Former state AG and HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra enters crowded California governor race

Xavier Becerra, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services and California Attorney General, announced Wednesday that he's entering the race for governor of California.

In a statement, the 67-year-old Becerra said: "California is at a crossroads. From housing to healthcare, childcare to college, working families are facing an affordability crisis. The California Dream is slipping away. I'm running for Governor to fight for that dream, to build a stronger, affordable California for everyone, and to take on bullies who get in our way."

After 24 years in Congress representing Downtown Los Angeles, Becerra served as California's attorney general, defending the Affordable Care Act all the way to the Supreme Court and winning. Then he spent the past four years in the Biden administration as health and human services secretary, overseeing reductions in prescription drug prices and expanded healthcare coverage.

"I am the son of immigrants. I'm the first in my family to have the chance to step into a classroom in college and get a four-year degree. I have been given by my fellow Californians the chance to be a leader for our state. At the end of the day, what people want is someone who will get things done," Becerra said.

"I know what it means to work hard and dream big. My parents came to California with $12 in their pockets. They built a life they were proud of. That's the promise of California, and I will fight to ensure it's still within reach for everyone," said Becerra.

The primary is slated for June 2 of next year, and the top two finishers regardless of political party will move on to the November 2026 runoff election. Over a dozen candidates have already entered the race including Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis, former congresswoman Katie Porter, former Mayor of Los Angeles Antonio Villaraigosa, former California state controller Betty Yee, former speaker of the California State Assembly Toni Atkins, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, businessman Stephen Cloobeck, state superintendent of public instruction Tony Thurmond, and many others.

Candidates considering a run who haven't announced: former Vice President Kamala Harris and Los Angeles businessman Rick Caruso.

"This already crowded field is not settled. If former Vice President Harris runs, then it's difficult to think any other way to describe it than it would completely upend this race," said Jessica Levinson, a Loyola Law School professor.

Becerra believes he's the strongest candidate in the race to take on the Trump administration as he sued the first Trump administration 122 times as attorney general. He says it has been difficult to watch current HHS secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. gut his former department.

"What I'm watching is programs that aren't pork programs, cut. People who aren't political cronies being fired and their end result is patients are being punished," Becerra said. "What did they do to Elon Musk to suffer the consequences of these reckless cuts: Efficiency - all for it, I'm willing to do it. ...but Meals on Wheels? Cancer research? Head Start? That to me is not waste."