Better know a CA gubernatorial candidate: Xavier Becerra

Xavier Becerra may have the longest political career of anyone running for governor this cycle.

His work in politics began in the late 1980s, when he worked as an aide to former state Sen. Art Torres. Following a brief stint as deputy attorney general for the state, he ran for the Assembly in 1990, at the age of 32.

Just weeks into first term, however, long-time U.S. Rep. Edward R. Roybal from Los Angeles announced his retirement. Becerra quickly announced his candidacy for that seat and won it, launching a 24-year career in the House.

During his tenure, Becerra became the first Latino to serve as a member of the Ways and Means Committee. He also served as chairman of the Democratic caucus and was the ranking member of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security and the Subcommittee on Health.

In 2017, when then-California Attorney General Kamala Harris was elected to the U.S. Senate, Gov. Jerry Brown appointed Becerra to fill out the remainder of her term. Once again, Becerra became the first Latino to hold the position.

The following year, in 2018, Becerra was elected statewide to a four-year as attorney general. In that role, he filed 122 lawsuits against the first administration of President Donald Trump.

Then, when President Joe Biden defeated Trump in 2020, Becerra was appointed 25th U.S. secretary of health and human services. Yet again, he was the first Latino in that role. Becerra held that job until the end of the Biden administration and the beginning of Trump 2.0.

From that point forward, he was looked at as a possible gubernatorial candidate. But Becerra didn’t make it official until April.

A Sacramento native, Becerra was the third of four children born to working-class parents. His mother was born in Jalisco, Mexico and immigrated to the United States after marrying his father, who was a day laborer who became a construction worker.

Becerra was the first person in his family to receive a four-year degree. He earned a bachelors in economics from Stanford, where he also received his law degree.

What’s going for him: A lot. Becerra boasts boatloads of political experience – and connections. He’s won a statewide race, which is critical. He’s held prominent positions and received plenty of news coverage. And his public and forceful opposition to President Trump during his first term should play well with Californians who are horrified what he’s now doing in Washington.

Becerra is also a legitimate Latino pioneer, which could very well endear him to a that critical constituency (although he has competition on that front, as described below).

Perhaps most important of all, he has a long, long track record of winning. He captured his Assembly seat as a veritable unknown, then grabbed his Congressional seat by beating back nine other Democrats. It’s been a while since he’s faced the stiff competition he’ll see in this race, but he has shown he can win.

What’s going against him: How truly well-known is he statewide? Yes, he won re-election as attorney general in a statewide race. But he had a critical advantage that year: he was the incumbent after Brown’s appointment.

For the record, he did run against a fellow Democrat in Assemblyman Dave Jones during the primary, so he does have a history of beating other Democrats statewide. Then again, in the state’s open primary system, all Becerra had to do was be in the top two to win that race – and you could argue incumbency gave him the inside track at that. (Beating Republican Steve Bailey in the general is no great shakes in a Democrat-dominated state.)

At the same time, while Becerra is a bona fide figure in Latino political history, it remains unclear well he’s known in that community. It’s entirely possible that another Latino in the race, former Los Angeles Mayor (and Assembly Speaker) Antonio Villaraigosa, has better name ID.