Democrat Xavier Becerra does not receive our endorsement by default, but because he shows the potential to lead this state well into an uncertain future, and offers a steadier, more substantive style of leadership that California has long \u2014 and desperately \u2014 needed.<\/p>\n
Being in one office or another for more than three decades doesn\u2019t automatically qualify anyone for chief executive of the state, but it certainly helps. Becerra<\/a> will need to consider his legislative background in Washington and Sacramento as building blocks for a job that doesn\u2019t remotely approach anything he has attempted in the past.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, Becerra suddenly shot from the backwaters of a crowded field to the front of the governor\u2019s race after former East Bay Rep. Eric Swalwell dropped out amid revelations of his alleged sexual misconduct.<\/p>\n THE BEE\u2019S VOTER GUIDE: Your guide to the California governor race<\/a><\/p>\n In stark contrast to his main party opponent, billionaire Tom Steyer, Becerra ran a clean and positive race. And at times, he was the only one on the podium to talk straight with the public, particularly on the idea of temporarily eliminating state gas taxes. Most other Democrats played to the public\u2019s anger at the pump, but Becerra rightfully said motorists would suffer in the long run without the road maintenance funded by the taxes.<\/p>\n Steve Hilton is Becerra\u2019s opponent<\/a> in the November runoff, but the Republican\u2019s candidacy has been doomed from the beginning with his steadfast support<\/a> of President Donald Trump. Trump has sought to punish California in innumerable ways, including by denying Los Angeles disaster aid after wildfires. Trump has also threatened California universities and weakened the state economy with mass deportations that often target essential workers.<\/p>\n It\u2019s Hilton\u2019s unfaltering allegiance<\/a> to Trump that will usher in a Becerra administration and thus deprive California of a truly impactful election season, one in which candidates could debate the issues that truly matter to voters. But Becerra at least has plenty of time to prepare for his governorship and to begin mastering those policy areas where he appears weak, particularly insurance.<\/p>\n Becerra will need that time.<\/p>\n First and foremost for Becerra is the state budget. Newsom and the \u201cleadership\u201d of the California Legislature worked horribly together and exhibited no discipline. He needs to force his fellow Democrats in Sacramento to better manage the budget gyrations caused by the state\u2019s dependence on unpredictable stock market profits.<\/p>\n Becerra won\u2019t chase the cameras, like Newsom did, as a strategy to confront Washington, D.C.<\/a> His personality is naturally more understated, and he is accustomed to prosecuting policy cases as a former attorney general. This personality trait will serve California\u2019s interests better than trying to match Trump\u2019s decibels.<\/p>\n It\u2019s clear Becerra needs to stabilize state funding for homelessness, allowing cities to experiment with new shelter solutions while holding them accountable for outcomes. He faces unresolved crises in gasoline, electricity, housing and insurance. California\u2019s health care system will erode as looming Medi-Cal cuts from Washington pay for federal tax breaks that will go disproportionately to the wealthy. And he could face new crises when disaster strikes, whether it\u2019s a reawakening of the San Andreas Fault or floods fueled by climate change that experts predict.<\/p>\n That Becerra comes from Sacramento and clearly loves his hometown may be his secret weapon: Unlike Newsom, Becerra isn\u2019t going to periodically roll into town in a motorcade from a mansion in Marin.<\/p>\n California awaits its first Latino governor since Romualdo Pacheco<\/a>, who was appointed to the office and served for ten months in 1875. Becerra would be the first Latino elected governor by California voters \u2014 a historic milestone amid federal attacks on immigrants that threaten the state\u2019s very fabric.<\/p>\n Xavier Becerra, one way or the other, is on a path to make history.<\/p>\n BEHIND THE STORY MORE <\/a> What are editorials, and who writes them? <\/p>\n Editorials represent the collective views of the editorial boards of McClatchy Media\u2019s California opinion teams.<\/p>\n They do not reflect the individual opinions of board members or the views of reporters in the news sections of The Sacramento Bee and its sister publication, the San Luis Obispo Tribune. Reporters do not participate in editorial board deliberations or weigh in on board decisions.<\/p>\n In Sacramento, the board includes Executive Editor Chris Fusco, California Opinion Editor Marcos Breton, opinion writers Robin Epley, Tom Philp, LeBron Antonio Hill, Cathie Anderson and op-ed editor Hannah Holzer.<\/p>\n In San Luis Obispo, it includes Opinion Editor Stephanie Finucane.<\/p>\n We base our opinions on reporting by our colleagues in the news section, and our own reporting and interviews. Our members attend public meetings, call people and follow-up on story ideas from readers just as news reporters do.\u00a0<\/p>\n Read more by clicking the arrow in the upper right.<\/p>\n Tell us what you think <\/p>\n You may or may not agree with our perspective. We believe disagreement is healthy and necessary for a functioning democracy. If you would like to share your own views on events important to California, you may write a letter to the editor (150 words or less) using this form<\/a>, or email an op-ed (650-750 words) to opinion@sacbee.com<\/a>. Due to a high volume of submissions, we are not able to publish everything we receive.<\/p>\n This story was originally published September 11, 2026 at 5:00 AM.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Democrat Xavier Becerra does not receive our endorsement by default, but because he shows the potential to lead…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":462288,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[121,123,122],"class_list":["post-462287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462287","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=462287"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462287\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/462288"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=462287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=462287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=462287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}