Xavier Becerra defeated Republican opponent Steve Hilton in a landslide election to become California’s next governor, making him the first Latino elected to the position.
Born and raised in Sacramento, Becerra is a Californian through and through.
The governor-elect began his career as an attorney, earning his Juris Doctor from Stanford University before working at a legal services office representing people with mental illnesses in Massachusetts.
He returned to California and became an administrative assistant to Democratic state Sen. Art Torres of Los Angeles in 1986, marking his first step toward a career in politics. He later served as a deputy attorney general in the California Department of Justice from 1987 to 1990.
Becerra left the California Department of Justice to run for the state Assembly, where he won election and served one term.
First elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1992, Becerra chaired the Congressional Hispanic Caucus from 1997 to 1999 and the House Democratic Caucus from 2013 to 2017. In 2017, he was appointed California attorney general following Kamala Harris’ election to the U.S. Senate.
Becerra won a full term in 2018 and served until 2021, when he joined President Joe Biden’s Cabinet as the 25th secretary of health and human services, a position he held through 2025.
Throughout his career in politics, Becerra has demonstrated the kind of leader he intends to be, the policies he supports and the changes Californians may see under his administration.
With every election comes promises of making the Golden State a more affordable place to live. However, the promise of reducing costs seems to be an almost impossible task.
The son of a union construction worker, Becerra has said affordable housing is at the forefront of his priorities as governor. Among his proposals, Becerra has promised to declare a statewide housing emergency through an executive order on his first day in office.
Through the order, he has said he will expedite nearly 40,000 housing units approved under Newsom that are still awaiting funding. Becerra has argued that an increase in housing supply will lead to lower market prices.
Becerra has also supported expanding affordable housing near public transportation and employment centers, as well as strengthening renter protections.
“I have no illusions about what stands between California and the housing it needs,” Becerra said. “But a Governor is not powerless in the face of them either.”
California will likely not see the controversial “Billionaires Tax” come to fruition, a proposal Becerra openly opposed. This does not, however, mean the incoming governor is opposed to new tax initiatives.
Becerra has said he believes high-income earners must pay their “fair share.” However, he intends to find a more stable way of accomplishing this rather than taxing assets. Similar to Newsom, Becerra has argued that structural tax reform targeting wealthier Californians would be more effective than a one-time tax.
Becerra has also supported exploring a controversial proposal to tax drivers based on the miles they travel to generate revenue for road and highway repairs. With the increase in energy-efficient cars and electric vehicles, the state faces declining revenue from gas taxes, which is expected to result in a funding shortfall of approximately $31 billion over the next decade.
“I want everyone who’s sitting here to be able to drive on our roads, across our bridges, make sure transit is working, and you have to fund it somehow,” Becerra said at a CBS debate earlier this year.
An advocate for protecting Medi-Cal, Becerra has also expressed the possibility of finding additional revenue amid federal funding cuts to protect access to health care. When asked by ABC7 how he would protect Medi-Cal while balancing the state budget, Becerra said he would “look to make sure who’s not paying their fair share.”
Drawing on his experience as Biden’s secretary of health and human services, health care has been one of Becerra’s most prominent policy issues.
“Healthcare has been the throughline of my entire career in public service,” Becerra said in his campaign.
Becerra has been outspoken in his disapproval of the Trump administration’s federal funding cuts to health care programs, saying protecting coverage and Medi-Cal will be a top priority. He also aims to work toward building a universal, single-payer health care system.
He has proposed a fee on large employers whose low-wage workers rely on Medi-Cal, arguing that profitable companies should not shift their health care costs onto taxpayers.
While serving in the Biden administration, Becerra also oversaw the expansion of telehealth throughout the pandemic. As governor, he has said he will sign an executive order requiring state-regulated health insurers to reimburse telehealth visits and prioritize strengthening the system to increase access to health care across California.
Additionally, lowering prescription drug costs has been a passion project of sorts for Becerra. According to his campaign, he reduced drug prices by as much as 79% during his time as HHS secretary, a goal he plans to continue pursuing in California.
In California, roughly 180,000 people remain unhoused. While opponent Steve Hilton promised an aggressive approach, calling homelessness “illegal,” Becerra has a different view of the issue.
For Becerra, prevention is key.
Throughout his campaign, Becerra argued that keeping people housed after financial setbacks or medical emergencies is less expensive than helping them recover after losing their homes.
While he has acknowledged the need to clear encampments, he said it is necessary to ensure displaced individuals have access to temporary shelter, mental health resources and other treatment before being removed.
He has proposed building thousands of additional mental health and addiction treatment beds, expanding emergency shelters and permanent supportive housing, and increasing rental assistance.
Becerra wants to tie state homelessness funding to outcomes, including how many people are successfully moved into housing and remain housed after 12 months. He has proposed defunding programs that fail to demonstrate results.
As part of this effort, Becerra has said he wants Californians to know how every dollar is being spent to address the crisis.
“What we will do is build up the treatment facilities that we need,” Becerra said during his campaign. “Without a doubt, we have to demand accountability. When we put out a taxpayer dollar, we need accountability.”
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