Dan Walters: Candidates for Governor Target Ascending Xavier Becerra on National Stage

Becerra solidifies status as candidate to beat in CA governor’s race: Experts

Candidates running to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) zeroed in on Xavier Becerra during Tuesday night’s debate, the latest indication that the former Health and Human Services secretary may be the one to beat. During the two-hour CNN debate, Becerra took hits from both Republicans and the four other Democrats onstage about everything from handling immigrant minors during his time at HHS to his evolving stance on single-payer healthcare, ties t…

Becerra takes heat in California governor debate and solidifies status as candidate to beat

Candidates running to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) zeroed in on Xavier Becerra during Tuesday night’s debate, the latest indication that the former Health and Human Services secretary may be the one to beat. During the two-hour CNN debate, Becerra took hits from both Republicans and the four other Democrats onstage about everything from handling immigrant minors during his time at HHS to his evolving stance on single-payer healthcare, ties t…

Dan Walters: Candidates for Governor Target Ascending Xavier Becerra on National Stage

[Noozhawk’s note: We republish news articles and commentaries from CalMatters on state and local policy issues that affect Santa Barbara County readers.] As California’s voters receive their primary election ballots and began returning them in to be counted, the seven leading candidates for governor on Tuesday night engaged in an occasionally slashing, two-hour debate that reflected a race that’s too close to call. The event, staged by CNN in Mo…

Follow Money: CA Governor’s Race 2026

The California Primary takes place June 2 and includes 61 Candidates vying to become governor. The top two vote getters will move on to the general election in November (unless, in an unlikely instance, one candidate captures 51% of the vote). Tune in to the debate between the top six candidates (based on polls) on Tuesday, 6pm on CNN. The candidates are Republicans Chad Bianco and Steve Hilton, as well as Democrats Xavier Becerra, Matt Mahan, K…