Xavier Becerra, the former health secretary under Joe Biden, has launched a campaign for California governor.

“I’m running to be the next Governor of California. As AG I took on Trump – and won. As HHS Secretary, I took on Big Pharma – and won. It’s time to do it again for California. Let’s rebuild the California Dream for everyone,” Becerra said.

WATCH:

From POLITICO:

The former California attorney general, who has been mulling a run for the state’s top job for at least a year, launched his bid in a brief video on Wednesday shared first with POLITICO.

“I watched my parents — a construction worker and a clerical worker — achieve the California dream,” Becerra said in a bare-bones, direct-to-camera clip. “Can we do that today, with this affordability crisis? Very tough. But we’ve taken on these tough fights. … We can do that, but you need a leader who can be tough.”

Becerra’s entrance into the race injects new intrigue into a contest that for months had been stagnant as Democrats and their deep-pocketed funders wait to see if the former vice president will jump into the fray. But recently the campaign has seen stirrings; former Rep. Katie Porter launched her own bid last month and other contenders have taken increasingly pointed swipes at Harris and her drawn-out decision timeline.

ADVERTISEMENT

Becerra’s campaign insists he would not drop out of the race even if Harris, the Democrats’ nominee for president in 2024, declares her candidacy for governor.

WATCH:

The Guardian reports:

The Stanford Law School graduate enters the race with a lengthy résumé of government service, including stints as California attorney general, US House member and state legislator. In December 2020, Joe Biden picked Becerra to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, putting a defender of the Affordable Care Act in a leading role to oversee his administration’s coronavirus response.

In a heavily Democratic state with punishing housing and grocery prices and some of the nation’s highest gas and utility costs, Becerra said working families are facing an affordability crisis.

“The California Dream is slipping away,” he said in a statement announcing his run.

The contest to replace the term-limited Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, already has lured a large scrum of announced and likely candidates that would be reordered if Harris decides to seek the state’s top office. Harris, a former state attorney general and US senator, has not ruled out seeking the governorship since she left Washington in January after a failed presidential bid.

 

Join The Conversation. Leave a Comment.