A new poll in the California governor’s race shows Democrat dark horse Xavier Becerra in the lead as he quietly consolidates support from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s key allies.
Becerra is tied for first with Trump-endorsed Republican Steve Hilton, with both seeing 19% support among likely voters, the poll from EMC Research found.
The former Health and Human Services secretary under President Biden was polling in the single digits just weeks ago, but rapidly racked up support after Eric Swalwell quit the race and resigned from Congress amid sexual assault allegations.
The new poll, which surveyed 1,000 likely voters from April 21-26, showed Republican Chad Bianco and Democratic billionaire Tom Steyer each receiving 14% support. Democrats Katie Porter and Matt Mahan were trailing at 8% and 7%, respectively.
Becerra, who has billed himself as a no-drama Dem with leadership experience, had the highest favorability ratings of any candidate — with 72% of Democrats and 47% of overall voters having a positive impression of him.
The poll had a margin of error of ±3.1 percentage points.
Newsom has repeatedly refused to make an endorsement in the governor’s race, but his top allies have quietly rallied around Becerra — a longtime California politician who served in the state legislature and as attorney general before joining Biden’s administration.
Becerra has tapped Lindsey Cobia and Courtni Pugh, two political consultants who have worked with Newsom since 2015 and 2021, as senior political advisers, according to Politico.
Cobia heads up Newsom’s national political operation, Campaign for Democracy, and has been described as the governor’s “Swiss army knife” involved in strategy, scheduling and key decisions.
Two firms that helped power Newsom’s social media and digital fundraising — Lamont Digital and Aisle 518 — have also jumped on the Becerra bandwagon.
Despite his recent surge in popularity, critics are wary of Becerra’s record at the Department of Health and Human Services, which lost contact with 85,000 unaccompanied migrant children, some of whom were later found laboring in factories under exploitative conditions.
He has also taken heat for ties to a Sacramento corruption scandal.
Becerra’s former aide, Sean McCluskie, pled guilty to charges that he helped to skim $225,000 from Becerra’s dormant campaign account for personal use.
The governor hopeful has denied any knowledge of McCluskie’s actions.
