Becerra laps Hilton in the money race

Xavier Becerra outraised his Republican opponent for governor by more than two to one in donations of $1,000 or more during the first half of August, as Sacramento’s inside players continued betting heavily on the Democratic frontrunner to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Donors gave Becerra’s campaign for governor $1.9 million in the first 15 days of August to Republican Steve Hilton’s $690,000 in four- and five-figure sums, reports filed with the California Secretary of State show.

The haul builds on Becerra’s substantial lead over Hilton in the money race.

• Becerra ended the first half of the year–June 30–with more than $6.2 million in the bank. Hilton had $2.1 million but also $1.4 million in unpaid bills.
• Since July 1, Becerra has raised $6 million to Hilton’s $1.2 million in four and five-figure donations.

In the first half of August, no fewer than 17 donors gave Becerra $39,200, the maximum allowed by state law in direct contributions to a statewide candidate per election, compared with six for Hilton.

The California Correctional Peace Officers Associations, the union that represents officers in state prisons, was among the donors giving Becerra $39,200. The union depends on the governor’s office to grant its members raises.

Through various entities, the California Association of Health Facilities, the trade group that represents nursing homes, has given Becerra $131,000, while alcohol manufacturer Diageo gave $25,000. Both have significant lobby efforts in Sacramento.

Campaign finance reports filed since July 1 do not reflect small dollar donations. But the mid-year filing showed that in the first half of 2026, Hilton, a former Fox News commentator, significantly outraised Becerra in donations of less than $1,000, as detailed in this report.

Hilton spokesman Hector Barajas said the Hilton campaign has more than 100,000 donors, many of them “middle-class families, small business owners, and people struggling to make ends meet in a state that has become far too expensive.”

“That is the choice in this race: the political establishment and its insiders fighting to protect the same failed Sacramento machine, versus more than 100,000 people who pay the bills, raise families, run businesses, and are sick of paying more and getting less,” Barajas said in an email.

The California Republican Party continued to struggle reporting having raised $170,500 in larger donations.

Shiralian Enterprises Inc., which operates gas stations and is based in Fresno, gave $138,000 to the state GOP, making it by far the state party’s largest donor in 2026. Additionally, its owners gave Hilton a combined $77,400 in August.

The California Democratic raised $1.82 million in the first half of August. Its largest donor during that period artificial intelligence giant Anthropic, which gave $850,000. The California Chamber of Commerce gave the party $100,000. The chamber tilted toward the California GOP in the early 2000s, before California became a solidly Democratic state.

This piece originally appeared in Dan Morain’s Substack newsletter. Morain is a regular contributor to Capitol Weekly.