{"id":563,"date":"2026-06-04T14:00:51","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T14:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sacramentomovinghub.com\/?p=563"},"modified":"2026-06-04T14:00:51","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T14:00:51","slug":"becerra-defies-doubters-surges-in-california-governors-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sacramentomovinghub.com\/?p=563","title":{"rendered":"Becerra Defies Doubters, Surges in California Governor\u2019s Race"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

[This column was reported for Political Breakdown, a bi-monthly newsletter offering analysis and context on Bay Area and California political news. Click here to subscribe.]<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

He was counted out and underestimated by pollsters and pundits, despite having a sterling resume. Vastly outspent by a wealthy opponent, he languished in the polls before sprinting to the finish line near the front of the pack as the votes were counted.<\/p>\n

Read more Can We Swipe Our Way to Friendship?<\/a><\/p>\n

No, I\u2019m not talking about this week, but about 1998, when businessman Al Checchi, or \u201cAl Checkbook\u201d as he was called, spent $40 million \u2014 an eye-popping amount at the time \u2014 to win the Democratic nomination for an open governor\u2019s seat. Lt. Gov. Gray Davis, a decidedly unflashy but steady technocrat, surprisingly won with the slogan, \u201cExperience Money Can\u2019t Buy.\u201d<\/p>\n

There were echoes of that earlier campaign in this year\u2019s topsy-turvy, chaotic and unpredictable race for governor, where former Health and Human Services Secretary and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra ignored calls for him to drop out lest Democrats split the vote and let Republicans take the top two spots in November. Timing, luck and the sudden implosion of frontrunner Eric Swalwell\u2019s campaign gave Becerra the oxygen he needed to stay alive and ultimately battle for first place in the preliminary returns.<\/p>\n

Read more Conservative Activist Sonja Shaw Advances in State Superintendent Race<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Read more I Got Access to Hundreds of Teacher Misconduct Complaints in California \u2014 and You Can Too<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Xavier Becerra\u2019s surprising rise in California\u2019s 2026 governor\u2019s race, fueled by a broad working-class coalition and a late collapse by rival Eric Swalwell, has positioned the former attorney general to potentially advance to the November runoff as millions of ballots remain uncounted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":562,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-breakdown"],"yoast_head":"\nBecerra Defies Doubters, Surges in California Governor\u2019s Race - Sacramento Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sacramentomovinghub.com\/?p=563\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Becerra Defies Doubters, Surges in California Governor\u2019s Race - Sacramento Moving Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Xavier Becerra\u2019s surprising rise in California\u2019s 2026 governor\u2019s race, fueled by a broad working-class coalition and a late collapse by rival Eric Swalwell, has positioned the former attorney general to potentially advance to the November runoff as millions of ballots remain uncounted.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sacramentomovinghub.com\/?p=563\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sacramento Moving Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-04T14:00:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sacramentomovinghub.com\\\/?p=563#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sacramentomovinghub.com\\\/?p=563\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sacramentomovinghub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c703763e3a86ce0eba17becb53994618\"},\"headline\":\"Becerra Defies Doubters, Surges in California Governor\u2019s Race\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-04T14:00:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sacramentomovinghub.com\\\/?p=563\"},\"wordCount\":258,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sacramentomovinghub.com\\\/?p=563#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sacramentomovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/6fb90cc439a634e707c13eb4193c7e12.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Political Breakdown\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/sacramentomovinghub.com\\\/?p=563#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sacramentomovinghub.com\\\/?p=563\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sacramentomovinghub.com\\\/?p=563\",\"name\":\"Becerra Defies Doubters, Surges in California Governor\u2019s Race - Sacramento Moving Hub\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sacramentomovinghub.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sacramentomovinghub.com\\\/?p=563#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sacramentomovinghub.com\\\/?p=563#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sacramentomovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/6fb90cc439a634e707c13eb4193c7e12.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-04T14:00:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sacramentomovinghub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c703763e3a86ce0eba17becb53994618\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sacramentomovinghub.com\\\/?p=563#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/sacramentomovinghub.com\\\/?p=563\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sacramentomovinghub.com\\\/?p=563#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sacramentomovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/6fb90cc439a634e707c13eb4193c7e12.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sacramentomovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/6fb90cc439a634e707c13eb4193c7e12.jpg\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":1366,\"caption\":\"LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 02: Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra speaks to supporters during his election night gathering at La Plaza de Cultura y Artes on June 02, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. 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