Playing the waiting game in California: From the Politics Desk

From the Politics DeskPlaying the waiting game in California: From the Politics DeskPlus, Trump picks an acting director of national intelligence. Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Add NBC News to GoogleKornacki: California Republicans hope to avoid getting ‘locked out’ of gubernatorial election05:22Get more newsLiveonShareAdd NBC News to GoogleJune 2, 2026, 5:02 PM EDTBy The Politics DeskWelcome to From the Politics Desk, a daily newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Welcome to another big primary night! Steve Kornacki explains why we may need to practice patience with the results in California, which is hosting major contests for governor, House and mayor. Plus, we report on President Donald Trump’s new director of national intelligence. Sign up to receive this newsletter in your inbox every weekday here.— Adam WollnerPlaying the waiting game in California Analysis by Steve KornackiWithin minutes of polls closing in California at 11 p.m. ET tonight, an avalanche of vote returns will ensue and the basic contour of each race will become clear. Then, about 90 minutes later, the avalanche will abate with millions of ballots still uncounted, and any contest not yet called could remain unresolved for days or even weeks.That’s often the way it goes in the nation’s biggest state, which also happens to be the slowest when it comes to reporting its election results. Consider the timeline in 2024. Just six minutes after polls closed, Orange County reported more than 700,000 votes — mail-in ballots that had been received and processed before Election Day. This amounted to half of all the votes cast in the county. Over the next 45 minutes, just about all of the state’s counties followed suit, releasing giant chunks of vote from pre-processed mail-in ballots...