Becerra takes California governorship, ending 16-year run for Republicans

Xavier Becerra is the projected winner of the California gubernatorial race, according to the Associated Press. His victory keeps the state under Democratic control for another four years and sets up a continuing clash between Sacramento and the White House for the final stretch of Donald Trump’s second term.

Becerra won the June 2 primary with 28 percent of the vote. He has served more than 35 years in state and federal office, including stints as a U.S. congressman, California attorney general, and secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services under President Joe Biden. He will become the state’s first Latino governor since the late 19th century.

His opponent, Steve Hilton, is a former Fox News host who advised former U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron. Hilton has never held elected office. He argued that 16 years of one-party rule in California caused the state’s high cost of living and homelessness. At a pre-election news conference, he told reporters, “This is what you get with one-party rule. You get a bunch of people in charge who think that they can get away with anything.”

Becerra positioned his campaign as a defense of California against Trump’s policies on immigration and voting rights. He noted that Trump endorsed Hilton. The campaign launched a website listing quotes from Hilton that support the president. The site includes illustrations of the two Republicans standing side by side.

The race dynamics shifted after former Rep. Eric Swalwell dropped out of the primary. Swalwell had been a front-runner but resigned from Congress following allegations of sexual assault, which he denied. His exit led party officials and voters to look for a reliable alternative. Becerra admitted at a recent rally that his campaign was initially considered “an afterthought, maybe even a punchline.”

Hilton sought to disrupt the Democratic base with television ads, some using AI-generated content. He made bold promises to attract voters, including abolishing the Department of Motor Vehicles and cutting gas prices to $3 a gallon. That price point has not been seen in the state in years.

Becerra appealed to Latino voters by releasing ads and social media content in Spanish. He was born in Sacramento to a mother from Mexico and a father who was born in California and raised in Mexico. At a recent rally, he said, “I’m running to be what the haters fear most: a proud son of immigrants with a law degree and a union card governing America’s most diverse and successful state.”

The two candidates emerged from a primary field that included six prominent Democrats and two notable Republicans. Becerra’s path to the general election relied on his long record of public service and his ability to frame the race as a choice between a local dream and national party politics.