Former CA Attorney General, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra Announces Run For Governor in 2026

Former California Attorney General and Biden administration Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra announced on Wednesday that he is entering the 2026 California Governor’s race, becoming the latest Democratic candidate in an already crowded field.

In a statement on X, Becerra pressed the idea of the “California Dream” as the primary factor for running for Governor, as well as mentioning healthcare and going after the Trump administration.

“I am running for Governor of our great state of California,” Becerra said. “And that’s because I watched my parents, a construction worker and a clerical worker, achieve the California dream. Can we achieve this today with the affordability crisis? Very tough. But we’ve taken on these tough fights. California has succeeded in those tough fights and become the economic engine of this country. We can do that, but we need a leader to be tough.

“And I’ve been in those tough fights. whether it was as a member of Congress when we helped draft and pass the Affordable Care Act, when I was Attorney General for our great state of California and I took on the Trump administration the first time, sued him over 100 times and won, or as Secretary of Health and Human Services where I took on the pharmaceutical industry and we negotiated lower prescription drug prices for Seniors under Medicare.

“Honestly, look, speeches and fancy announcements, those can wait. But what can’t wait is that California dream. Real change comes with our participation. I’m looking forward to seeing you because together we will rebuild the California Dream.”

“California is at a crossroads,” said Becerra in another statement made later on Wednesday. “From housing to healthcare, childcare to college, working families are facing an affordability crisis. The California Dream is slipping away.”

The latest gubernatorial candidate to enter the race

Before his latest political foray on Wednesday, Becerra was, for decades, a lawmaker on both the state and federal level. A graduate of Stanford University, Becerra began his career as a lawyer. He first entered the political world in the mid 1980’s, first as an assistant for state Senator Art Torres, then as a deputy state Attorney General under John Van de Kamp. In 1990, Becerra won a shock Assembly race, defeating several candidates seen as favorites. He served for a single term, opting to instead run for an open House seat in 1992. He won there, serving the North-Central Los Angeles area in the House from 1993 until 2017.

In Congress, Becerra became known as one of the leading voices in favor of abortion and pay equity for women, yet also harbored many tough on crime stances. In 2017, then-Governor Jerry Brown tapped Becerra as the next California Attorney General following Kamala Harris being elected Senator. While Becerra made stances on several health and immigration issues, and took on Facebook, he was best known for suing the Trump administration well over 100 times, on behalf of Brown, and later, Gov. Gavin Newsom. Following the election of Joe Biden as President in 2020, Becerra was selected as his HHS Secretary. He proceeded to serve as the head of the HHS until January of this year, being known for helping negotiate for discounted Medicare drug prices, and for being the HHS Secretary during the COVID pandemic.

Since last year, Becerra has shown interest in running for Governor. However, in recent months, with a growing and growing crowd of candidates, many thought that he would simply not run. That turned out not to be true on Wednesday, with Becerra jumping into the race as the 10th declared Democratic candidate.

Becerra now joins a deep field of experienced candidates. This includes major Democrats including Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis, former Congresswoman Katie Porter,  State Superintendent Tony Thurmond, Senator Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), Former State Controller Betty Yee, and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, as well as Republicans like Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco. Becerra may also have to face stiff competition from fellow Biden Administration higher-up Kamala Harris, with the former Vice President expected to make an announcement this summer.

Other candidates looking at possible runs currently include Developer and 2022 Los Angeles Mayoral candidate Rick Caruso, former State Senator and 2022 Gubernatorial candidate Brian Dahle, former Olympian and 2021 Gubernatorial candidate Caitlyn Jenner, Trump Special Presidential Envoy, former Director of National Intelligence and former Ambassador to Germany Ric Grenell, Fox New Host and former advisor to UK Prime Minister David Cameron Steve Hilton, and Actor and Chairman of the National Foundation for Governors’ Fitness Councils (NFGFC) Jake Steinfeld.

Becerra joins as one of the more experienced candidates in the race and, so far, is the only declared candidate with White House experience. In addition, he enters with a considerable Los Angeles-centered base from his House days, as well as significant name recognition. However, some of his stances and actions are polarizing, especially when it comes to healthcare and abortion rights. His history of “fighting against Trump” is further softened as many other candidates can claim the exact same thing, especially Porter and potential candidate Harris.

Nonetheless, Becerra made it clear on Wednesday that he would be going after Trump and the pharmaceutical industry as Governor, with Democrats also now scrambling now that there is yet another major Democratic candidate in the race.

“As AG I took on Trump – and won. As HHS Secretary, I took on Big Pharma – and won,” added Becerra on X. “It’s time to do it again for California. Let’s rebuild the California Dream for everyone.”