{"id":212932,"date":"2026-06-06T22:42:58","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T22:42:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/xavier-becerra-advances-in-californias-hotly-contested-governors-race-the-guardian\/"},"modified":"2026-06-06T22:42:58","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T22:42:58","slug":"xavier-becerra-advances-in-californias-hotly-contested-governors-race-the-guardian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/xavier-becerra-advances-in-californias-hotly-contested-governors-race-the-guardian\/","title":{"rendered":"Xavier Becerra advances in California\u2019s hotly contested governor\u2019s race – The Guardian"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ex-US health secretary advances to general election after emerging from crowded primary in race to succeed Gavin Newsom
Xavier Becerra has advanced to the November general election in California\u2019s gubernatorial race, cementing a stunning come-from-behind primary victory in one of California\u2019s most turbulent campaign seasons in recent memory.
Election officials are continuing to count ballots to determine whether he will face fellow Democrat Tom Steyer<\/a>, the environmental activist who championed progressive policies like universal healthcare and more taxes on billionaires like himself, or Republican Steve Hilton, the former UK political operative turned Fox News personality who was endorsed by Donald Trump, in the fall.
\u201cThe people of the great state of California, in the greatest nation on earth, have spoken \u2013 loudly and proudly,\u201d Becerra said in a statement, after the Associated Press declared that he had clinched one of two spots in the general election. \u201cWe will not be bought. We will not be bullied. And we are never backing down. November, here we come.\u201d
Becerra\u2019s advance in the nation\u2019s largest Democratic stronghold was, in his own words, a \u201cHollywood ending\u201d few saw coming. Just months ago, mired at 3% in the polls, the former California attorney general and US health secretary faced pressure from his own party to drop out of the contest to allow voters to consolidate behind a more viable candidate. \u201cThe underdog stayed in the fight,\u201d an ebullient Becerra told supporters at his election night party on Tuesday, as early returns showed him with a strong chance of pulling off a top-two finish in the primary. If elected in November, he would be California\u2019s first Latino governor since 1875.
Despite the ongoing count, and the strong expectation that the so-called \u201clate-mail\u201d ballots would favor Democrats, Donald Trump prematurely declared Hilton the winner and, without evidence, accused the state of election rigging.
\u201cWe don\u2019t want cheating in our elections. You see it in California. Those numbers are coming down rapidly. They found a lot of mail-in ballots last night, shockingly. We don\u2019t want that,\u201d Trump said Thursday in the Oval Office.
On Friday, the US justice department sent a federal prosecutor<\/a> to observe ballot processing in Los Angeles, while a Trump-appointed assistant US attorney said his office was conducting \u201cmultiple election fraud investigations\u201d.
Hilton had climbed to an early lead on election night as the preliminary results trickled in. But this year, many Democrats said they waited until the final days to cast their ballots, as they weighed their options and considered how their vote might affect the result in a primary that once looked like two Republicans could advance to the general election. Many of those ballots were still being counted as of Friday evening.
\u201cChange is coming, and the campaign for change starts today,\u201d Hilton said earlier this week, stopping short of declaring victory.
The uncertainty reflects the quirky nature of California\u2019s primary system, in which the top two vote-getters advance to the general election regardless of political party.
Any Republican would face an uphill battle running statewide in California. Democrats control nearly all levels of government and hold a nearly two-to-one voter registration advantage. But running with Trump\u2019s endorsement in a state where the president is deeply unpopular makes the path forward even more fraught for Hilton.
By contrast, a contest between Becerra and Steyer would guarantee a Democrat in the governor\u2019s mansion, setting the stage for a prolonged \u2013 and costly \u2013 debate between two dueling visions for the party\u2019s future.
In the primary, Steyer spent more than $200m of his personal fortune to blanket the airwaves while he sought to capitalize on voter frustration and anger over housing costs, homelessness and public safety. In the final weeks, Steyer and Becerra feuded bitterly over their qualifications, their experience and their platforms.
For much of the election season, the contest for the state\u2019s top office was unusually fluid. A sprawling field of Democrats competed to succeed Governor Gavin Newsom<\/a>, who is term-limited, with no clear heir apparent and high-profile figures, like Kamala Harris and Senator Alex Padilla, passing on a bid.
Just as Democrat Eric Swalwell gained traction, his campaign imploded over allegations of sexual assault and misconduct, which he has denied. Swalwell ended his campaign for governor and resigned from Congress.
In the aftermath of that shock, it was Becerra who unexpectedly but steadily consolidated support among Democratic voters as the campaign entered its final weeks. Despite missteps, which included a viral clip of him attempting to steer a TV reporter\u2019s interview \u2013 \u201cThis is not a \u2018gotcha\u2019 piece, right?\u201d \u2013 and criticism from former Biden administration officials who questioned his record and management style, and scrutiny over his position on single-payer healthcare, Becerra continued to rise.<\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ex-US health secretary advances to general election after emerging from crowded primary in race to succeed Gavin NewsomXavier Becerra has advanced to the November general election in California\u2019s gubernatorial race, cementing a stunning come-from-behind primary victory in one of California\u2019s most turbulent campaign seasons in recent memory.Election officials are continuing to count ballots to determine […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":212933,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-212932","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-us","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=212932"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212932\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/212933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=212932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=212932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=212932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}