California: Xavier Becerra has secured a spot in the general election and awaits a challenger between Hilton and Steyer
Before running for governor, Becerra was a congressman, California attorney general and most recently secretary of Health and Human Services during Joe Biden's presidency.
Xavier Becerra in Los Angeles/ Frederic J. Brown
Xavier Becerra advanced to the general election for governor of California. Three days after the election, state election officials reported that the Democrat had won the top spot, automatically advancing to November. With just under a third of the vote still to be counted, he will face either Republican Steve Hilton or Democrat Tom Steyer.
Under California's electoral system, candidates from both parties must compete all against each other in what is known as the 'jungle primary.' Regardless of party, the two candidates with the most votes advance to a runoff, while the others are eliminated.
As reported by the Decision Desk HQ, with 69% of the votes counted, Becerra took first place with 26.8% of the vote and secured one of the two spots in the general election. Further back came Steve Hilton (26.3%) and Tom Steyer (21%), who are fighting for a spot in the Nov. 3 general.
"You built this. No checkbook of billionaires, just people power. I will never forget it. I'm so humbled and honored to be moving on to the general election to become your next governor. California has spoken loudly and proudly. We want a working class governor who cannot be bought, cannot be bullied, and will never back down," Becerra said in a video posted on his social media.
"California, we're just getting started. You stayed in the fight with me, and on election night, we proved this state is worth fighting for. Now we take that fight all the way to November. Let's hit the ground running. Let's go win this thing," he added.
Becerra, who initially registered less than 10% voting intention, benefited from the Eric Swalwell scandal. The congressman was leading among Democratic preferences until he received several accusations of sexual abuse, which led him to suspend his campaign and even resign from Congress.
Before becoming a gubernatorial candidate, Becerra was a congressman, California attorney general and most recently secretary of Health and Human Services during the presidency of Joe Biden.
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