In the final stretch before Tuesday’s election, California gubernatorial candidates Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton traversed the state to rally supporters and trade sharp barbs in a contest to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. Recent polling indicates Becerra holds a lead of at least 20 percentage points over Hilton, reflecting the state’s deep Democratic voter registration advantage and the reality that Republican statewide candidates have not triumphed in two decades.
Hilton, a Republican contender who previously worked as a political advisor to British Prime Minister David Cameron and hosted commentary on television, leaned into his underdog standing with theatrical campaign tactics. On Saturday, during a children’s Trunk or Treat Halloween event in Highland Park, Hilton donned a mask resembling his Democratic opponent and handed out candy while offering satirical warnings about liberal tax policies. “Vote for Becerra, and your parents will have to pay every mile they drive. Isn’t that great?” Hilton quipped to families gathered at the block party.
When informed of the stunt, Becerra brushed it aside with a jab at Hilton’s political alignment. “I suspect, if he takes off that mask, you’ll see Donald Trump right underneath,” Becerra said during a campaign stop in Sacramento. “That’s who he really is. Either that or he’s a clown.”
Becerra, whose resume includes serving as a congressman, state attorney general, and member of President Biden’s Cabinet, has spent the closing days of the campaign focused on motivating the liberal base and stumping for Democrats in competitive House races across the Central Valley and Southern California. Party leaders have sought to harness anti-Trump sentiment to secure key congressional seats, including a Sacramento-area district held by Republican-turned-independent Rep. Kevin Kiley, where Democrat Richard Pan is mounting a challenge. Addressing costumed volunteers, Becerra framed the midterm elections as a broader stand for democratic institutions. “We’re not just gonna take back these seats in California,” Becerra told the cheering crowd. “We’re gonna take back the House and the Senate.”
While high living costs remain a primary concern for California voters, voter anxiety has increasingly centered on federal policies and a desire for state leaders to push back against the White House. At a campaign event in San Francisco’s Castro district on Friday, Becerra directly targeted the administration, accusing the federal government of attacking immigrants, driving economic disruption through tariffs, and attempting to exert control over state voting processes. “In California, we say no mas,” Becerra told supporters. “That’s why this election is so important, because we gotta prove that California does not take a knee to Donald Trump.”
Hilton, meanwhile, has focused his messaging squarely on California’s domestic challenges, blaming entrenched Democratic rule for high gas prices, the state’s affordable housing shortage, growing homelessness, and persistent budget deficits. The Republican candidate has pledged to lower gas to $3 per gallon—holding a promotional fill-up event in the San Joaquin Valley on Thursday—eliminate state taxes on workers’ first $150,000 of income, abolish the Department of Motor Vehicles, and scrap the over-budget high-speed rail project. Using cardboard cutouts depicting Becerra as a marionette controlled by Newsom, Hilton has positioned his opponent as the embodiment of restrictive state regulations.
During a Friday night rally in Sacramento, Hilton criticized local prohibitions on gas appliances and statewide bans on flavored tobacco products, drawing approval from younger attendees. Despite his long-shot status in heavily Democratic territory, Hilton’s events have drawn enthusiastic crowds hoping for a political upset. Marina Gabel, a Roseville resident attending a Hilton rally, expressed frustration with everyday expenses despite driving a hybrid vehicle. “We need help,” she said.
Voter sentiment remains divided over the state’s economic trajectory and proposed solutions. Regarding infrastructure funding, Becerra defended his openness to examining a mileage-based fee as electric vehicle adoption reduces gas-tax revenues. “We need to pay for our roads and our bridges and our highways,” Becerra said. “I’m not gonna say exactly how it will be, because that’s work we have to do with the Legislature, and with every community having a chance to speak up.”
For voters like Italia Sandoval, a 31-year-old Huntington Park resident and mother attending the Highland Park Halloween event, the state’s economic pressures are acutely personal. Sandoval said high living costs and potential tax changes complicate her family’s financial planning and homeownership goals, forcing her to rely on second-hand shopping and resourcefulness to make ends meet.
As the final hours of the campaign tick down, both campaigns are making their closing arguments to an electorate weighing local economic realities against national political battles.
