Becerra Defeats Hilton for California Governor, Will Take Office Jan. 4

Xavier Becerra will be California's next governor. The Associated Press called the race shortly after polls closed at 8 p.m. Pacific on Tuesday, Nov. 3, and Republican Steve Hilton conceded that night.

Partial returns put Becerra ahead roughly 65% to 34% with about 54% of the vote counted. Those are unofficial numbers. Becerra, 68, takes office Jan. 4, 2027, succeeding term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom.

A long career, a short general election

Becerra has spent more than three decades in office. He won a state Assembly seat in 1990, spent over two decades in Congress, and left the House in 2017 when then-Gov. Jerry Brown appointed him attorney general. He won a full term in 2018 and served as President Joe Biden's Health and Human Services secretary from 2021 to 2025.

He finished first in the June 2 top-two primary with roughly 28% of the vote. Hilton took second with about 25%. More than 9.4 million Californians voted in that primary, according to certified results from the secretary of state.

The Democratic field cleared out for him in the spring. Former Rep. Eric Swalwell left the race in April, and Becerra consolidated the party's vote from there. Pre-election polls had him up by about 25 points.

No Republican has won a California governor's race since Arnold Schwarzenegger's re-election in 2006. Schwarzenegger left office in January 2011.

What each candidate ran on

Becerra ran on affordability and health care. He pinned inflation and higher gas prices largely on the war in Iran. His campaign website lists "fighting Donald Trump" second among his priorities, behind health care. As attorney general during Trump's first term, he sued the administration more than 100 times.

Hilton, a former Fox News host and onetime adviser to British Prime Minister David Cameron, ran as the change candidate. He proposed cutting taxes and state spending, rolling back regulations and climate mandates, and expanding energy production to bring down housing, electricity and gasoline costs. Trump endorsed him. Hilton said he would work with the administration but push back when necessary.

The two clashed over focus. "All you ever say is 'Trump, Trump, Trump,'" Hilton told Becerra in their sole general election debate. "That's nothing but an insult to every Californian who is desperate for something to change in this state."

Hilton's broader argument was that years of one-party Democratic control in Sacramento drove the cost of living and homelessness crises, and that Becerra would deliver more of the same.

Becerra did not run from the Trump fight. Days before the election he campaigned against Proposition 39, the voter ID ballot measure backed by Trump's allies in California, and criticized the president for suggesting at a Nebraska rally that Iran might "take out" Los Angeles and San Diego. "Life is already tough enough in California," Becerra told reporters.

The election-night speeches

Becerra spoke to supporters in Sacramento. "Ladies and gentlemen, you have now entered the Becerra era," he said.

He will be the first elected Latino governor of California. He is not the first Latino to hold the office. Romualdo Pacheco, a Republican born in California in 1831, became governor in 1875 by succession when Gov. Newton Booth resigned to take a U.S. Senate seat. Pacheco served a little over nine months.

Becerra downplayed the milestone. "I didn't run to make history," he said. "I ran to make a difference for anyone and everyone who calls California home, whether you voted for me or not."

Hilton spoke to about 500 supporters in a Garden Grove hotel ballroom. "The change we hope for may be delayed, but the change is coming. Our fight goes on," he said. His message to Becerra: "Enjoy it while it lasts. We're going to have a Republican governor in 2030."

Hilton also acknowledged the political climate. "Maybe this isn't the best year to be running for office as a Republican when we see what's going on around the country," he said.

The job he is inheriting

California voters head into the transition in a sour mood. A Public Policy Institute of California survey found more than eight in 10 say the country is on the wrong track, and nearly six in 10 say the same of the state. Only two in 10 approve of Trump's performance, a record low across both of his terms.

The problems waiting for Becerra are structural. Homeownership is out of reach for millions, wildfire risk is making insurance harder to get and keep, and housing, utility and fuel costs run well above the national average. Looming budget deficits sit on top of all of it.

The margin of the race did not stop one conservative commentator from questioning the call. Katy Grimes of the California Globe wrote that she is "still wondering how in a state that takes 30 days to count the ballots, media can call the election."

The count continues, and the results are unofficial until counties finish and the state certifies them. Becerra's inauguration is scheduled for Jan. 4, 2027. The outcome of Proposition 39 is the other open item from Tuesday's ballot.