Xavier Becerra

Xavier Becerra was raised in Sacramento by parents who immigrated from Mexico. He received a B.A. in economics from Stanford University in 1980 and a J.D. from Stanford Law School in 1984. He worked as an aide to state Senator Art Torres and as a California deputy attorney general. He was elected to the California State Assembly from the 59th District in 1990 and served one term. First elected to the U.S. House in 1992, he served from 1993 to 2017 and chaired the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and later the House Democratic Caucus. In 2017 Governor Jerry Brown appointed him Attorney General of California to fill the remainder of Kamala Harris's term; he was elected to a full term in 2018. He was U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services from 2021 to 2025. In the June 2, 2026 top-two primary for governor he finished first with about 28 percent and advanced to the November 3 general election against Republican Steve Hilton.