Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton will compete in November to become California’s next governor after a drawn-out primary count.
Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton will face each other in California’s race for governor this fall after the Associated Press determined Tuesday that Hilton had secured enough votes to advance to the general election.
The matchup sets up a sharp contrast in the nation’s most populous state: Becerra, a former California attorney general and Biden administration health secretary, is running to defend and extend the state’s Democratic direction, while Hilton, a former Fox News commentator backed by President Donald Trump, is campaigning as an outsider who says California needs a break from years of one-party control.
The winner will succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and take over a state of roughly 39 million people with global influence in entertainment, technology and agriculture. The next governor will also inherit persistent problems that have dominated the campaign, including the cost of living, housing shortages and homelessness.
Hilton is trying to do what no Republican has done in California since Arnold Schwarzenegger won reelection in 2006: win statewide office. He has argued that frustration with Democratic leadership could give Republicans an opening, even in a state where Democrats hold a large voter-registration advantage. CNBC reported that Republicans make up about 25% of registered voters, compared with about 45% for Democrats.
“If you’re happy with the way that California is being run, Xavier Becerra is your guy,” Hilton said in a recent interview cited by CNBC. “If you want change, vote for me.”
Hilton’s campaign has already moved to frame Becerra as a long-serving figure tied to the political status quo. Fox News reported that Hilton launched a 55-second ad mocking Becerra’s decades in public life and linking him to issues likely to shape the fall campaign, including homelessness, high-speed rail and his tenure as health secretary under President Joe Biden.
Becerra has made opposition to Trump a central part of his campaign. As California attorney general, a post he assumed in 2017 after being appointed by then-Gov. Jerry Brown, Becerra filed at least 120 legal actions against the federal government during Trump’s first term, according to CNBC. He has continued to cast the race as a fight over California’s values and direction.
“The people of the great state of California, in the greatest nation on earth, have spoken — loudly and proudly,” Becerra said in a statement after the AP called his advancement, according to Fox News. “We will not be bought. We will not be bullied. And we are never backing down. November, here we come.”
The final shape of the race took nearly a week to emerge because of California’s mail-heavy vote count. The AP had determined Friday that Becerra would advance. Hilton’s hold on second place was challenged by Democrat Tom Steyer, the billionaire climate activist and former hedge fund manager, who spent $215 million of his own money on the campaign and narrowed the gap as more late-arriving ballots were counted.
Steyer conceded Tuesday and urged his supporters to back Becerra, saying Californians should unite behind the Democrat to keep Hilton from winning the governorship.
Affordability is expected to remain central in the general election. Hilton has proposed making the first $100,000 of income free of state income tax, creating a loan program for first-time homebuyers and freezing in-state tuition at public colleges. Becerra has said he would use emergency declarations to address high energy costs and housing shortages and to freeze home insurance rates.
The race also carries historical significance for Becerra, who was born in Sacramento to Mexican immigrant parents. If elected, he would become California’s first Latino governor since the late 1800s. Hilton, who moved to California from the United Kingdom in 2012 and became a U.S. citizen in 2021, has leaned into his outsider profile as he seeks to make the November contest a referendum on Democratic control of state government.
The primary results have not yet been certified, but the general election fight is now effectively underway, with both campaigns moving toward a contest over whether California should reinforce its Democratic course or make a rare turn toward Republican leadership.
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