{"id":320750,"date":"2026-05-18T03:39:58","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T03:39:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/320750\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T03:39:58","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T03:39:58","slug":"new-vegas-odds-on-the-california-governors-race-favor-one-candidate-and-its-not-even-close","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/320750\/","title":{"rendered":"New Vegas odds on the California Governor\u2019s race favor one candidate and it\u2019s not even close"},"content":{"rendered":"

New Vegas betting odds heavily favor former Biden Cabinet official Xavier Becerra<\/a> in California\u2019s crowded governor\u2019s race<\/a> \u2014 and it\u2019s not even close.<\/p>\n

Prediction market Polymarket currently gives Becerra a commanding 52% chance of winning the 2026 gubernatorial contest, far outpacing his nearest rival, billionaire Democrat Tom Steyer<\/a>, who trails at around 32%.<\/p>\n

\"New<\/p>\n

New Vegas betting odds heavily favor former Biden Cabinet official Xavier Becerra in California\u2019s crowded governor\u2019s race\u2014and it\u2019s not even close. AP<\/p>\n

The sharp divide underscores just how dramatically Becerra has surged from early uncertainty to become the race\u2019s dominant frontrunner. <\/p>\n

The Polymarket odds Sunday night went as follows:<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The sharp divide underscores just how dramatically Becerra has surged from early uncertainty to become the race\u2019s dominant frontrunner. Godofredo A. V\u00e1squez\/Pool AP via AP<\/p>\n

The latest odds mark a major boost for the former Health and Human Services secretary, whose campaign has gained steam as California\u2019s June primary nears.<\/p>\n

\"Polls<\/p>\n

Polls conducted after Swalwell\u2019s career implosion showed Becerra skyrocketing near the top of voter surveys. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Becerra, who also served in the California state legislature before becoming attorney general, had struggled to gain traction until the spectacular implosion of ex-Rep. Eric Swalwell\u2019s campaign this month following allegations of sexual assault.<\/p>\n

Polls conducted after Swalwell\u2019s career implosion showed Becerra skyrocketing<\/a> near the top of voter surveys.<\/p>\n

His rise comes after weeks of political momentum, with recent polling and betting markets increasingly positioning him as the clear favorite to replace termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom in deep-blue California.<\/p>\n

While Republican Steve Hilton<\/a> and other challengers remain in the broader field, Polymarket traders appear overwhelmingly convinced Becerra has emerged as the candidate to beat.<\/p>\n

\"Polymarket<\/p>\n

Polymarket traders appear overwhelmingly convinced Becerra has emerged as the candidate to beat. Getty Images<\/p>\n

The prediction platform, which has generated more than $22 million in trading volume on the California governor\u2019s race, reflects growing confidence from political bettors who increasingly see Becerra as the safest wager in one of the nation\u2019s highest-profile gubernatorial contests. <\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The prediction platform has generated more than $22 million in trading volume on the California governor\u2019s race. Syda Productions \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

Though political markets can shift rapidly, Becerra\u2019s commanding lead signals just how far ahead he currently stands in the battle for Sacramento\u2014with Vegas-style odds painting a picture of a race that, for now, looks firmly in his favor.<\/p>\n

Critics, however, have called out Becerra\u2019s tumultuous tenure as Health and Human Services chief\u00a0<\/a>\u2014 when he was ripped for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and a crisis in which the agency lost contact with 85,000 migrant children.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s also been dinged for his ties to a Sacramento corruption scandal involving his former aide, Sean McCluskie, who pleaded guilty to his role in an alleged scheme to skim funds from a dormant campaign account for a \u201cno-show\u201d job for his wife.<\/p>\n

Becerra has not been accused of wrongdoing and has denied knowledge of the alleged activity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New Vegas betting odds heavily favor former Biden Cabinet official Xavier Becerra in California\u2019s crowded governor\u2019s race \u2014…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":320751,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[2097,7,2926,9,8,2748,20906,103158,25299,133764,3707],"class_list":["post-320750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-betting-odds","tag-california","tag-california-governor","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-california-state-legislature","tag-governors-race","tag-polymarket","tag-tom-steyer","tag-vegas-betting-odds","tag-xavier-becerra"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320750","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=320750"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320750\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/320751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=320750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=320750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=320750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}