{"id":251962,"date":"2026-04-04T19:24:24","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T19:24:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/251962\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T19:24:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T19:24:24","slug":"xavier-becerra-leans-into-his-health-care-background-while-campaigning-for-governor-in-orange-county-press-telegram","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/251962\/","title":{"rendered":"Xavier Becerra leans into his health care background while campaigning for governor in Orange County \u2013 Press Telegram"},"content":{"rendered":"

Xavier Becerra<\/a> says he wants to be the \u201chealth care governor\u201d for California. To do that, he\u2019s barnstorming the state, stopping at community health centers along the way.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what brought Becerra, the former U.S. Department of Health and Human Services secretary and current Democratic candidate for governor, to an office building in Santa Ana on Tuesday afternoon, getting a close look at mental health services offered for youths, veterans and families at Orange County\u2019s Child Guidance Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He toured the various rooms where professionals help parents communicate and play with their children. He heard about how veterans and their families can find healing through equine therapy. And with the federal building in Santa Ana looming outside the center\u2019s windows, he asked Child Guidance Center CEO Lori Pack about how the Trump administration\u2019s ramped-up immigration enforcement efforts have affected children and families seeking mental health care.<\/p>\n

\"Former<\/p>\n

Former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate, during a tour of the Child Guidance Center in Santa Ana on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Clinical<\/p>\n

Clinical program director Rubi Lopez Becerra, left, and Lori Pack, CEO of Child Guidance Center, center, speak with former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate, during a tour at Child Guidance Center in Santa Ana on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Former<\/p>\n

Former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, center, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate, listens to program director Rudy Gomez, left, and Lori Pack, CEO of Child Guidance Center, during a tour of the center in Santa Ana on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Former<\/p>\n

Former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, right, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate, listens to Lori Pack, CEO of Child Guidance Center, left, during a roundtable discussion in Santa Ana on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Former<\/p>\n

Former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate, speaks during a roundtable discussion with representatives from Child Guidance Center in Santa Ana on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 5<\/p>\n

Former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate, during a tour of the Child Guidance Center in Santa Ana on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

Health care centers, such as the Child Guidance Center, are on the \u201cfront lines\u201d of providing so many services to California families, Becerra said in an interview after his tour. That\u2019s an important mission, he said, for whoever is the next governor of California.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to make sure we have access to early preventative care, which is far less expensive than going into the hospitals, using the emergency rooms,\u201d Becerra said. \u201cSo I\u2019ve got to see centers like this thrive, not just survive, the Trump (administration) budget cuts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Becerra is in the midst of a campaign for California governor, one that has been dominated by talk about the number of Democratic contenders vying to be the state\u2019s next chief executive, without any emerging as a clear front-runner.<\/p>\n

But Becerra, who has polled toward the bottom of the main Democratic contenders, at least doesn\u2019t sound worried. It\u2019s April, he said on the last day of March, that will be the real test.<\/p>\n

April is when a few of the candidates will begin to shine, Becerra predicted. It\u2019s also when voters, many of whom are still undecided, polling shows, will really start to pay attention to the crowded race, the former Biden administration official said.<\/p>\n

As for Becerra\u2019s plan to ingratiate himself to voters and start to stand out, it\u2019s one rooted in consistency.<\/p>\n

\u201cTravel all over, meet with folks, try to make sure that we\u2019re raising the issues that are most important to folks and participating,\u201d Becerra said, adding that he hopes there will be more debates in the future that include a \u201cfair\u201d process of determining who can participate. (A debate scheduled for last week was ultimately canceled at the last minute<\/a> amid growing criticism that the formula used to pick the participants excluded the Democratic candidates of color, including Becerra, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former State Controller Betty Yee.)<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then just do the best job you can of being present through social media and commercials, so people have a chance to learn more about you and make the decision of who they want,\u201d Becerra said.<\/p>\n

As voters are still deciding, Becerra said he plans to highlight his experience in the Biden administration tackling the country\u2019s health care needs during the COVID-19 pandemic, in Congress and as California\u2019s attorney general.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have more policy chops than any of the candidates who are running,\u201d he said. \u201cThe thing that I think is the trait that I bring that is most valuable is my personal experience, that lived experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know what it means to not have everything you\u2019d like,\u201d Becerra continued, \u201cand that is lived experience that you take to the governor\u2019s office that, complemented with those experiences as a professional, help you make the right decision, help you pierce through the difficulties in times of crisis, help you make those strong decisions, which are tough to make, where courage really will be necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n

So in the meantime, Becerra is continuing to tour the state as part of his campaign for governor, highlighting his experience and talking about how the next governor can protect access to health care amid federal cuts and promoting the importance of home ownership, particularly among younger Californians, he said.<\/p>\n

He\u2019ll be doing that, he said, while trying to swap out fast food for salads on the campaign trail. And while cheering on the UCLA women\u2019s basketball team in the NCAA Tournament.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Xavier Becerra says he wants to be the \u201chealth care governor\u201d for California. To do that, he\u2019s barnstorming…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":245999,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[1400,163,165,164,7,8,400,100,611,13,338],"class_list":{"0":"post-251962","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-anaheim","8":"tag-2026-elections","9":"tag-anaheim","10":"tag-anaheim-headlines","11":"tag-anaheim-news","12":"tag-california","13":"tag-california-news","14":"tag-california-politics","15":"tag-news","16":"tag-orange-county","17":"tag-politics","18":"tag-santa-ana"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251962","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251962"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251962\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/245999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}