Xavier Becerra becomes front-runner in California gubernatorial race, edging out Steve Hilton: Poll

“Xavier Becerra tops the crowded California primary for the first time in an Emerson poll, his support increased by 9 points since mid-April, driven by now being the top choice among Democratic voters at 31%,” said Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling. “Steve Hilton and Tom Steyer closely follow at 17% respectively, Hilton’s support stagnant, while Steyer’s support increased 3 points since April.”

The survey of 1,000 likely primary voters was conducted Saturday and Sunday and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

The race to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) had been wide open for months. Former Rep. Eric Swalwell started moving to the top before dropping out last month after multiple women accused him of sexual assault and misconduct. Becerra had been stuck in the low single digits in a race that at one point featured as many as 60 candidates. Swalwell’s departure reshaped the field, injecting new momentum into Becerra’s campaign and boosting his fundraising.

For months, Democratic leaders were worried that a fragmented field could split the vote and risk shutting Democrats out of the November contest altogether by boosting the two Republican candidates: Hilton, a former Fox News host who was once an adviser to former British Prime Minister David Cameron, and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, in the June 2 primary election. If Steyer is able to sneak ahead of Hilton, then both Republicans could end up missing out.

California uses a “jungle” primary system, which places all candidates on the same ballot and advances the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, to the general election.

Newsom has declined to endorse a candidate in the primary.

Becerra’s ‘gotcha’ moment

A newly surfaced video of Becerra attempting to shape the tone of a television interview went viral Tuesday, triggering backlash and handing critics an early opening against his campaign.

“By the way, this is a profile piece, this is not a ‘gotcha’ piece, right?” Becerra asked a KTLA reporter moments before the interview began airing on Tuesday.

“I think these questions are fair,” Ramos replied. “It’s in order to learn about you as a candidate.”

The California television station later shared the exchange online, where it quickly gained traction. KTLA anchors revisited the moment with Ramos on air, while clips spread rapidly across social media and drew immediate criticism from Becerra’s political opponents.

Becerra’s campaign pushed back against the backlash, arguing the exchange was being taken out of context.

“Unlike other candidates in the race, Becerra sticks around even when the questions get tough,” campaign spokesman Jonathan Underland said in a statement. “He’s proven over decades in public service that he will always show up, take questions, and defend the right of journalists to do their jobs.”

Mahan’s campaign spliced together a video of Becerra with one of Porter being testy with a reporter that went viral.

“By the way, part of being Governor is answering tough questions,” Mahan’s campaign posted on X.

The clip had received more than 224,400 views as of midday Wednesday.

The top candidates for governor will square off one more time on Thursday night in San Francisco before the primary.