The Republican candidate stopped short of backing the US president’s unfounded claim that the race is ‘rigged’ amid count delays.
David Cameron’s former policy guru Steve Hilton, who is vying to run for California governor, has branded the election a “shambles”.
The one-time senior adviser to the then Tory prime minister has said the “world is laughing at our inability to count votes in a timely manner”.
The Republican former Fox News host, who has been backed by Donald Trump, levelled his criticism as the process to tot up ballots continued nearly a week after polling day.
But Mr Hilton stopped short of supporting the US president’s unfounded claim the California elections, including that for Los Angeles mayor, were “rigged”, arguing instead it was “just another example of the incompetence and uselessness of the state government”.
After an early lead in the crowded open primary race for the top West Coast job, Mr Hilton is now in second place with 26% of the vote, ahead of Democrat billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer on 21.5%.
With an estimated 72% of votes counted, Democrat Xavier Becerra, who served in Joe Biden’s administration, has already gone through after topping 27%.
Around 60 people had thrown their hat into the ring.
In California, all candidates run on the same primary ballot regardless of party, with the two receiving the most votes going forward to fight the November election.
If the results hold, it would see a traditional run-off between Democrat and Republican, but there are a large number of votes still to be counted.
Most people cast their ballots by post and those dated on or before election day have a week to arrive.
California also has the biggest population of any US state with around 23 million eligible voters, which means it takes longer to declare results, drawn out further by the ballot verification process.
The state’s current governor, Democrat Gavin Newsom, who cannot run again because of term limits, had urged election staff to speed up counts, arguing the delay allowed for the spread of misinformation.
But officials says it is state policies that are responsible for the slow pace.
Mr Trump has repeatedly alleged election fraud over the delay in counting ballots.
Writing on X, Mr Hilton said: “Nearly a week into California’s election shambles. The world is laughing at our inability to count votes in a timely manner. Where is Gavin Newsom?
“No comment except to reject my plan to speed things up. We deserve better than a do-nothing, checked-out governor. Time for change!”
In an earlier post, he wrote: “The snail-like pace of the vote counting process in California is just another example of the incompetence and uselessness of the state government.
“The choice for Californians in November will be clear – more of the same with Xavier Becerra or change for the better with me.”
The last Republican to be the state’s governor was film star Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose office ended in 2011.
The main challenges facing California, which has one of the world’s largest economies valued at 4.1 trillion dollars (£3 trillion), include water shortages, the notoriously high cost of living and homelessness.
British-born Mr Hilton, who quit Number 10 in 2012 to teach at California’s Stanford University, became a US citizen in 2021.
The architect of Mr Cameron’s Big Society policy, which aimed to shift power from central government to local communities, Mr Hilton gained a reputation in Downing Street for walking around without shoes.
He broke with his former boss to become a vocal Brexit supporter.
In 2008, he was arrested and fined for disorder in a row over a train ticket as he left Birmingham after the party’s annual conference.
