Later that day, Hilton walked up to the assembled crowd and press waiting for him at the East Lawn at the Capitol. When Hilton first arrived, he addressed the crowd, and greeted supporters including Republican State Assemblymembers Jeff Gonzalez, Josh Hoover and David Tangipa.

Hilton had brought with him Joel Degaton, a supporter of his campaign, who Hilton said he just met while walking over to the event.

A supporter looks through a pizza box at the rally on June 4th, 2026. Hilton continued to speak to the crowd gathered around him. The event consisted of supporters both young and old. They were able to pose questions directly to the candidate.Ruth Finch/CapRadio

One supporter expressed concerns about homelessness issues in California. Hilton said the unhoused problem in California required less government involvement.

“The foundations of a strong society, faith, family, community — these things, when they’re strong, mean that we actually don’t need the government to come in and fix problems because we’ve solved it for ourselves,” Hilton said.

Steve Hilton poses with Marissa Forte, president of the Young Republicans of Greater Sacramento at Hilton’s Capitol rally on June 3, 2026.Ruth Finch/CapRadio

After Hilton finished speaking, CapRadio spoke with Marissa Forte, president of the Young Republicans of Greater Sacramento. She said as a young person, affordability is something she and members of the Republican club struggle with.

“I think the most important issue is cost of living, because we’re young people, right? We want, we don’t want to leave,” Forte said. “I hear people sometimes in my own club like, ‘Oh, I might have to go to Arizona or Nevada or wherever for work or to live.’ You shouldn’t have to be thinking that way.”

As of Thursday afternoon, Hilton was in the lead for the primary, but results are not yet certified. The majority of ballots must be certified by June 15th. The top two candidates will move on to the general election.

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Visit Sacramento — the city’s tourism bureau — held its State of Tourism event Tuesday morning and announced the country music festival GoldenSky will return to Sacramento for three years starting in 2027.

Organizers had previously cited insufficient artist bookings as the reason for the postponement in 2025, and the delay in 2026 was made “to ensure GoldenSky returns at the right time and level our fans, artists and partners expect,” according to GoldenSky organizer Danny Wimmer Presents.

GoldenSky usually takes place the weekend after rock, punk and heavy metal music festival Aftershock.

Visit Sacramento’s President and CEO, Mike Testa, revealed they’ve added another genre to GoldenSky, aiming to replicate the success of Aftershock. 

“It took us a couple years to reach an agreement [and] form a different partnership to bring that event back,” Testa said. “2027-28 and 29, we've got a three-year commitment, and the goal is after 2029, it stands on its own, it's successful, and that it stays in Sacramento.”

Testa said he thinks everyone sees the impact of Aftershock, which started as a one-day event that has now expanded to a four-day festival in Discovery Park.

In Louisville, Kentucky, they have back-to-back festivals – Louder Than Life and Bourbon and Beyond – so city leaders like Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty and City Councilmember Caity Maple traveled to Kentucky to see how that might translate to Sacramento, according to Testa.

Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty made the announcement that the festival will return and said he’s been working behind the scenes to get GoldenSky back to Sacramento.

“We were able to work with Sacramento and the city and work out an arrangement for [GoldenSky] to come back for three years, starting in 27,” McCarty said. “It'll probably be a three-day festival, and people are gonna be really excited about this headliner. I can't announce it today, but it'll be a big deal.”

Also announced at the State of Tourism event, the California International Marathon, the 42-year-old marathon that starts in Folsom and ends at the State Capitol in Sacramento, will be expanding.

The race goes over the train tracks, so in order to make it safer, Union Pacific is willing to extend the closure of their tracks by another 45 minutes. CIM caps the runners participating at 10,000 people.

“Now we can accommodate those 6,000 runners on the waiting list, plus more, and effectively double the attendance capacity of the race,” Testa said.

The lead chefs for the 13th annual Tower Bridge Dinner was also announced. Kate Sutherland from Waterboy, Giancarlo Zapata from Chicha Peruvian Kitchen, Francisco Rivera from Hawks Public House and Joe Pruner from Bocce. 

Pruner said it’s an honor to be a part of the group of chefs preparing the meals for the dinner.

“The four of us have already been working on the menu together and we’re really excited about everything.” Pruner said. “The menu is 90% complete.”

The Tower Bridge Dinner will take place in early September. 

After the polls closed and early votes were counted for the California gubernatorial race late Tuesday night, Republican candidate Steve Hilton held a press conference on the west steps of the California Capitol Wednesday morning.

The latest counts show Hilton as the top vote-getter for the state, followed closely by top Democrat candidate Xavier Becerra.

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“I think we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other in the next few months,” Hilton said to the assembled press. “I’m sure you’re thrilled about that.”

Hilton received an endorsement from President Donald Trump in April. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, 70% of Californians disapprove of Trump. Hilton said that he wasn’t worried about Trump’s disapproval rating impacting his campaign.

“I think it's going to be very helpful for Californians to have a governor who has a good working relationship with the president and his team,” Hilton said. “It happens to be that we see eye-to-eye on many of the issues that are going to help Californians in a very practical way.”

Insight host Vicki Gonzalez spoke with Republican political strategist Rob Stutzman Wednesday afternoon. Stutzman said that an endorsement from Trump helped reach Republican voters, but it wasn’t the only thing convincing conservative voters they should vote for Hilton over fellow Republican candidate Chad Bianco.

“If they were looking for a signal on who they should be picking between Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco, Trump’s endorsement certainly was important,” Stutzman said. “I think Hilton was going to win this anyway, even without that endorsement. He was a better candidate, he had a better organized campaign… He’s been working at it longer and probably working at it harder.”

While results are still not certified, Hilton expressed confidence that his name will be on the ballot for the November election. 

“I think most people believe now that it's very hard to see a situation where either of the two Democrats … who are in contention for those spots both overtake the votes that we’ve seen over the last night,” Hilton said. 

While Hilton may make it on the ballot, Stutzman said that it would be an uphill battle for Hilton to win the governor's seat in November.

“At the end of the day, only about 38% of the vote’s going to go to Republicans, so still a tough hill to climb for Steve Hilton,” Stutzman said. “Republicans haven’t had a really good nominee for governor in a long time… Hilton’s going to breathe a little energy into Republican voters who are very tired of not being able to win anything. I’m not sure he can bring home a victory.”

Hilton said that he wants to work with Democrats in order to change California. He focused on addressing housing and education.

“I’m really looking forward to working with everyone to bring change to California. Republicans, and beyond the Republican Party,” Hilton said. “Matt Mahan and I see things in very much the same way in policy terms… We’ve got to have common sense, practical policies to make life better in California.”

Hilton will be holding a rally at 6 p.m. tonight on the east lawn of the Capitol across the street from the Hyatt Regency Sacramento hotel at 1209 L Street. 

The Central Valley is growing, projected to add millions of people over the next few decades.

But many of these communities have faced a chronic shortage of doctors and other essential medical care. And for a long time, there was no local school in the region to train the next generation of medical specialists.

Last week University of the Pacific announced historic plans to open a new school of medicine in Stockton, with hopes of welcoming the first group of students by the end of the decade.

The new school is described as being the first M.D.-granting institution outside of the Bay Area, Southern California and the Sacramento region, specifically targeting the critical shortages in the Central Valley.

Pacific President Christopher Callahan and Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom spoke with Insight Host Vicki Gonzalez about the university’s plans to get this new school off the ground.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Interview highlights

When did conversations start about breaking ground on a medical school?

CALLAHAN: Everybody talked about it, the great need for a medical school in the Central Valley, for years and years. All sorts of different universities and Pacific was no exception. We started really getting serious about 14 months ago. We're in a really strong financial situation now at the university, we have all these great strengths in healthcare and our communities need this so desperately — let's get serious.

We hired a consulting firm and we started looking at the nitty-gritty of this. What would it take to create an M.D.-granting university for the Central Valley, in the Central Valley? It's very complex, there's a reason why universities don't start these up right away. It's about a five-year process with accreditation and the like. But we came to the conclusion: not only do we have the ability to do this, but I think we have the responsibility and the moral obligation to do this considering who we are as leaders in higher education, and the importance of Pacific to the Central Valley and vice versa. 

Do you already offer healthcare programs at Pacific? 

CALLAHAN: Yes, we do. We have our School of Health Sciences which is based in Sacramento, but also with campuses in San Francisco and Stockton. Those are the allied  health professions, things like nursing, physician assistance programs, occupational therapy, physical therapy, audiology, and our newest one — midwifery.

We've had for many years now a world-class school of dentistry, the Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry in San Francisco. And on the Stockton campus, the Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy. We have all of this great expertise in the healthcare space, and when we actually open our school of medicine – we hope in fall of 2030 — we'd be one of only 36 universities in the United States that has all four of those schools.

Assemblymember Ransom, your district is in San Joaquin County and includes communities like Stockton, Tracy and Mountain House. There’s a doctor shortage across the Central Valley overall. How big of a concern is this for you as a lawmaker?

RANSOM: This is a huge concern that we talk about a lot in the state legislature. Families are already filling the doctor shortage, there's already a problem with access to care. When you think about access to care, it's important to understand all the things that go into that [including] the doctors. The fact that we don't have a local pipeline of doctors ready to go, when we know that there's going to be an exodus of doctors who are going to be retiring very shortly, is very concerning. We need to make sure that we have doctors who are trained in our communities, who understand the community.

We also know historically that when you train the doctors in the community, that they will stay more likely in the community. We know that 60% of the doctors who train here locally will stay, and if they've gotten their post-graduate before they go to medical school, we're looking at about 80% of them staying. That is something that we really need to do: create an infrastructure and create an environment where we can start solving the problems with access to care, and it starts with the medical professionals. 

What are the main concerns among your constituents when it comes to the critical needs for medical care?

RANSOM: In the Central Valley general access is really important, but also the women's health care, OBGYNs. They are leaving the region, and that’s why when Pacific started the midwifery program we were so excited about that because we really need to ensure that women are not traveling an hour to give birth, and to have those critical appointments.

The pediatrician services are very critical. You see people asking where they can get a pediatrician without having to travel out of town. That's just not a way to have a healthy community, and we have to increase the [number of] doctors to take care of these people.

Will there be any state funding tied to this medical school? 

RANSOM: I'm honored to lead that and to really connect the dots. I had quite a few of the colleagues that I have in the state legislature sign on, and agree with me that it's important that we have another medical school in California, and more importantly in the Central Valley, because the Central Valley will also feed the medical professionals in the Bay area as well as further down south. So we had a number of folks come on board; we’ve met with the health chair, we’ve met with the budget chairs. We’re starting those conversations with the governor's office as well, because we have to really do everything to support the school's efforts.

I appreciate that Pacific, unlike some other schools, has been able to say, "we already have skin in the game." I met with President Callahan a little less than a year ago; he already had a feasibility report ready to go. He'd already shown us where they were lining up philanthropic dollars. But if we can connect those dots for the state on how this would help us, to be able to answer the question about access to care, I think we'd be much better for it. 

The state is in a difficult financial situation, and potentially for fiscal years to come. Is that a concern for you as this school looks to break ground? 

RANSOM: We were able to show a balanced budget, and part of what you see in these budget proposals is that we're backfilling for all of the cuts for H.R.1. I'd like to remind people that the environment that we're in right now is not going to last, and we still need to continue to solve our problems.

When you have a partner like Pacific, which is a private university but is in partnership with our local community colleges and very much in partnership with state and local government, we really want to be able to not let this opportunity pass us by. That is the message that I am getting across to our colleagues; really showing how if we don't invest in healthcare and doctors and, specifically in a medical school, we're going to be in even deeper trouble in a few years. 

How much does starting a medical school cost? How much money does Pacific need?

CALLAHAN: In order to do it the way we want to do it, to have a fully financially self-sustainable school of medicine, the answer is we need $150 million of one-time money. That would pay for new construction of a 100,000 square-foot state-of-the-art medical complex, for all the expensive equipment that you need to go in there, and to cover operating costs for that first decade until it becomes financially self-sustaining. 

We're confident with Assemblymember Ransom's help, with Congressman Harder's help on Capitol Hill, we've already had some significant philanthropic gifts come in, that we'll be able to reach that goal in short order.

What would the education experience look like at this new school?

CALLAHAN: I will start off with: what kinds of students will be there? Pacific is different in a lot of different ways from a typical private school in who we serve. If you look at our undergraduate population, which is where we hope in a pre-med program they would be flowing directly into our school of medicine, this is an atypical student population. The majority of our students come from the Central Valley. Half of our undergraduate students are from first generation families, and 41% are receiving Pell Grants, which [are] for lower socio-economic families. That's very very unusual; that is the sort of population that you would see more typically in state-funded universities. I think that’s important because we don't just want highly qualified undergraduates to come into this medical school. We want them from our communities. They are more likely to stay and practice if they study and do their clinical rotations and residencies here. 

It'll be a four-year program; the first two years are in our classrooms and labs in this new building. And then years three and four are in clinical rotations. We already have a strategic clinical partnership with Dignity Health St. Joseph's Medical Center. That’s enormous because one of the challenges of starting up a medical school is finding those clinical placements and eventually the residency placements. 

With the goal of having a class by 2030, what are the other big challenges that you’re working to overcome?

CALLAHAN: It's really that accreditation process which starts right away. One quick example of how far in advance this needs to be done. In our hopes to open in fall of 2030, we need a founding dean. We're starting the national search for a founding dean next week; that’s more than four years in advance. Those are the sorts of things that we want to make sure we're tracking with our accreditation milestones. It’s something we’re hyper-focused on.

Congresswoman Doris Matsui greets supporters at an election watch party on Tuesday, June 2, 2026.Keyshawn Davis/CapRadio

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This story was updated June 3, 9:56 a.m.

Editor's Note: A previous version of this story stated that the top two vote getters in Sacramento city council elections advance to a runoff in November. This is the case except if one candidate gets 50% plus one vote. If so, that candidate wins the city council race outright.

Sacramento County’s unofficial primary results will arrive in three separate waves on election night, with the first released shortly after polls close at 8 p.m., another at 10 p.m., and a final report issued at midnight. The county will release another batch of results on Friday following the election, with further reports being issued on Mondays and Wednesdays until all results are certified.

Sacramento County Board of Supervisors 

District 1: District 1 covers most of the city’s core. Candidates for this seat are Sacramento City Councilmember Eric Guerra, former mayoral candidate Flojaune Cofer, former State Senator Deborah Ortiz, and computer programmer Tim Riley.

The latest unofficial results show 17.86% of ballots have been counted. Cofer is leading the race with 38.53% of ballots counted. Guerra follows with 30.45% of the ballots. If these results hold, the two will proceed to a runoff election in November.

Cofer held a watch party with Councilmember Mai Vang and said they share the same politics and beliefs.

“Black women collaborate, Hmong women collaborate, like that's what we do, we make a way out of no way, and we come together," Cofer said. "We were able to combine forces, because Mai voters are Flo voters, and Flo voters are Mai voters, and so we made it easier on them by collaborating and by working together.”

District 2: Supervisor Patrick Kennedy, who was first elected in 2014, faces candidates Ronald Bell and Brian Lajda, in the contest to represent District 2, which includes parts of South Sacramento and Elk Grove. The county’s District 2 includes neighborhoods such as South Sacramento, parts of Elk Grove, and rural communities like Vineyard. 

The latest unofficial results show 16.82% of ballots have been counted. Kennedy is leading the race with 63.39% of the ballots counted. Bell follows with 19.45% of the ballots. If these results hold, the two will proceed to a runoff election in November.

Sacramento City Council 

District 1: Three candidates are competing in the June primary for Sacramento’s District 1 City Council seat in North Natomas: incumbent Lisa Kaplan; former FBI Investigative Specialist Jenn Chawla and  Software engineer Venkat Mechineni. The communities of North Natomas and Robla make up the district. 

The latest unofficial results show 19.46% of ballots have been counted. Kaplan is leading the race with 53.10% of ballots counted. Chawla follows with 41.84% of the ballots. If Kaplan maintains more than 50% of the vote, she will win the race outright. If her total falls below that, the top two candidates will proceed to a runoff election in November.

District 5: Three candidates are competing for Sacramento’s District 5 City Council seat in the June 2 primary: Incumbent City Councilmember Caity Maple, retired Sacramento County Sheriff’s Deputy Henry Harry and state analyst Santiago Morales. District 5 is made up of the neighborhoods Oak Park, Hollywood Park, North and South City Farms, Golf Course Terrace, Valley Hi, and parts of Meadowview.  

The latest unofficial results show 15.21% of ballots have been counted. Maple is leading the race with 63.15% of ballots counted. Harry follows with 20.63% of the ballots. 

"While there are still ballots left to count, I’m incredibly grateful for the support we’re seeing tonight," Maple wrote in a statement on election night. "This campaign was built by hundreds of volunteers, supporters, and neighbors. Tonight’s results are a reflection of that hard work, and I’m honored by the trust voters have placed in me."

City Councilmember Rick Jennings speaks with Sacramento State President Luke Wood at a primary election results watch party on June 2, 2026.Ruth Finch/CapRadio

District 7: Three candidates are competing in Sacramento’s District 7 city council race in the June 2 primary: incumbent Rick Jennings, CalTrans planner Scott Lau, and former Stockton City Attorney Mark Velasquez.  

The latest unofficial results show 23.60% of ballots have been counted. Jennings is leading the race with 55.70% of ballots counted. Lau follows with 26.38% of the ballots.

Twin Rivers Unified School District Trustee

Area 6: Three candidates are running for the Twin Rivers Unified School District board of trustees Area 6 in the June 2 primary: Emmanuel Amanfor, Eduardo Ochoa and Adrianne Gonzales.

The latest unofficial results show 13.30% of ballots have been counted. Amanfor is leading the race with 47.18% of the ballots counted. Gonzales follows with 34.99% of the ballots. 

Sacramento County Board of Education

Area 1: Four candidates are running for Sacramento County Board of Education Area 1: Dominique Donette, Ralph Merletti, Anna Molander Hermann, Davon Thomas. Area 1 covers downtown, midtown, Land Park, East Sacramento, Oak Park, and Curtis Park.

The latest unofficial results show 19.14% of ballots have been counted. Donette is leading with 34.25% of the ballots. Hermann follows with 34.66% of the ballots counted.

Area 3: Two candidates are running for Sacramento County Board of Education: Annie Fischer and Paul Keefer. Area 3 covers North Highlands, Arden-Arcade, McClelland Park and parts of Carmichael.

The latest unofficial results show 20.07% of ballots have been counted. Keefer leading the race with 52.49% of the ballots counted. Fischer follows with 47.51% of the ballots.