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As California’s chaotic primary for governor approaches its end, candidate Xavier Becerra is expected to make his final in-person appeals to California voters in Long Beach on Sunday afternoon.
The speech will be made inside the Pacific Ballroom at the Long Beach Arena before a number of supporters, including Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson and state Sen. Lena Gonzalez.
Richardson, who is also seeking re-election and has actively campaigned alongside Becerra, said Becerra’s decision to finish his campaign in the city is reflective of Long Beach as a “microcosm of the state.”
“We speak 200 languages here in Long Beach,” Richardson said. “We have every issue, from energy and oil production to goods movement and ports, environmental challenges. We’re going through a climate transition in real time. We’re the home to the Cal State system, the Chancellor’s Office, which is the largest public education system in America. … It makes a lot of sense and sends a message to the state that these are the communities that you’re going to stand up for, and you can speak to almost every issue across the state with an example of it in Long Beach.”
Becerra also has the endorsement of three City Council members and Long Beach City College Trustee Vivian Malauulu, who is running for a council seat.
Among what Richardson sees as the top issues concerning the city: There are thousands of Long Beach residents on Medi-Cal in jeopardy of losing their eligibility and coverage due to federal cuts that take effect by the end of this year. And the state needs someone with the expertise to fight back on that, he said.
Becerra, the former U.S. health secretary and state attorney general, has promoted the more than 35 years he’s spent in state and federal office as evidence he has what it takes to become governor and push back against federal cuts like the ones to Medi-Cal.
But he’s not the only one making a pitch; the gubernatorial candidate seeks to stand out in a field of roughly 60 on a single ballot. The two candidates who receive the most votes, regardless of party, will face off in the general election to replace Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who can’t seek a third term.
They include six major Democrats and just two prominent Republicans. The Democrats are Becerra, billionaire former hedge fund manager turned climate activist Tom Steyer, former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter, and Matt Mahan, the mayor of San Jose. Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host backed by President Donald Trump, and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco are the most prominent Republicans in the race.
Two polls conducted in mid-to-late May suggested that Becerra and Hilton each have the support of about 2 in 10 California likely voters. In one poll, Steyer landed closer to Becerra and Hilton, with Bianco and Porter trailing further behind, but similar shares of voters were supporting Steyer, Bianco, and Porter in the other poll. None of the other candidates were in the double digits in either poll.
Each candidate has crisscrossed the state in the past week, in a flurry of appearances meant to inspire some of the state’s roughly 23 million registered voters and try to coax them to the polls.
Becerra this week hit a text-banking event with Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta in San Francisco and rallied with the Service Employees International Union in San Jose.
Hilton says he’ll bring fresh eyes to state government, reduce regulations and bring down energy costs in a pledge to end a “bloated, nanny-state bureaucracy” during remarks outside the state Capitol on Wednesday. Hilton hosted a town hall in Silicon Valley on Saturday night.
“It’s not ideological,” Hilton said. “It’s just simple, practical commonsense — $3 gas, cut your electric bills in half.”
He has been cautious not to emphasize Trump’s endorsement. If he advances to the November election, he’ll need to appeal to voters outside his party to win in the Democrat-dominated state that hasn’t had a Republican governor since 2011.
Steyer told reporters this week in Berkeley that he’s made it his life’s work to advance progressive causes, a mission he’ll bring to Sacramento. Another mission: to tax other billionaires.
Steyer says the race was a contest between three candidates: Himself, Hilton and Becerra.
“There is a hard-right Republican who’s endorsed by Donald Trump,” he told a crowd of supporters at a sports bar in Berkeley.
“The second candidate is Xavier Becerra, who, to my surprise, is a corporate Democrat,” Steyer continued, referencing his acceptance of campaign contributions from Chevron.
“And the third person’s me,” he said. “And I am running because Californians can’t afford to live here anymore.”
Mahan, meanwhile, will mingle with voters in Los Angeles, Porter will give a speech in Orange County, and Bianco will lay out his vision at a church in San Jose.
As of Friday afternoon, 13% of voters had cast their ballots. That included 13% of Democrats and 18% of Republicans, according to a tracker by Democratic strategist Paul Mitchell. The breakdown is unusual because Democrats in recent years have tended to vote early while many Republicans wait until Election Day. Voting by mail could easily make up more than half the overall tally in the primary, some elections officials said.
Polls are open through 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Associated Press writers Sophie Turner and Terry Chea contributed to this report.