Xavier Becerra was named the winner of California’s gubernatorial race, making history as the first Latino elected governor of the state.
“Ladies and gentlemen you have now entered the Becerra era,” the governor-elect said in his victory speech on Tuesday evening, adding: “Let me make something clear — I didn’t run to make history. I ran to make a difference.”
AP News called the race in Becerra’s favor at exactly 8 p.m. PT Tuesday evening, writing, “The AP will only declare a winner at poll closing time in races not expected to be competitive when all available evidence points to an overwhelming victory. This could include past vote results; pre-election polling; campaign fundraising and spending; and results from AP’s Voter Poll, which surveyed actual voters.”
The Democratic candidate defeated the Trump-endorsed Republican Steve Hilton. However, Becerra was already poised to beat his Republican competitor, according to polling from last week.
In his victory speech, the politician emphasized, “Diversity is not our shortcoming, it’s our super power.” His victory was led by a crowd in Sacramento chanting, “Si se puede!,” which roughly translates to, “It is possible!”
The poll from UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies and co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times found the veteran Democratic politician would garner 61% of likely California voters, compared to 34% for the former Fox News commentator.
Becerra has spent much of his career in public service. Most notably, the Democrat served as former President Joe Biden’s secretary of health and human services from 2021 to 2025. Before that, he served as California’s 33rd attorney general from 2017 to 2021 and as a U.S. representative from California from 1993 to 2017.
Becerra was born and raised in California. Born in Sacramento in 1958, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and a Juris Doctor from Stanford University.
Becerra faced an uphill battle in California’s crowded gubernatorial primary. The Democrat initially polled in the single digits, and the state Democratic Party released its own surveys in an effort to pressure lower-polling candidates to leave the race.
His campaign gained momentum after former Rep. Eric Swalwell dropped out in April following sexual misconduct and sexual assault allegations, which he has denied. Becerra went on to finish ahead of Democratic rivals Tom Steyer, Katie Porter and Matt Mahan in the June primary, advancing to the general election alongside Republican Steve Hilton.
As for Becerra’s views on Hollywood, the Democrat supports a federal film tax incentive and has said he plans to defend and expand the state’s $750 million tax credit cap. However, he has been less clear on whether he would include “above the line” salaries in the program or uncap it altogether — changes that could help make California more competitive with other states like New York and New Jersey.
Becerra has been a vocal opponent of Trump and has pledged to stand up to the president if elected. Hilton, meanwhile, has called for an end to what he describes as “16 years of one-party rule,” arguing that California needs a change from its Democratic-led status quo.
Trump’s endorsement of Hilton may have complicated his campaign in California, where Trump lost the 2024 presidential election by 20 percentage points. Hilton moved to California in 2012 from the United Kingdom, where he had served as director of strategy for former British Prime Minister David Cameron.
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