Xavier Becerra

Candidate for Governor

Xavier Becerra is the Democratic candidate for Governor of California. The election is November 3, 2026. He was born January 26, 1958, in Sacramento. His parents were working-class immigrants. His father worked construction. His mother was a clerk. He was the first in his family to finish college. He earned a B.A. in economics at Stanford in 1980. He earned a law degree at Stanford in 1984. He first worked in legal aid in Massachusetts. From 1987 to 1990 he was a California deputy attorney general. He won a state Assembly seat in 1990 and served one term. In 1992 he was elected to the U.S. House. He served twelve terms, from 1993 to 2017. His districts covered the Los Angeles area. He chaired the House Democratic Caucus from 2013 to 2017. In January 2017, Governor Jerry Brown named him state Attorney General. He was the first Latino to hold that office. He won a full term in 2018. As Attorney General he sued the first Trump administration many times. From March 2021 to January 2025 he led the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He was the first Latino to lead it. He announced his run for governor in April 2025. Governor Gavin Newsom is term-limited. In the June 2, 2026 primary, Becerra finished first. He won 2,591,857 votes (28.0%). He faces Republican Steve Hilton (2,277,318 votes, 24.6%) in November. The California Democratic Party endorsed him on July 13, 2026, after the primary was certified. He and his wife, physician Carolina Reyes, raised three daughters in Los Angeles. Home: Los Angeles area. Occupation: attorney; former U.S. health secretary. Not an incumbent. Prior offices: state Assembly (1990-1992); U.S. House (1993-2017); state Attorney General (2017-2021); U.S. health secretary (2021-2025).

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