Voters will choose between Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton on Nov. 3 to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom. A Public Policy Institute of California poll conducted from Oct. 16 to 22 showed Becerra leading 61% to 37% among likely voters. The poll also showed him leading Hilton by 13 points among independent likely voters.
Becerra was a congressman from 1993 to 2017 and the first Latino to serve on the House Committee on Ways and Means. Most recently, Becerra served as U.S. secretary of health and human services under the Biden administration during the COVID-19 pandemic. If elected governor, he would be California’s first elected Latino governor.
During his time as attorney general of California from 2017 to 2021, Becerra filed over 100 lawsuits against the Trump administration’s policies on issues like immigration, healthcare, and education. Becerra’s website calls Trump a “man-made natural disaster attacking Californians every day.”
Hilton has never held elected office. He was a senior advisor to the U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron before hosting “The Next Revolution” on Fox News from 2017 to 2023.
Daniel Dyaz, a sophomore legal studies major, says he is unsure if he will vote in this election because he has struggled with keeping up with all the information due to school.
“During midterm season… It’s kind of hard to stay up to date on policy, which is a very important thing for me,” said Dyaz. “I can’t educate myself enough on the policies as efficiently as I want to. I’ve kind of avoided voting altogether.”
Both candidates have built their campaigns around California’s high cost of living and agree that the state needs more housing. During a gubernatorial debate in September, Becerra pledged to double the rate of homebuilding, expand down payment assistance and stop Wall Street investors from buying up homes over regular, Californian buyers.
During the same debate, Hilton has proposed capping government fees and regulations on a new home in California at $50,000. According to Hilton’s website, he wants to make it more possible for younger people to be homeowners.
On his website, Hilton attributes the rise in housing costs to “bad policy under one-party rule” — referring to Californian Democrats — which has made “smaller, entry-level homes far less viable to build.”
The two candidates differ most on taxes, immigration, and voter ID. Hilton has promised to bring $3-a-gallon gas, cut electricity bills in half and eliminate state income tax on the first $150,000 a person earns.
Becerra opposes those tax cuts, arguing they would take money from schools, health care, and housing. He has instead pledged to declare an emergency over energy costs and freeze home insurance rates.
On immigration, Becerra says local police would not cooperate with federal enforcement, while Hilton has said he’d work with the Trump administration to enforce immigration law.
Victoria Gonzalez, a freshman journalism major at USC, says she’s voting for Becerra.
“The way he’s saying he’s going to deal with ICE and just immigration in general, I think that’s really important to me,” said Gonzalez. “I think out of everyone who’s running right now, he’s our best shot.”
In a Truth Social post on April 6, President Donald Trump endorsed Hilton. Newsom and former Vice President Kamala Harris endorsed Becerra after the June 2 primary.
Edited by Benjamin Gamson and Natalie Cerna