Xavier Becerra makes history as California’s first elected Latino governor

November 5, 2026 By Nicole Nixon 5 Comments

Veteran Democrat of anti-Trump state easily defeats Republican Steve Hilton.

  • Xavier Becerra, a former California attorney general and Biden Cabinet secretary, defeated Republican Steve Hilton to become the state’s first directly elected Latino governor.
  • His victory puts him at the center of California’s clashes with the Trump administration and its entrenched housing, healthcare and cost-of-living problems.

Xavier Becerra, who grew up in a 685-square-foot house with his parents and three sisters in working-class Sacramento before ascending to Stanford University, Congress and the White House Cabinet, will become California’s first directly elected Latino governor.

Click Here to Subscribe to the California Political Review

The historic victory thrusts the unassuming Democrat into the forefront of California’s scathing fight with the Trump administration over immigration enforcement, healthcare funding, environmental protections and social issues.

“I didn’t run to make history,” Becerra told supporters at his election night party in West Sacramento. “I ran to make a difference for anyone and everyone who calls California home — whether you voted for me or not.”

He paid tribute to his parents and late labor icon Dolores Huerta before stating his “straightforward” mission: “Deliver a California we can afford and defend a California we can’t afford to lose.”

The Associated Press declared Becerra the winner at 8 p.m. Tuesday. He beat Republican Steve Hilton, a conservative commentator and former British political strategist backed by President Trump. Hilton conceded defeat a little before 9:15 p.m.

“We have a new governor of California,” he told about 800 supporters at his election night party in Garden Grove. “I know it’s not the one you wished for but I do wish Xavier Becerra well.”

Though the mood at his event was mostly one of defeat, Hilton stirred the crowd with a promise to help Republicans break the Democratic supermajority in the state Legislature in 2028.

“We love California and we’re going to fight for California,” he said. “The fight goes on. We have a plan.”

Becerra, 68, will take the helm with a slate of potential economic opportunity: luring back Hollywood production, drawing international visitors to the 2028 Olympic Games and responsibly growing the artificial intelligence industry.

But there are also a long list of challenges: grappling with worst-in-the-nation unemployment, solving the housing crisis, and preparing for and responding to seemingly endless natural disasters.

Becerra spent more than 25 years in Congress before he was appointed California attorney general and, later, secretary of Health and Human Services in the Biden administration. His long resume, as he often argued during the campaign, positions him to enter the governor’s office without “training wheels.”

“It’s groundbreaking,” Anna Sampaio, a professor of ethnic studies and political science at Santa Clara University, said of Becerra’s win. “It’s particularly important in this moment when Latinos are under siege, when they’re targeted by the federal government, and you have a Latino not only being elected, but a Latino who is consistently delivering this message that he is going to stand in opposition to a Trump agenda.”

Despite his long-standing presence in California politics, the modest Becerra initially struggled to energize support for his gubernatorial campaign. When explosive sexual assault allegations pushed a front-running Democrat out of the race, Becerra, a staid and experienced candidate with a clean reputation, leaped to the top of the crowded field and finished first in the top-two June primary.

The state has had one Latino governor, Romualdo Pacheco, who assumed office in 1875 when Gov. Newton Booth stepped down after winning a U.S. Senate seat.

Becoming the first Latino directly elected to California’s highest office is a distinction Becerra was reluctant to promote on the campaign trail, preferring instead to focus on his humble roots. His father, born in Sacramento and raised in Mexico, labored on farms and construction sites; his Mexico-born mother was a clerical worker.

The largest ethnic group in California, Latinos make up more than 40% of the state’s population and roughly a third of its voters.

Though noteworthy, polling suggests Latino voters care more about results than his history-making win.

Click here to read the full article in the LA Times

Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: , ,

Walters: Governor-elect Becerra must quickly confront state budget mess Newsom left behind

November 5, 2026 By Dan Walters 3 Comments

The most fundamental — and arguably most important — duty of a California governor is managing the state budget.

Xavier Becerra, the former attorney general who won the governorship Tuesday, must submit a new budget to the Legislature just days after his inauguration in January. Outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom is leaving him with a fiscal mess.

Newsom, who will likely launch a presidential campaign, insisted in June that the 2026-27 budget he signed was not only balanced but would remain so during his predecessor’s first year.

Not by a long shot.

During Newsom’s second term, he and the Legislature routinely enacted general fund budgets that spent billions of dollars more than the state’s tax system was producing, covering the gaps with accounting gimmicks, by draining emergency reserves and incurring on- and off-the-books loans.

Click Here to Subscribe to the California Political Review

A chart in the back pages of the 2026-27 budget reveals that during Newsom’s eight years of managing the budget, the state took in $1.4 trillion in general fund revenue but spent $1.7 trillion, averaging $37 billion in overspending each year. Among other things, the spending spree increased the state’s payroll by 100,000 positions.

Newsom leaves the state with what Gabe Petek, the Legislature’s budget analyst, describes as a $29 billion “wall of debt” that must eventually be repaid, echoing a term that former Gov. Jerry Brown coined in 2010.

Becerra faces a stark choice.

He could continue the deficit spending, running up even more debt — the governmental equivalent of a family maxing out its credit cards to finance its lifestyle. Or he could do what Brown did when he began his second governorship and faced a $35 billion “a wall of debt” from the effects of the Great Recession.

After his 2010 election, Brown engaged in a very public discussion about what it would take to balance the budget and whittle down its debts. He settled on a mixture of spending reductions and temporary sales and income tax increases, plus creating “rainy day” reserves to cushion future revenue drops.

During Brown’s governorship, general fund income and outgo closely matched, the aforementioned chart confirms. He bequeathed a healthy budget to Newsom.

It would take political courage for Becerra to adopt the face-the-music attitude that Brown displayed in 2011. Politically, the easier path would be to emulate Newsom, who was content to overspend revenues while shunning any major tax increases to cover the gaps.

Becerra has been very reluctant to reveal any policy intentions, but in an interview late last month, he indicated that he may be willing to increase taxes — unlike Newsom.

Becerra told Ashley Zavala, of Sacramento’s KCRA-TV, that he’s interested in raising taxes on high-income Californians, taxing employers whose low-paid workers qualify for Medi-Cal health benefits, closing corporate tax loopholes and adopting a mileage-based tax on electric cars.

Click here to read the full article at CalMatters

 

Filed Under: Trending News Tagged With: , , ,

Xavier Becerra Backs Out of Another Debate with Steve Hilton

October 14, 2026 By Katy Grimes 7 Comments

Why would Becerra not want to be seen by Hispanic voters in a Univision debate?

Republican Steve Hilton has reported that Democrat Xavier Becerra backed out of yet another debate in the California gubernatorial race.

Hilton is everywhere, criss-crossing the state every day. Becerra is taking a page out of former President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign, and mostly running his campaign from an underground bunker.

Click Here to Subscribe to the California Political Review

During the weekend, we learned that Becerra backed out of the Univision debate, citing a “scheduling conflict.” Univision? Why would Becerra not want to be seen by Hispanic voters in a Univision debate?

Hilton noted that his team offered to accommodate Becerra’s schedule, and tied it to Becerra’s recent claims, proven false about how his parents came to the U.S. with $12 in their pocket.

 

Even a serious candidate safely ahead in the polls would show up to convey his policies, and commitment to the job. Anything less is insulting to voters.

Refusing to show up to debate demonstrates a lack of sincerity, as well as obvious insecurity about being called on the carpet on policy issues.

Hilton and Becerra held one televised general-election debate, hosted by CNN in Burbank on September 30, 2026. Hilton went on offense from the start, pressing Becerra on his record as attorney general and as Biden HHS secretary, the Globe reported.

So far, it is the only actual face-to-face matchup before the November 3 election.

Polls at the time showed Becerra with a roughly 25 point lead – the Berkeley IGS/LA Times figured around 58%–33%.

Hilton has repeatedly pressed for more debates, and has done internal polling showing the gap closing between the two candidates.

Xavier Becerra’s lead over Steve Hilton shrunk to just 5.6 points in a poll conducted immediately after the their’ first and only debate.

“The poll, commissioned by Hilton’s campaign and conducted by pollster David Wolfson on Oct. 1-2, surveyed 1,020 California voters and found Becerra with 45.7% support to Hilton’s 40.1%, while another 14.1% remain undecided,” the CA Post reported.

Perhaps that, and he didn’t want to be asked why he lied to millions about his family’s immigration history, explains why last week Becerra pulled out of the scheduled Los Angeles Times debate.

Hilton posted the announcement on X Monday afternoon, calling the withdrawal a break from a pledge Becerra made in August to participate in multiple debates. 

“Becerra PULLS OUT of tomorrow’s LA Times debate,” Hilton wrote. “The move comes after a new poll found CNN debate viewers favored Hilton 74% to 20%. In August, Becerra promised MULTIPLE debates. Now after losing the first, he’s back in hiding—taking voters for granted. Pathetic!”

Click here to read the full article in the California Globe

Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: , , ,

Becerra’s Baggage Would Have Taken Down Anyone Else

October 11, 2026 By Katy Grimes 1 Comment

How is media not hammering Becerra on the missing migrant children, the Awan brothers scandal, and $22.6 billion in grants for migrants from 2020 to 2024?

There are serious questions about Xavier Becerra’s long record in elected office that deserve answers. His tainted tenure as President Joe Biden’s Health and Human Services Secretary, and the government’s handling of unaccompanied migrant children, which has been the subject of extensive investigative reporting, including by The New York Times. Migrant children are still missing and legacy media doesn’t seem too interested.

Whatever Becerra’s explanation is, shouldn’t California voters hear it directly from him? How is media not hammering Becerra on the missing migrant children?

The Globe has covered Becerra extensively for many years: Xavier Becerra as HHS Secretary doubled down on tyrannical COVID policies, including mandatory masking and vaccines for everyone including pregnant women and infants, as well as business and school lockdowns.

House Oversight Chairman James Comer recently accused Xavier Becerra when he was HHS Secretary of potentially hiding Anthony Fauci’s COVID-era diary and cellphone from Congress — documents that contained references to “COVID-19,” “gain-of-function,” and “Wuhan” that Republicans specifically requested in November 2023. Becerra either intentionally withheld the materials or failed to conduct an adequate search, according to Comer.

The California Post recently reported that Xavier Becerra disparaged migrant children as “little Juanitos and Juanitas” while leading former President Joe Biden administration’s health department, a former colleague alleges — fueling Democratic insiders’ fears about California’s would-be governor.

“I never heard a single person disparage immigrant children,” a former Biden administration official who worked with Becerra told the California Post. “He was the only person who brazenly said, ‘these little Juanitos and Juanitas.’”

But wait! There’s more!

Under HHS Secretary Becerra’s authority, “the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ramped up grants for migrants from 2020 to 2024 — which included cash assistance to buy cars, homes and even build credit for startup businesses, according to a shocking watchdog report that found taxpayers were left on the hook for $22.6 billion.

According to the OpenTheBooks report:

Robin Dunn Marcos, who led HHS’s Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) under former President Joe Biden, oversaw $22.6 billion in grant distributions since 2020, with her former employers emerging as top beneficiaries. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), where she spent 23 years as a senior director, received $598 million, while Church World Service, her employer of four years, was awarded $355 million.

The corruption runs so deep it’s literally rinse and repeat.

A few years earlier, then-Congressman Xavier Becerra chaired the House Democratic Caucus, from 2013 to 2017, when IT aides Imran Awan, his brothers Abid and Jamal Awan, and other family associates, worked for many Democratic offices, including Becerra’s.

The Awan brothers logged into the Democratic Caucus server thousands of times without authorization. Capitol Police also investigated procurement irregularities, equipment that did not appear on inventories, and unauthorized network access.

Imran Awan was later arrested on federal bank-fraud charges.

Becerra’s office and the Dem caucus paid the family more than other members, Daily Caller’s Luke Rosiak reported.

When Becerra left Congress in 2017, he asked to have his server wiped while it was under investigation, I reported. It was also revealed that the Pakistani IT staffers were sending sensitive information to the Muslim Brotherhood.

In 2017, I reported:

Becerra has his own troubles in D.C. as he was up to his eyeballs in the House Democratic Caucus Awan Brothers Congressional IT Scandal. Then-Rep. Xavier Becerra was the caucus chairman when he gave a fake server to the cops in order to obstruct their investigation. “The executive director of the Democratic Caucus was Sean McCluskie, who was Becerra’s chief of staff and is now chief deputy attorney general of California,” Daily Caller reporter Luke Rosiak reported in 2017. “The Awans and their associates collected more than $5 million in pay from congressional offices, often drawing chief-of-staff level pay though there is reason to believe many didn’t even show up. The House’s internal probe found they logged into servers they had no affiliation with, used members’ usernames, covered their tracks, and persisted even after being fired.”

Since the January 2017 appointment of Xavier Becerra to California Attorney General by California Governor Jerry Brown, I’ve questioned why Becerra was chosen out of all of the qualified Deputy AG’s and lawyers in-state, and suggested it was to provide distance between Becerra and DC, as well as a strong offense during the investigation into his leadership role in the Congressional IT scandal and cover up.

If the name Sean McCluskie, rings a bell, he is former chief of staff for the former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, who pleaded guilty to stealing $225,000 from the former Biden Cabinet secretary’s campaign account in Governor Gavin Newsom’s former chief of staff Dana Williamson’s public corruption case.

The Congressional hacking suspects–the Pakistani born Awan brothers–ran the Information Technology (IT) for dozens of Democrat congressmen and women, and could read every email and communication sent or received. Members of the California Democrat House delegation also hired the Awan brothers, along with nearly 30 more House Democrats as a “shared employee,” according to Legistorm.

Click here to read the full article at the California Globe

 

Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: , ,

It’s beyond debate. California voters deserve a Becerra-Hilton face-off

August 24, 2026 By Mark Z. Barabak 1 Comment
  • The Democratic front-runner has pledged he’ll share a stage with his Republican foe, but hasn’t said where or when.
  • Hilton, in typical underdog fashion, is eager to meet anytime, anyplace.

Barring some extraordinary event — a health emergency, a career-ending scandal, a killer asteroid destroying all life on earth — Xavier Becerra will be the next governor of California.

That’s not partiality or wish casting on the part of your friendly political columnist. The fact is Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents overwhelmingly outnumber Republicans in California, in both registration and inclination.

The GOP brand has been political poison in this Tahoe-blue bastion for decades now. But under Donald Trump, it’s grown even more toxic. His endorsement, which the president bestowed upon Republican Steve Hilton mid-primary, is the political equivalent of sarin; like the deadly nerve agent, it can kill on contact.

Click Here to Subscribe to the California Political Review

 

Still, give credit where due.

The gregarious and media-savvy Hilton has been waging an energetic and effervescent run for governor, with multiple appearances a day and frequent updates to his cheeky social media accounts.

“He’s going to San Francisco” — into the bowels of the liberal beast — “he’s going into schools, talking to labor groups,” said Hector Barajas, a campaign spokesman. “He’ll go everywhere.”

Becerra not so much.

The Democrat has appeared here and there since finishing first in the June 2 primary, securing one of two slots in November’s runoff. He’s offered a few modest proposals, including a plan to deliver two free hours of electricity a day to low-income households and a call for stiffer regulation of artificial intelligence.

A sprint vs. a stroll

That said, if Hilton is flat-out running for a job he stands virtually no chance of winning, Becerra is embarked on more of a leisurely stroll toward his all-but-certain perch in Sacramento.

That’s not a terrible thing at this midsummer stage of the race. Once, in the blessed era before the 24/7 news cycle and the omnipresence of social media, there was a lull in the months after the primary, with campaign activities picking back up around Labor Day.

On Tuesday, during a walking tour of Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo neighborhood, Becerra pushed back on the notion he was taking his election — and California voters — for granted. “If I were trying to coast,” he told reporters, “I’d be out on the coast right now instead of here with you all.”

Becerra’s pace aside, the days between now and the Nov. 3 election offer him plenty of time to spell out what, exactly, he has to offer his home state and how, in a broad sense, he plans to tackle one of the highest profile, most vexing jobs in all of American politics.

At least one of those days should include a face-to-face debate between Hilton and Becerra. The two shared a stage multiple times during the primary season. They have not appeared together since.

Click here to read the full article in the LA Times

Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: , ,

Becerra pledges to debate Hilton — more than once — between now and Nov. 3

August 20, 2026 By Seema Mehta Leave a Comment
  • Democratic gubernatorial front-runner Xavier Becerra, facing criticism from GOP rival Steve Hilton for a lack of public visibility since the primary election, pledged to face the Republican in multiple debates before the Nov. 3 general election to replace termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom.
  • A new UC Berkeley/L.A. Times poll shows Becerra leading Hilton 55% to 37% in heavily Democratic California, where Republicans last won statewide office in 2006.
  • Becerra visited Little Tokyo during the Nisei Week festival, highlighting ties to a community he represented while in Congress.

Democrat Xavier Becerra pledged on Tuesday to participate in more than one debate against Steve Hilton, his GOP rival in the California governor’s race.

Click Here to Subscribe to the California Political Review

“We will have debates, and between now and Nov. 3, we will continue to go out there and meet with folks to make sure they have an opportunity to see the candidates,” Becerra told reporters after greeting business owners, community leaders and voters in a walking tour of Little Tokyo. “Voters need to have good information. We’ll make sure they have it, and there will be debates.”

Hilton has been needling Becerra for not being as publicly visible on the campaign trail since the two men advanced in the June primary. The British-born conservative strategist and political commentator raises chickens at his Silicon Valley home and has said he named one of them “Xavier.”

“Xavier Becerra wants to be governor while dodging questions from the press and a debate with me,” Hilton posted on the social media platform X earlier this month.”What else do you expect from a lazy, arrogant, entitled ‘empty suit’ 36-year machine politician.”

Becerra held a 55% to 37% lead over Hilton in a UC Berkeley/L.A. Times poll released Thursday. The margin is unsurprising given the edge that Democrats have in voter registration over Republicans in a state that last elected GOP politicians to statewide office in 2006.

Becerra, asked Tuesday about Hilton’s criticism that he was “coasting” to election in the November general election to replace termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom, rejected the notion.

“Well, if I were trying to coast, I’d be out on the coast right now instead of here with you all and making a nice visit to Little Tokyo,” he said outside of an Asian-fusion gastropub on an oppressively hot, muggy afternoon. “Listen, this is all about making sure voters have a choice. We’ll get out there and make sure we’re front and center with them … even if it’s a little hot.”

Click here to read the full article in the LA Times

Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: , ,

Election 2026 updates: Democrat Becerra, Republican Hilton advance to CA governor face-off

June 14, 2026 By Editorial Staff 2 Comments

Why the count will go on in California

California’s elections are never quite over on Election Day, and this year is no different.

The state’s big population and its universal vote-by-mail system add to the time it takes to count the large volume of ballots counties will receive.

In the 2024 general election, for instance, mail ballots accounted for a little more than 80% of the 16.1 million ballots cast that November. Typically, county election officials first process ballots received before Election Day as they roll in and post those results quickly.

But, under state law, mail ballots can be received at local election offices up to seven days after the election, as long as they are postmarked on or before Election Day. And officials must verify ballots before they can be counted.

Click Here to Subscribe to the California Political Review

It’s typical for mail ballots counted in the days after the election to skew Democratic.

And in this election, Democratic voters appeared to be returning their ballots at a slower pace than in past elections, according to data from Political Data, Inc., a Democratic-aligned data firm, suggesting that the trend could be even more pronounced.

Where things stand

In the California governor’s race, Democratic former US Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra is in strong position to get one of the two slots in the November election given how votes counted after Election Day in California are typically more Democratic. The other slot is likely to go either Republican former Fox News host Steve Hilton or Democratic billionaire investor Tom Steyer.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass advanced to the November election. Republican former reality TV star Spencer Pratt landed in second place behind Bass in the first reports, but later updates found him losing ground to progressive city councilmember Nithya Raman. That trend, coupled with the expected Democratic shift from ballots counted after Election Day, means the second spot remains too early to call.

Click here to read the full article at ABC News

Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: , ,

Race for California governor: Becerra gets campaign boost, Hilton tries to gain Republican votes

May 22, 2026 By Josh Haskell 2 Comments

California’s June primary election is less than two weeks away, and former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra is getting a boost in his campaign for governor.

Becerra was on the campaign trail at Dulan’s on Crewnshaw Tuesday, alongside Texas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett and Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson.

“If I have an opportunity to be between Jasmine Crockett and Rex Richardson between now on June 2, I’m going to win this race,” said Becerra.

Click Here to Subscribe to the California Political Review

“I can tell you that Xavier didn’t become a progressive yesterday. California, you need Xavier in this moment. I am so ecstatic to stand here in support of someone that I know will do an amazing job and will scare the (expletive) out of Trump,” said Crockett.

“No matter how you pray, what hot sauce you eat, no matter who you love, this is a campaign where everybody belongs,” Richardson added.

Becerra has surged in the governor’s race since Eric Swalwell dropped out just over one month ago.

“California voters are not anxious to have someone who wants to buy the office and they’re also not anxious to have somebody who is towing the Trump line,” said Becerra.

Christina Bellantoni, a professor at USC’s Annenberg School, said Becerra has the right momentum at the right time.

“He could pull this thing off. And I’ve also really noticed that the Steyer campaign has gone increasingly negative on Becerra. And to me, that says they view him as the biggest threat,” Bellantoini added.

One of the other frontrunners, Republican Steve Hilton, clearly views the other Republican in the race, Chad Bianco, as his biggest threat.

Click here to read the full article at KABC News

Filed Under: Trending News Tagged With: , , ,

A bombshell fraud case takes the spotlight in California’s high-stakes race for governor

May 14, 2026 By Dakota Smith 2 Comments
  • Xavier Becerra’s longtime advisor Sean McCluskie pleaded guilty to stealing $225,000 from the former Biden Cabinet secretary’s campaign account.
  • Democratic and Republican rivals in the 2026 California governor’s race are seizing on the scandal to question Becerra’s fitness, warning that legal jeopardy could hand victory to Republicans.
  • Prosecutors say McCluskie, who took a pay cut to join Becerra at Health and Human Services, diverted campaign funds with others to cover the cost of living in both Washington, D.C., and California.

SACRAMENTO  — As Xavier Becerra rose to the top echelons of power in Washington and Sacramento over the last two decades, his trusted advisor Sean McCluskie joined him at every step.

The son of a Scottish immigrant, McCluskie had a reputation as a political street fighter and his gruff style complemented Becerra’s more measured, cerebral approach.

Now Becerra is under attack in California’s wide-open governor’s race after McCluskie, 57, pleaded guilty in December to stealing more than $200,000 from Becerra’s campaign account.

Click Here to Subscribe to the California Political Review

The charges were part of a broader scandal that implicated or brushed up against some of Sacramento’s most influential Democratic political advisors, a scheme prosecutors allege included payments, bank fraud and an FBI sting operation that swept McCluskie’s incriminating private conversations and texts into evidence.

Rivals in the California governor’s race have seized on the case to question whether Becerra, one of the front-runners in the contest to succeed outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom, is fit for office and could be swept up in the case.

“We can’t have someone who is running as a Democrat who could run into legal difficulties,” said candidate Tom Steyer, who is close to Becerra in the polls.

Becerra has not been accused of wrongdoing, and prosecutors’ court filings describe him as a victim. He told The Times that he cooperated with investigators, including appearing before the grand jury.

“Sean was as close as any staffer that I’ve ever had,” Becerra said in an interview last week, describing how McCluskie moved across the country twice to work for him.

Click here to read the full article in the LA Times

Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: , ,

Becerra’s surge in California governor race draws fresh attention to candidacy, long government record

April 28, 2026 By Kevin Rector 3 Comments
  • Xavier Becerra says he is the best candidate in the California governor’s race because of his extensive experience as a government executive, including as California attorney general and as Health and Human Services secretary under the Biden administration.
  • Becerra’s rivals and critics have also pointed to his leadership record, but to highlight what they say are glaring failures that should disqualify him from serving as governor.

After winning his first race for Congress in 1992, 34-year-old Xavier Becerra credited a wave of community supporters in Los Angeles, many Latino, for backing his upstart campaign, saying he hoped his win was proof that grassroots politics was more valuable than “heavy dollars.”

More than 30 years later, Becerra, 68, is again an upstart candidate — this time for California governor. Again he is facing monied competition — including from chief Democratic rival Tom Steyer, a self-funded billionaire — and relying on Latino and other grassroots support.

Click Here to Subscribe to the California Political Review

“You are the people power that it takes,” he told a crowd of supporters at a recent “Fighting for the California Dream” town hall in Los Angeles. “California wasn’t built by billionaires. It was built by your families. It was built by our families.”

That Becerra is still fighting in the race — and drawing new people to his events — reflects a remarkable and hard-to-explain turnaround for a campaign that appeared all but dead less than a month ago, then bounded back into contention after Rep. Eric Swalwell dropped from the race and resigned from Congress amid sexual assault allegations.

Before Swalwell’s collapse, Becerra’s biggest splash in the race came in March, when USC excluded him and other low-performing candidates from a planned debate. The criteria left every candidate of color out, and after Becerra and others complained, the forum was canceled.

Click here to read the full article in the LA Times

Filed Under: Trending News Tagged With: , ,