Xavier Becerra wins California governor race, becoming state's first Latino governor since 1875

The result

Democrat Xavier Becerra won the California governor's race on Tuesday, 3 November, according to first projections from the Associated Press. The result became known only minutes before polling centres closed, El País reported, and his win over Republican Steve Hilton was all but inevitable in a deeply Democratic state. Becerra, 68, is the son of Mexican immigrants and will become California's first Latino governor, the first since Romualdo Pacheco served from February to December 1875. The state he will lead has nearly 40 million residents and the world's fourth largest economy. After the first results, Becerra wrote on social media that he was honoured to become the next governor and would fight for every family in the state.

The campaign

Hilton was born in the United Kingdom and began his political career there, linked to the Conservative Party during the era of Margaret Thatcher. He had worked as a Fox News host and political commentator and was endorsed by Trump during the primary. Becerra narrowly beat Tom Steyer in the June primary, then campaigned sparingly, debating Hilton once and giving a few media interviews. His platform centred on lowering household costs, expanding child care support, cracking down on price gouging and declaring a housing state of emergency on his first day in office. Hilton ran on tax cuts, cheaper fuel and smaller government, blaming Democratic governance in Sacramento for excessive regulation and high taxes. Becerra had started the race with poll numbers so low that his own party chairman had urged him to drop out.

GOP consultant Mike Madrid told Axios that Becerra let the demographics do the work.

“When you're up that big, there's no reason to make it a race.”

Trump and the reaction

Becerra's win is closely tied to Donald Trump. Madrid said the result was largely driven by anti-Republican and anti-Trump feeling in California, and he described the race in those terms.

“This is a referendum on Donald Trump and the president and how people are feeling with the country right now.”

Newsom, who is term-limited and openly weighing a presidential run, congratulated Becerra shortly after the projections appeared. Becerra campaigned on resisting Trump and repeatedly cited the 122 lawsuits he filed against the first Trump administration while serving as California attorney general.

What comes next

POLITICO listed the problems Becerra faces as an affordability crisis, long-term budget deficits, deep federal health care cuts and a hostile Trump administration. The Guardian added a housing shortage, homelessness, rising insurance premiums, wildfire risk and widening wealth inequality. Dan Walters, a CalMatters columnist, told Axios that Becerra is likely to prioritise union agendas, while Madrid expects him to show he cares about Latino and working-class voters. Becerra gained the backing of labor unions, industry groups and the California Chamber of Commerce, and he made few detailed promises during the campaign. Political experts expect a governorship as quiet as his campaign.

Background

Becerra's mother immigrated from Mexico, and his father was born in Sacramento and raised in Mexico. He grew up in a working-class family in Sacramento and was the first in his family to go to college, graduating from Stanford University and Stanford Law School. He represented the Los Angeles area in Congress until 2017, then served as California attorney general and as U.S. Health and Human Services secretary under Joe Biden.