SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Xavier Becerra, a Democrat who ran on his decades of experience in public office, will take over from California Gov. Gavin Newsom as the next governor of the nation’s most populous state.
The victory by Becerra, a former state attorney general and Biden administration official, ensures California and the White House will remain adversaries for the final two years of President Donald Trump’s second term. Becerra repeatedly tied his opponent, Republican Steve Hilton, to the president and promised to defend California against Trump’s policies on everything from immigration to voting rights.
“In so many ways, this election is a choice between reaching higher for California’s golden dream or descending further down Donald Trump’s golden, infamous escalator,” Becerra said at a recent rally, referencing Trump’s 2015 announcement that he’d run for president.
Becerra argued he was best positioned for the job after serving more than 35 years in state and federal office, including as a congressman and health secretary in President Joe Biden’s administration. Hilton, a former Fox News host and adviser to former U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, has never held elected office.
Becerra will be California’s first Latino governor since the late 19th century.
- ASSOCIATED PRESS
