Patrick Li — June 9, 2026
As of June 4th, Xavier Becerra—a Democrat once dismissed as an afterthought—will advance to the general election in the California gubernatorial race. Becerra is set to face Republican Steve Hilton, who received the second-most votes in this month’s primary, in November. Due to the dominance of Democrats in California politics, the former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services is almost guaranteed to be California’s next governor.
The road to his current position was anything but straightforward; in the early stages of his campaign, Becerra—a former congressman and state attorney-general running on experience—was a nonfactor. As a rather timid and “non-exciting” moderate, he was frequently overshadowed in a heavily contested primary. Among the field were career politicians vying for future presidential and senate positions (Eric Swalwell and Katie Porter), a progressive billionaire activist (Tom Steyer), and upstart San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan.
Perhaps the most contributing factor to Becerra’s meteoric rise was the downfall of Eric Swalwell. In April, the Democratic congressman was near the cusp of pulling away from the fray until credible allegations of sexual misconduct led him to resign from the race. This sent shockwaves throughout the party’s base, as Swalwell had support from both the Democratic old guard and a substantial chunk of progressives, most predominantly from high profile union endorsements. Swalwell’s resignation caused voters to split ideologically; progressives rallied behind billionaire activist Tom Steyer and moderates backed candidate Xavier Becerra, elevating both.
This rift gave rise, in part, to Republican Steve Hilton’s prospects. Because California has a jungle primary system, in which the top two primary round candidates advance to the general election regardless of party, there was fear amongst Democrats over the legitimate possibility of two Republicans being on the general ticket. Thankfully for Democrats, however, this did not come to pass. Still, Steve Hilton was able to rally enough of the conservative vote to earn him a spot in the general election this November, in which Xavier Becerra is highly favorited
It is not clear what Becerra’s policy platform will look like if he wins. Over the campaign trail, he has kept his agenda relatively vague. On the topic of healthcare instability, Becerra stated, “we’re going to move forward.” When asked a question pertaining to homelessness, Becerra replied “you can see it with your eyes.” Regardless of his policy, Becerra’s political comeback is certainly a noteworthy and meteoric turnaround.
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