Democrat · California governor · 2026
Xavier Becerra
Becerra grew up in Sacramento in a house his father, a construction worker, built himself.
Biography
Xavier Becerra's path to Stanford began with a blank application a friend had thrown away; he filled it out and was accepted.1 He grew up in Sacramento with a mother who worked as a secretary and a father who built roads.1 He and his wife, physician Carolina Reyes, met at Stanford and have three daughters.12
Becerra earned economics and law degrees at Stanford, then worked for state Senator Art Torres and as a deputy attorney general before winning an Assembly seat in 1990.1 He served in Congress from 1993 to 2017, including as chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus.3
He subsequently became California attorney general and U.S. health secretary under President Joe Biden.4 During his leadership of HHS, the agency completed the first Medicare drug price negotiations in 2024, covering 10 selected medicines under Part D.5 The negotiations used authority Congress granted through the Inflation Reduction Act to set prices for 2026.6
Against Republican Steve Hilton for the seat opening with Gavin Newsom's departure, Becerra proposes financing 40,000 already approved affordable homes and freezing utility and insurance rates through emergency action.74 He also promises to challenge Trump administration policies on immigration and the environment.4
Record and controversies
Inspector general review of sponsor checks
A 2024 HHS inspector general review of early 2021 case files found missing documentation of required sponsor safety checks, incomplete updates and failures in followup for unaccompanied children.8 Becerra's later congressional testimony described stronger vetting rules and expanded services after children were released to sponsors.9 The inspector general's current tracker lists five recommendations as implemented and one safety check recommendation still open.8 The study concerns agency safeguards in a sample of case files; it is not a national count of missing children.8