Xavier Becerra is celebrating a historic victory.
The 68-year-old Mexican American politician and attorney, a Democrat who ran on his decades of experience in public office, will take over from California Gov. Gavin Newsom as the next governor of the nation’s most populous state.
Born in Sacramento to a mother from Mexico and a father who was born in California and raised in Mexico, Becerra will be California’s first Latino governor since the late 19th century.
He made appealing to Latino voters a key part of his campaign strategy, including by releasing ads and social media posts in Spanish.
“I’m running to be what the haters fear most: a proud son of immigrants with a law degree and a union card governing America’s most diverse and successful state,” Becerra said at a recent rally.
The victory by Becerra, a former state attorney general and Biden administration official, ensures California and the White House will remain adversaries for the final two years of President Donald Trump’s second term.
Becerra repeatedly tied his opponent, Republican Steve Hilton, to the president and promised to defend California against Trump’s policies on everything from immigration to voting rights.
“If anyone wants to come after California or any one Californian, they better be ready for a fight,” Becerra said Tuesday night in front of a crowd near Sacramento.
Becerra argued he was best positioned for the job after serving more than 35 years in state and federal office, including as a congressman and health secretary in President Joe Biden’s administration.
Hilton, a former Fox News host and adviser to former U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, has never held elected office.
Becerra sustained Democrats’ 16-year winning streak in statewide California elections, which Hilton tried to break by arguing one-party rule was to blame for the state’s high cost of living and homelessness crisis.
He argued Becerra would prolong his party’s failure to adequately address homelessness.
“This is what you get with one-party rule,” Hilton said at a news conference before Election Day. “You get a bunch of people in charge who think that they can get away with anything.”
He said after losing to Becerra that “the change we hoped for may be delayed, but the change is coming.”
