Xavier Becerra will be California’s next governor after a decisive victory that extends Democratic control of the state’s top office into a 17th straight year.
With nearly half of the votes counted Tuesday night, the former state attorney general and U.S. health secretary held 65% of the vote, while Republican challenger Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host and British-American political strategist, trailed with 34%. The Associated Press called the race for Becerra.
Becerra will become the first Latino governor of California in a century and a half — and the first ever elected to the post. Addressing supporters at a victory celebration in West Sacramento, he told the crowd that his parents, Mexican immigrants, arrived in California with just $12 to their name.
“My parents were construction workers and office clerks who earned every dollar and saved every penny,” Becerra said. “I didn’t run to make history. I ran to make a difference — for the next construction worker and office clerk who wants to buy a home of their own.”
Hilton conceded about an hour after polls closed Tuesday night.
“Change may be delayed, but change is coming,” he told supporters gathered in Orange County.
The win caps a remarkable turnaround for Becerra, a measured, risk-averse politician who just eight months ago was polling so poorly that allies urged him to drop out of the race. But when the Democratic front-runner in a crowded primary withdrew in April amid sexual assault allegations, Becerra emerged as the moderate Democrat favored by party insiders and major interest groups. By the time he and Hilton finished first and second in the June primary, Becerra was widely viewed as California’s governor-in-waiting.
Holding a comfortable lead in the polls and facing a Republican opponent he could easily tie to President Donald Trump, Becerra steered clear of sweeping policy pledges, instead leaning on his decades of government experience — as a member of Congress representing Los Angeles, state attorney general and U.S. secretary of health and human services.
With Becerra taking office, California is unlikely to veer far from the path set by outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom, including the state’s continued friction with the Trump administration. Becerra has voiced support for recent efforts by Newsom and the Democratic-controlled Legislature to speed up housing construction, and broadly backs the state’s shift toward clean energy — though he has also said he wants to find ways to lower gas prices for residents.
Still, his governing style is expected to differ from his predecessor’s. Newsom built his reputation on bold ambition, entering office eight years ago with sweeping goals — including building millions of new homes and pursuing a universal health care system — not all of which came to pass. Becerra has avoided such lofty promises, speaking instead in broader terms about prioritizing working families, and has said he doesn’t want to overpromise and erode public trust.
“Californians aren’t expecting miracles from their government,” he said Tuesday night. “They just want a government that works.”
Republicans saw their best shot in years with Hilton
Hilton ran on an aggressive deregulatory platform, at times unconventional, proposing tax cuts, the elimination of the Department of Motor Vehicles, cancellation of the state’s high-speed rail project and a rollback of California’s climate goals — all framed around lowering the cost of living. But as a Republican running statewide in heavily Democratic California, during a year when Democrats were expected to perform well nationally, he faced long odds from the start.
Even so, Hilton represented the GOP’s strongest opportunity in years to capture the governor’s office. He raised more than $33 million, compared with Becerra’s $38 million, and built his campaign around ambitious promises to cut costs by slashing regulations and taxes. He cast Becerra as a symbol of California’s political establishment — someone who would cater to powerful interest groups, including labor unions.
On Tuesday night, Hilton described his campaign as the beginning of a “grassroots movement for change,” with eyes on breaking the Democratic supermajority in the Legislature by 2028 and electing a Republican governor in 2030.
“We were up against a machine that has been in power for a long time,” he said. “They think they own this state.”
Hilton struggled throughout the race to distance himself from his association with Trump. Becerra repeatedly reminded voters of that connection, positioning himself as a fighter who — much like Newsom — would stand up to Washington on issues such as Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement efforts. He dismissed Hilton as lacking seriousness and built his campaign largely around his long record of public service.
The election arrives at a particularly difficult moment for California. Homelessness climbed for years before beginning to ease slightly in 2025. Wildfires have made it increasingly difficult for homeowners to secure insurance. Inflation — driven in part by Trump’s conflict with Iran, tariffs and immigration crackdowns — has compounded the state’s already steep cost of living.
California’s budget, long vulnerable to stock market swings, has grown increasingly tied to the fortunes of the artificial intelligence industry. Under Newsom, the state has pursued aggressive regulations to curb fossil fuel use and combat climate change. Yet even as recent polling shows most Californians continue to support the shift to green energy, fewer are willing to pay higher costs to get there than they were a decade ago.
The state’s liberal policies have also repeatedly drawn the ire of the Trump administration, which has withheld federal funding, challenged California’s environmental rules and sought to influence the outcome of this election.
Both candidates acknowledged Tuesday night a widespread sense that the California dream has slipped out of reach for many residents and needs to be restored. Hilton blamed special interests for pushing excessive regulation, while Becerra argued that the state’s environmental protections, LGBTQ+ rights, immigrant communities and health care access are under direct threat from the Trump administration.
“As governor, my mission is simple: to build a California we can afford, and to defend a California we cannot afford to lose,” Becerra said.
Original source: CalMatters
