By Maria Lopez
May 18, 2026 (El Cajon) — By far the most qualified candidate for California Governor is Xavier Becerra, who has served as California’s Attorney General, as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services during the Biden administration, as a member of Congress and the California Legislature. He has a long record of fighting against Trump administration abuses, protecting clean air and water in California, as well as standing up for healthcare protections, women’s rights, protecting immigrants and workers, and other important issues.
His opponents have backed a smear campaign against Becerra filled with false and misleading information. Here’s what you should know about his actual track record.
While it’s true that Becerra has accepted campaign contributions from Chevron (unlike his largely self-funded billionaire opponent, Tom Steyer), he has a decades-long record of championing environmental protections.
As our state’s Attorney General, Becerra established a Bureau of Environmental Justice within the Environment Section at the California Department of Justice to protect people and communities that endure a disproportionate share of environmental pollution and public health hazards.
Becerra filed over 100 lawsuits against the Trump administration. More than half targeted Trump administration rollbacks, regulatory changes, and policy decisions affecting public lands, natural resources, air and water quality, and endangered species—examples include challenges to vehicle-emission preemption, methane and waste-prevention rollbacks, and Endangered Species Act and NEPA-related claims [1] [4] [5] [6].
The League of California Voters gave representative Becerra a lifetime score of 91% for his voting record. He is also endorsed by many environmental justice leaders.
His endorsements also include numerous labor unions, organizations representing nurses and doctors, many members of Congress and the state Legislature, the NAACP, the state firefighters’ union, and Dolores Huerta, cofounder of the United Farmworkers Union.
He also has an impressive record on protecting public health including women’s health. He is endorsed by Planned Parenthood. California Medical Association President Dr. René Bravo states, “Xavier Becerra’s record reflects a consistent focus on ensuring that health care decisions remain grounded in clinical expertise and patient need. “As our healthcare system faces mounting pressures, Xavier Becerra brings the leadership and experience needed to navigate complex issues and protect California communities.”
He has called for accountability on immigration enforcement and protection of vulnerable immigrants such as DACA recipients brought here as children. His principal opponent, Steyer, once held investments in private prison companies that run abusive ICE detention facilities.
Becerra has pulled ahead in many major polls in recent weeks, while in others he is even or close to even with Steyer. The ballot is crowded with so many candidates that there is a risk of two Republicans winding up in the November general election if Democrats and independents split their votes among too many Democrats, most of whom are polling in single digits.
A vote for Xavier Becerra is a vote for experience governing at many levels. By contrast, Steyer has never held any public office. Do we really need another inexperienced billionaire trying to reform government, when we have Becerra, a candidate with a proven track record of fighting for Californians on issues that matter most.
The opinions in this editorial reflect the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of East County Magazine. To submit an editorial for consideration, contact editor@eastcountymagazine.org.