President Donald Trump has claimed that Democrats are taking part in what he described as “BIG cheating” during the ongoing vote count for the California governor primary and the Los Angeles mayor primary, according to posts he made on Truth Social. Officials are reportedly still processing millions of ballots from the vote held on Tuesday. California uses a primary system in which all candidates from both parties appear on one ballot, with the two candidates receiving the highest share of votes advancing to the general election set for November 3, regardless of party affiliation. The final counts had not yet been completed at the time of writing, but according to the BBC, former political adviser Steve Hilton and former U.S. health secretary Xavier Becerra appeared to be the frontrunners to advance as nominees. Trump took to Truth Social to share his frustration about the process, writing: “The Dumocrats are at it again! They are trying to STEAL THE GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA PRIMARY, AND THE MAYOR OF LOS ANGELES, PRIMARY, AWAY FROM TWO GREAT REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES. Here we go with the very late and massive numbers of MAIL IN BALLOTS.” Trump’s claims of fraud have not been backed by evidence In a second post, Trump further alleged, “There’s BIG cheating by the Dumocrats in California. Votes are all tied up. May not be in for weeks. Under investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles. Why the vote counting DELAY???” Neither post included evidence to support the fraud allegations. Before the results were finalized, Trump also posted what appeared to be a congratulatory message to Steve Hilton, writing, “Congratulations to Steve Hilton on coming in first, last night, in the California Vote for Governor.” The president did not present any verifiable evidence to support the claim that Hilton had won. He added, “If Californians are smart, which I know they are, they will put Steve into the Governor’s Mansion, and watch their State get better at a rate that has probably never been seen before. I know Steve. He is a hard driving WINNER, and he will turn California around, quickly, and the Federal Government will be there, with him, to help!” Trump has made similar allegations about official data on other occasions as well, including when he accused DC police of faking crime numbers. This is apparently not the first time Trump has raised unsubstantiated concerns about the integrity of elections. According to The Independent, following the 2020 presidential election, he claimed his victory had been stolen through what he described as a Democratic conspiracy. More than 1,500 people were reportedly later prosecuted by the Department of Justice for their part in the events of that day. After returning to the White House in January 2025, Trump reportedly granted mass pardons to those individuals. He also apparently considered a $1.8 billion compensation plan for rioters who claimed they were targeted by the justice system, though he later dropped that proposal following pushback from members of his own party.