Becerra vows to resist Trump as California faces housing and wildfire risk
California voters elected Xavier Becerra governor, The Guardian reported, placing the 68-year-old former health and human services secretary in line to govern America’s largest state and the world’s fourth-largest economy. The son of Mexican immigrants, Becerra will become California’s first Latino governor since 1875; more than 40% of residents are Latino, and nearly one in two children has an immigrant parent. At a victory party in Sacramento, the state capital, Becerra told supporters, “As Governor, my mission is straightforward, but not simple: deliver a California we can afford and defend a California we can’t afford to lose.”
A Reuters photograph showed Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra voting in Sacramento on Tuesday. The photograph was credited to Manuel Orbegozo/Reuters.
The Guardian reported that a majority of residents were deeply dissatisfied with the Trump administration amid immigration raids and policy threats targeting California’s environmental policies and university system. Becerra has pledged to resist the Trump administration during the final two years of Trump’s term.
Becerra centered his campaign around restoring the “California Dream,” focusing on affordability issues such as making health care universally accessible. He also promised to stand up to the president, saying he had sued the Trump administration 122 times as California attorney general during Trump’s first term.
The race to succeed Gavin Newsom had no clear frontrunner early. By the closing stretch, the race had mostly settled.
Steve Hilton, a British-born former Fox News host whom President Donald Trump endorsed, blamed California’s problems on Democratic governance in Sacramento, saying it produced excessive regulation, high taxes and an unaffordable state. He promised tax cuts, cheaper fuel and smaller government. The Guardian described Becerra as the overwhelming favorite to defeat Hilton.
For much of the race, Becerra languished in the low single digits, struggling to break out of a crowded field. California’s open primary system advances the top two vote-winners regardless of party, determining the general-election field. The Guardian reported that some party officials encouraged Becerra to leave the race to avoid inadvertently splitting the vote and allowing a “Republican lockout.”
His fortunes began to change after former congressman Eric Swalwell’s campaign collapsed amid sexual assault allegations. Becerra edged past billionaire Tom Steyer and secured the top spot on the November general-election ballot alongside Hilton.
Becerra brings experience as a former congressman, California attorney general and Biden cabinet secretary to the office. Gavin Newsom, who is term-limited and openly weighing a presidential run, will leave the governorship as Becerra takes office during the final two years of Trump’s presidency.
The incoming administration inherits high living costs, a housing shortage and homelessness. The Guardian also listed rising insurance premiums, wildfire risk and widening wealth inequality among the major problems awaiting California’s next governor. The Guardian noted that California relies on its billionaires even as residents increasingly revile them.
How to regulate artificial intelligence, described by The Guardian as a major engine of California’s economy, looms large for the incoming administration. The Guardian reported that Silicon Valley’s technology companies and investors have increasingly challenged state regulation, particularly around AI safety, labor protections and datacenter construction.