votes advance to the November election regardless of party. For months, the crowded Democratic field raised the possibility that two Republicans — Hilton and Bianco — could finish first and second, shutting Democrats out of the general election.

Becerra, a former California attorney general who later served as health secretary under President Joe Biden, has gained ground since U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell left the race amid allegations of sexual misconduct.

Jonathan Underland, a spokesperson for Becerra’s campaign, said the poll reflects growing support for the former Biden administration official.

“Becerra has built real momentum — strong poll numbers backed by working Californians who are energized and ready,” Underland said.

Steyer’s campaign disputed the PPIC survey’s findings in a written statement, arguing that the poll failed to capture recent gains for the liberal billionaire. The campaign pointed to its own internal tracking and to another poll conducted for Hilton.

The PPIC poll also offered a broader look at California voters’ mood ahead of the midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress during the final two years of President Donald Trump’s second term.

Three-quarters of likely voters said the country is moving in the wrong direction, the highest share recorded by PPIC in more than 20 years. While 92% of Democrats expressed that view, so did 50% of Republicans. The share of Republicans who said the country is headed in the right direction dropped from 64% in a February PPIC poll to 49% in the latest survey.

The poll also showed a strong advantage for Democrats in congressional races. If the midterm election were held today, 64% of likely voters said they would support the Democratic candidate in their local U.S. House race, compared with 35% who said they would vote for the Republican candidate. Those findings could signal trouble for Republicans as they try to keep control of the House of Representatives.

Younger voters are another group drawing attention in the election. Californians under 29 make up nearly one-fifth of the state’s eligible voters, and many cite concerns about inflation, health care and housing as they weigh their choices.

In a separate election-related development, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a new law Wednesday barring local police from seizing ballots from election officials.

The law was rushed through the Legislature after Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, who is running for governor, seized more than 600,000 ballots from the county registrar of voters earlier this year. Bianco said the action was part of a “fact-finding mission” into election accuracy, though he did not present evidence that the ballots had been improperly cast.

The new law took effect immediately, ahead of the June 2 primary. It prevents county registrars from turning over ballots or voting equipment to law enforcement and reaffirms that the attorney general, secretary of state or county election officials can sue any person, business or entity that takes ballots from an election official’s custody.

“We have to step up, and we have to draw the line,” Newsom told reporters. “We have to clarify the rules of engagement. It’s a warning to the folks out there that think they can do the bidding of the Trump administration.”

California lawmakers also are considering a proposal aimed at helping young people affected by gun violence, including in San Bernardino County.

The bill would create a pilot program offering free mental health and counseling services to young people who were shot, witnessed a shooting or lost a family member to gun violence. The program would serve youth in Alameda, Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Solano counties.

Nicole Kravitz-Wirtz, an associate professor with the Centers for Violence Prevention at UC Davis, said young shooting survivors often receive treatment for physical injuries but are left without a clear path to continuing mental health care.

The Assembly advanced the bill to the Senate on Tuesday. However, the proposal does not yet include a funding source. A legislative analysis estimated the grants would cost about $7,800 per survivor each year.

Original source: CalMatters

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The suspect, identified by police as Luigi Nicholas Mangione, had a gun believed to be the one used in Wednesday’s attack on Brian Thompson, as well as writings expressing anger at corporate America, police said.

Here are some of the latest developments in the investigation:

Where was the man captured?

Mangione was taken into custody at around 9:15 a.m. after police received a tip that he was eating at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 85 miles (137 kilometers) east of Pittsburgh, police said.

Mangione was being held in Pennsylvania on gun charges and will eventually be extradited to New York to face charges in connection with Thompson’s death, said NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny.

What evidence did police find?

In addition to a three-page, handwritten document that suggests he harbored “ill will toward corporate America,” Kenny said Mangione also had a ghost gun, a type of weapon that can be assembled at home and is difficult to trace.

Officers questioned Mangione, who was acting suspiciously and carrying multiple fraudulent IDs, as well as a U.S. passport, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference. Officers also found a sound suppressor, or silencer, “consistent with the weapon used in the murder,” the commissioner said.

He had clothing and a mask similar to those worn by the shooter and a fraudulent New Jersey ID matching one the suspect used to check into a New York City hostel before the shooting, Tisch said.

What do we know about Mangione?

Kenny said Mangione was born and raised in Maryland, has ties to San Francisco and that his last known address is in Honolulu.

Mangione, who was valedictorian of his Maryland prep school, earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in computer science in 2020 from the University of Pennsylvania, a university spokesman told The Associated Press on Monday.

He learned to code in high school and helped start a club at Penn for people interested in gaming and game design, according to a 2018 story in Penn Today, a campus publication.

His social media posts also suggest that he belonged to the fraternity Phi Kappa Psi. They also show him taking part in a 2019 program at Stanford University, and in photos with family and friends at the Jersey Shore and in Hawaii, San Diego, Puerto Rico, and other destinations.

The Gilman School, from which Mangione graduated in 2016, is one of Baltimore’s elite prep schools. Some of the city’s wealthiest and most prominent people, including Orioles legend Cal Ripken Jr., have had children attend the school. Its alumni include sportswriter Frank Deford and former Arizona Gov. Fife Symington.

In his valedictory speech, Luigi Mangione described his classmates’ “incredible courage to explore the unknown and try new things,” according to a post on the school website. He praised their collective inventiveness and pioneering mindset.

Mangione took a software programming internship after high school at Maryland-based video game studio Firaxis, where he fixed bugs on the hit strategy game Civilization 6, according to a LinkedIn profile. Firaxis parent company Take-Two Interactive said Monday it would not comment on former employees.

He more recently worked at the car-buying website TrueCar, according to the head of the Santa Monica, California-based company.

“While we generally don’t comment on personnel matters, we confirm that Luigi Mangione has not been an employee of our company since 2023,” TrueCar CEO Jantoon Reigersman said by email.

Mangione comes from a prominent Maryland family. His grandfather Nick Mangione, who died in 2008, was a successful real estate developer. One of his best-known projects was Turf Valley Resort, a sprawling luxury retreat and conference center outside Baltimore that he purchased in 1978. The father of 10 children, Nick Mangione prepared his five sons — including Luigi Mangione’s father, Louis Mangione — to help manage the family business, according to a 2003 Washington Post report.

The Mangione family also purchased Hayfields Country Club north of Baltimore in 1986. On Monday, Baltimore County police officers blocked off an entrance to the property, which public records link to Luigi Mangione’s parents. Reporters and photographers gathered outside the entrance.

Luigi Mangione is one of 37 grandchildren of Nick Mangione, according to the grandfather’s obituary. Luigi Mangione’s grandparents donated to charities through the Mangione Family Foundation, according to a statement from Loyola University commemorating Nick Mangione’s wife’s death in 2023. They donated to various causes ranging from Catholic organizations to colleges and the arts.

One of Luigi Mangione’s cousins is Republican Maryland state legislator Nino Mangione, a spokesman for the lawmaker’s office confirmed Monday.

The shooting and a quick escape

Police said the person who killed Thompson left a hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side at 5:41 a.m. on Wednesday.

Just 11 minutes later, he was seen on surveillance video walking back and forth in front of the New York Hilton Midtown, wearing a distinctive backpack.

At 6:44 a.m., he shot Thompson at a side entrance to the hotel, fled on foot, then climbed aboard a bicycle and within four minutes had entered Central Park.

Another security camera recorded the gunman leaving the park near the American Museum of Natural History at 6:56 a.m. still on the bicycle but without the backpack.

After getting in a taxi, he headed north to a bus terminal near the George Washington Bridge, arriving at around 7:30 a.m.

From there, the trail of video evidence runs cold. Police have not located video of the suspect exiting the building, leading them to believe he likely took a bus out of town. Police said they are still investigating the path the suspect took to Pennsylvania.

“This just happened this morning,” Kenny said. “We’ll be working, backtracking his steps from New York to Altoona, Pennsylvania,” Kenny said.

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