Xavier Becerra as the Moderate Choice for CA Governor

Ever since Eric Swalwell’s life imploded on the national stage, the California governor’s race has changed. Xavier Becerra, who was previously coasting along near the bottom of the heap, has surged ahead. His campaign is now seeing more interest and more money.

The connection between Swalwell’s face plant and Becerra’s surge isn’t immediately obvious but most observers seem to think it’s about finding a safe choice in a race that has been marked by scandal.

In the wake of former Rep. Eric Swalwell’s exit from the governor’s race, Becerra’s campaign is drawing support as a potential safe harbor for Democrats lacking a clear front-runner. Becerra offers a long record in state and federal government as well as a steady, if understated, presence amid a race shaken by scandal.

A CBS poll published Monday had Becerra at 13%, with Republican Steve Hilton at 16% and Democrat Tom Steyer at 15%. The top two finishers in the June 2 nonpartisan primary will advance to the November election.

It’s a marked shift for a candidate who for months failed to catch on.

But there are plenty of hard-left voters in California who aren’t interested in a safe pick. They would much prefer to have Katie Porter or Tom Steyer leading the race. So almost as quickly as his profile has risen, Becerra is now taking shots from the left-flank of his own party.

Leaders on the party’s left flank view Becerra as a middle-of-the-road Democrat aligned with entrenched interests wary of a progressive likely to clash with Silicon Valley or the Chamber of Commerce, and they’re rushing to blunt his momentum ahead of the June 2 top-two primary.

“Democratic leadership likes a governor that is open for business with corporations,” said Amar Shergill, a former chair of the California Democratic Party’s progressive caucus, who is turning his attention to torching Becerra, dismissing him as a “go-along Democrat.”

To undercut his chief selling point — three decades in public service — his detractors on the left are surfacing complaints from his 24 years in Congress and his time as state attorney general and Biden Cabinet secretary.

They’re circulating old clips questioning Becerra’s handling of the influx of unaccompanied migrant children as Health secretary, spotlighting campaign contributions from companies like Chevron and hammering his opposition to a union-backed billionaire tax. They’re also questioning his support for single-payer healthcare, a litmus test for Democrats.

Becerra has repeatedly said he supports a publicly run health system. But Shergill and a host of influencers on the left, including progressive news sites, have faulted him for not endorsing such a bill — now stalled — in the California Legislature and argue he didn’t further the cause as HHS secretary.

Single-payer is a left-wing fantasy. It’s not something that is going to happen because California can’t begin to afford it. The last time this was proposed, Democrats dropped it because it would require the state’s annual budget to double. Who knows, maybe this is their long term goal with the billionaire’s tax once they make it permanent. But for now this is not going to happen.

What voters seem to want at this moment is more Gavin Newsom. Newsom, believe it or not, is also seen as something of a moderate these days because he a) opposes the wealth tax and b) opposes trans girls in girls sports to some degree.

Within the Democratic ranks, those who want a candidate with very similar policies to Newsom are a little more for former HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, while Democrats who want someone with different policies are a bit more for philanthropist Tom Steyer.

And there is a difference of opinion on what the next governor should prioritize in their approach to helping the middle and working class.

Democrats want the next governor to prioritize a mix that includes building more housing, whereas Republicans largely identify the top priority as lowering taxes.

The left wants Steyer and the moderates want Becerra. And Republicans appear to have settled on Steve Hilton. We’ll know in a few more weeks how this all shakes out.

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