By Arit John, CNN
(CNN) — Former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, a Democrat, will advance to the November election in California’s governor’s race, CNN’s Decision Desk projects. It’s not yet clear who he’ll face in November.
Becerra’s advancement guarantees a Democrat will be in the general election after some feared that their wide field of candidates would split the vote, allowing Republicans to lock them out of the general election.
The race to face him in November is still too early to call, with former Fox News host Steve Hilton, a Republican, and billionaire Democratic activist Tom Steyer in contention for the second spot in November.
In the votes reported since Election Day on Tuesday, Becerra pulled ahead of Hilton and also increased his lead over Steyer, making it clear he would finish inside the top two.
If Steyer advances, a Democrat would be guaranteed to succeed term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom, but only after a campaign that would likely be expensive and brutal. Steyer, who made his fortune as a hedge fund manager, has already poured more than $200 million into his campaign. Some of that money has gone toward attacking Becerra over his record during the Biden administration.
Should Hilton prevail, the Republican would face a steep uphill climb in the general. There are roughly 4.6 million more registered Democrats than there are Republicans in California, according to the state’s most recent voter registration statistics. California hasn’t elected a Republican governor in 20 years, when voters gave Arnold Schwarzenegger a second term.
Tuesday night closed out a primary in which voters appeared to be continually underwhelmed by their options, particularly on the Democratic side. Former Vice President Kamala Harris and US Sen. Alex Padilla — high-profile Democrats who could have potentially consolidated the field — declined to run. Other candidates dropped out after failing to gain traction.
Becerra, who also served as a Los Angeles-area US congressman and California attorney general, ran on his years of experience in various governmental roles and argued that only someone who had managed crises could fix California’s current problems.
But Becerra also had to weather attacks on the very same record. Critics and opponents — including Steyer, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa — criticized Becerra’s handling of the child migrant crisis and the mpox outbreak. Allies said those attacks were unfair.
“He inherited a super, super tough situation, and worked night and day, day and night, to try to do the humane thing by these kids and get them reunited with their US family members,” Ron Klain, President Joe Biden’s first White House chief of staff, told CNN in April.
Becerra’s opponents also criticized him after his former chief of staff pleaded guilty to a fraud charge related to a scheme to siphon money from a Becerra campaign account. Becerra has not been accused of any wrongdoing by law enforcement.
In the California primary’s other marquee race, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has already advanced to November but it’s not yet clear who her opponent will be. Reality TV star Spencer Pratt is in second place in the mayor’s race, but city council member Nithya Raman, currently in third, has outpaced Pratt in post-election reports by a double-digit margin.
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Democrat Xavier Becerra will advance to November election in California governor’s race, CNN projects News Channel 3-12.
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