Summary<\/p>\n
Former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra has secured a spot in California’s gubernatorial general election this November, CNN projects.
\n His opponent remains undecided between Republican Steve Hilton and billionaire Democrat Tom Steyer in the nonpartisan primary.
\n Becerra’s opponents criticized his handling of the child migrant crisis and the mpox outbreak during his time in the Biden administration.<\/p>\n
\n AI-generated summary was reviewed by a CNN editor.<\/p>\n
\n Former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, a Democrat, will advance to the November election in California\u2019s governor\u2019s race, CNN\u2019s Decision Desk projects. It\u2019s not yet clear who he\u2019ll face.\n <\/p>\n
\n Becerra\u2019s advancement guarantees a Democrat will be in the general election after some feared that their wide field of candidates would split the vote, allowing Republicans to lock them out of the general election.\n <\/p>\n
\n Becerra thanked his supporters and volunteers following his projected win Friday night.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cI\u2019m so humbled and honored to be moving on to the general election to become your next governor,\u201d Becerra said in a video on X<\/a>. \u201cLet\u2019s go win this thing.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n The race to face him in November is still too early to call, with former Fox News host Steve Hilton, a Republican, and billionaire Democratic activist Tom Steyer in contention for the second spot in November.\n <\/p>\n \n In the votes reported since Election Day on Tuesday, Becerra pulled ahead of Hilton and also increased his lead over Steyer, making it clear he would finish inside the top two.\n <\/p>\n \n If Steyer advances, a Democrat would be guaranteed to succeed term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom, but only after a campaign that would likely be expensive and brutal. Steyer, who made his fortune as a hedge fund manager, has already poured more than $200 million into his campaign. Some of that money has gone toward attacking Becerra over his record during the Biden administration.\n <\/p>\n \n Should Hilton prevail, the Republican would face a steep uphill climb in the general. There are roughly 4.6 million more registered Democrats than there are Republicans in California, according to the state\u2019s most recent voter registration statistics. California hasn\u2019t elected a Republican governor in 20 years, when voters gave Arnold Schwarzenegger a second term.\n <\/p>\n \n Tuesday night closed out a primary in which voters appeared to be continually underwhelmed by their options, particularly on the Democratic side. Former Vice President Kamala Harris and US Sen. Alex Padilla \u2014 high-profile Democrats who could have potentially consolidated the field \u2014 declined to run. Other candidates dropped out after failing to gain traction.\n <\/p>\n \n Former US Rep. Katie Porter\u2019s early lead in the race crumbled last fall when two unflattering videos went viral<\/a> \u2014 one of her sparring with a reporter and another in which she yelled at a staffer to \u201cget out of my f**king shot.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Earlier this year, it seemed that Democrats would gravitate towards then-Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Trump antagonist who entered the race in late November. But the lawmaker\u2019s campaign imploded after CNN<\/a> and the San Francisco Chronicle<\/a> reported in early April that Swalwell was facing multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, claims he strongly denied. Swalwell left the race two days after<\/a> the allegations were reported and resigned from Congress.\n <\/p>\n \n Swalwell\u2019s exit created a vacuum in the race for Becerra, who also served as a Los Angeles-area US congressman and California attorney general. He ran on his years of experience in various governmental roles and argued that only someone who had managed crises could fix California\u2019s current problems.\n <\/p>\n \n But Becerra also had to weather attacks on the very same record. Critics and opponents \u2014 including Steyer, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa \u2014 criticized Becerra\u2019s handling of the child migrant crisis and the mpox outbreak. Allies said those attacks were unfair.\n <\/p>\n