Xavier Becerra Defeats Steve Hilton for California Governor

Democrat Xavier Becerra will be the next California governor, according to the Associated Press, defeating Republican Steve Hilton to become the state’s first Latino governor in more than 150 years.

The AP called the race just after the polls closed in the Golden State on Tuesday.

Heading into election night, the odds were already against Britain-born Hilton, as California hasn’t elected a Republican to any statewide office in two decades. The last Republican to lead the Golden State was Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose term ended in 2011.

Given that registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by 4.6 million voters in the state, any Republican starts at a disadvantage. For Hilton specifically, receiving an endorsement from Donald Trump also likely didn’t help, as the Republican president is widely loathed outside his conservative base in a state he often criticizes (Most recently, Trump was slammed in October for suggesting Iran could “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego if it were allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.)

In attempts to win over California voters, Hilton, a former Fox News host, also leveraged his media-savvy background with some headline-making campaign ads, specifically his “Just Try It, California” ad that featured two young women making sexual innuendos and his viral “Barstow street taco” blunder from his video outside the original Del Taco location.

When it came to policies, while Hilton focused his campaign on targeting government waste, high living costs, education reform and public safety — such as wanting to eliminate state income tax on the first $150,000 earned by residents, lower gas prices to $3 per gallon, implement statewide homeless encampment bans and propose a film tax credit as high as 60 percent to save Hollywood — it ultimately wasn’t enough to overcome Becerra.

The Sacramento-born Becerra, who previously served as California’s attorney general and the 25th U.S. secretary of health and human services under President Joe Biden, had a slow start early in his primary campaign. But after Democratic contender Eric Swalwell suspended his campaign amid sexual misconduct allegations, Becerra consolidated support and utilized a seven-figure ad blitz to surge past Democratic rivals like Tom Steyer just weeks ahead of the primary election in June.

While his campaign centered on lowering the cost of living, expanding healthcare and investing in state infrastructure, he now has his work cut out for him to deliver for Californians, who have expressed concerns surrounding affordability, housing and homelessness. Specifically, Becerra aims to double the rate of home building in the state, work toward a universal single-payer health care system and propose a tax on the state’s highest earners.

As for Hollywood, which has faced a significant production exodus in the state, Becerra wants to propose a law that studios/streamers must provide performance data to everyone and expand entertainment tax credits based on specific areas “where we are losing work.”

Becerra is set to be sworn into office on Jan. 5, 2027, succeeding Gov. Gavin Newsom.