\u201cThe people of the great state of California, in the greatest nation on earth, have spoken \u2014 loudly and proudly,\u201d Becerra said in a news release. \u201cWe will not be bought. We will not be bullied. And we are never backing down. November, here we come.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Becerra leaned on his more than 35 years in public office \u2014 including as state attorney general and U.S. health secretary \u2014 to argue that he was the most qualified candidate in a crowded field.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am ready to lead the fight to uphold California\u2019s promise to make sure we have the governance worthy of our gifts,\u201d he said on election night.<\/p>\n
Once an afterthought in the race, he surged in the final months and vowed he would maintain the state\u2019s mantle as a chief antagonist to President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
As attorney general Becerra filed more than 120 legal actions<\/a> against the first Trump administration on everything from immigration to climate policy.<\/p>\n During the campaign his rivals scrutinized his leadership as health secretary during the COVID-19 pandemic and unaccompanied migrant children crisis<\/a> in 2021, when Becerra\u2019s Department of Health and Human Services was responsible for shelters where they were housed. Some of them were criticized as having inadequate living conditions<\/a>, and there were also concerns about authorities failing to thoroughly vet sponsors with whom some children were placed.<\/p>\n If elected, Becerra said, he would declare states of emergency to address high energy costs and housing shortages and to freeze home insurance rates.<\/p>\n Though California is one of the nation\u2019s most diverse states, almost all its governors have been white men. Becerra would be the first Latino to hold the office since the late 1800s.<\/p>\n