California Governor Election 2026 Results

Xavier Becerra was elected the next governor of California today, the first Latino to win the state’s highest office.

In a race just called by the AP, Becerra, a Democrat, was long projected to easily defeat Republican Steve Hilton. Still the win to replace term-limited Gavin Newsom comes on a deep blue night with Democrats taking control of the House of Representatives, gaining ground on potential control of the Senate and big upsets in the Governor’s office in Texas and Ohio.

Never ever leading in the Golden State, Hilton, a former Fox News host and adviser to UK Prime minister David Cameron, ran a campaign blasting the California’s governance after years of Democratic dominance. At one widely derided point, Hilton ran a sexually suggestive ad urging leftward voters to give him a try.

But even though there has been no shortage of discontent within the state, so is anti-Trump sentiment. The ex-Apprentice host endorsed Hilton in the primary, and he struggled to distance himself from him. “This is not about who you hate in Washington,” he said in campaign appearances and ads.

Becerra election marks a continuation of Democratic dominance, 20 years after a Republican was last elected governor. The former secretary of health and human services under Joe Biden and former California attorney general, Becerra ran a relatively low-key campaign, with just one debate with Hilton, and emphasized his experience as an asset in standing up to the Trump administration.

Becerra was considered an also ran in the final few months before the June primary, but he suddenly emerged from a long list of contenders after the front-runner, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), dropped out amid sexual misconduct allegations.

At the CNN debate, both candidates were in agreement on the importance of addressing the flight of movie and TV production from the state.

“If we give a tax credit, so long as we get more than $1 back for that dollar in tax credit, we’re going to do it because Hollywood belongs here,” Becerra said.

Hilton, though, blamed Democrats for the production flight. “My plan to bring Hollywood home would make us competitive with the best in the world and reduce the bureaucracy and the red tape, which also has been piled on by Xavier and his friends,” he said.

Becerra was well ahead in polls conducted in the state, and perhaps got a further boost when Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday proposed expanding the tax credit to $1 billion.

Becerra will be the first Latino governor of California since Romualdo Pacheco in 1875. Unlike Becerra, Pacheco was not elected to the office but elevated to the post when the then sitting governor became a U.S. senator.