Election 2026 · State of California

California Governor

Published September 29, 2026 · Updated October 2, 2026

Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton are the candidates for California Governor on the November 3, 2026 ballot.

The Governor is California's chief executive. The Governor runs most state departments, appoints judges, signs or vetoes the bills the Legislature passes, and sends lawmakers a budget each January. In an emergency, the Governor directs state resources.

Summary by CityHallPass, not the official text or legal advice. The official text controls: LA County's official election information.

What it means for the City of LA

State money is a large part of the City's homelessness budget, and the Governor proposes it each January. The City's FY 2026-27 proposed budget lists $71.8 million received from the state's Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) Round 4 in 2024-25, $92.5 million from Round 5 in 2024-25 and $71.8 million more in 2025-26, and $71.8 million from Round 6 expected in each of 2025-26 and 2026-27 (City Administrative Officer, FY 2026-27 Proposed Budget, grants schedule, p. 458). In January 2026 the Governor's office awarded $328.8 million in HHAP Round 6 to the Los Angeles region, shared by the County, the cities of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and four homeless services networks. The Governor can also proclaim a state of emergency and, during one, direct all state agencies and use the state's police power in the affected area (Government Code sections 8625 and 8627).

Primary results, June 2, 2026

68 candidates, including write-ins. Top two advanced regardless of party: Xavier Becerra (Democratic) and Steve Hilton (Republican). Total votes for Governor: 9,262,468. Figures are statewide totals from the Secretary of State's Statement of Vote. Certified results

The candidates

The job

Powers. The state Constitution says “the supreme executive power of this State is vested in the Governor,” who “shall see that the law is faithfully executed” (Cal. Const. art. V, sec. 1).

• Laws. Every bill goes to the Governor. A veto stands unless two-thirds of each house votes to override. On spending bills the Governor can “reduce or eliminate one or more items of appropriation” and sign the rest, the line-item veto (art. IV, sec. 10).
• Budget. The Governor must send the Legislature a budget “within the first 10 days of each calendar year” (art. IV, sec. 12).
• Pardons. The Governor can grant reprieves, pardons and commutations, and can review parole decisions for people serving life terms for murder (art. V, sec. 8).
• Emergencies. The Governor can proclaim a state of emergency (Gov. Code 8625). During one, the Governor has “complete authority over all agencies of the state government” and can use the state’s police power in the affected area (Gov. Code 8627).

Appointments.

• The Governor fills vacancies on the Supreme Court and Courts of Appeal, and temporarily fills Superior Court vacancies until an elected judge takes office (art. VI, sec. 16).
• The Governor nominates replacements if the Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Controller, Treasurer, Superintendent or a Board of Equalization member leaves office. The Legislature confirms. The Governor can fill other vacancies “unless the law otherwise provides” (art. V, sec. 5).

Budget. The 2026-27 state budget spends $351.7 billion. That is $251.5 billion from the General Fund, $95.1 billion from special funds and $5.1 billion from bonds. The largest pieces are health and human services ($145.2 billion) and K-12 education ($92.6 billion). The Rainy Day Fund holds $15.1 billion (Department of Finance, 2026-27 Enacted Budget, Summary Charts).

Facts that shape the job now.

• Deficits. The Department of Finance says the 2026 Budget Act balances 2026-27 and 2027-28 but still projects “ongoing structural deficits in the outyears” (2026-27 Enacted Budget Summary, Introduction).
• Homelessness money. The Legislature’s June budget deal put $900 million into HHAP grants to cities and counties, $400 million more than the Governor’s May plan, California City News reported (California City News). The Governor’s office says statewide unsheltered homelessness fell 9% in 2025 (Governor’s office).
• Federal health cuts. The same budget deal added money for counties to handle work from H.R. 1, the 2025 federal law that cut Medicaid (California City News).
• Death penalty. The next Governor decides whether to keep Gov. Newsom’s 2019 moratorium on executions. The LA Times reported 565 people on death row as of early August 2026 (LA Times).

Records

Xavier Becerra

Congress, 1993 to 2017. Becerra served 12 terms in the U.S. House. He was the first Latino member of the Ways and Means Committee and chaired the House Democratic Caucus. His HHS biography credits him with the Medicare Savings Programs Improvement Act of 2007 and says he was an original cosponsor of the Affordable Care Act (HHS bio, archived). His campaign says he pushed the Runaway Productions Prevention Act, which became law in 2008 (campaign film plan, archived).

Attorney General, 2017 to 2021.

• Gov. Jerry Brown appointed him when Kamala Harris went to the U.S. Senate. The LA Times reported that he sued the first Trump administration more than 120 times, over immigration enforcement, clean air, endangered species and the Affordable Care Act (LA Times).
• His HHS biography says he won a $575 million antitrust settlement against a large California health system and led the three-year court fight to keep the Affordable Care Act (HHS bio, archived).
• He told legislators in 2017, “I support the death penalty, but I hate the way it’s being executed.” His office sought a death sentence against Seal Beach gunman Scott Dekraai, who got life without parole instead (LA Times).

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 2021 to 2025.

• The Senate “narrowly approved” him, the LA Times reported (LA Times).
• He was the department’s 25th Secretary and its first Latino Secretary (HHS bio, archived).
• On drug prices he said in August 2026, “Am I going to promise you that I can drop the price of prescription drugs? Yes, because I did it before” (LA Times).

Ethics and enforcement records.

• Los Angeles City Ethics Commission, 2005. Becerra ran for Mayor of Los Angeles in 2001. A post-election audit found violations, and he, his committee Becerra for Mayor and its treasurer signed a stipulation admitting them. The counts: failing to return $7,089.99 in surplus public matching funds within 30 days of the April 10, 2001 primary; requesting matching funds on two returned contributions; and not filing copies of six mass mailings with the Commission. The order set a fine of $11,089.99 plus repayment of the $7,089.99 (stipulation, CEC Case No. 2004-06). The Commission’s index dates the order April 12, 2005 and lists $18,180 in total (enforcement orders).
• Other agencies. No House Ethics Committee or Office of Congressional Ethics matter involving him appears in GovTrack’s congressional misconduct database (GovTrack). The State Bar shows no discipline: licensee 118517, admitted June 1985, active (State Bar profile). No FPPC finding and no FEC administrative fine or alternative dispute resolution case names him (FPPC case search; FEC). Searched Sept. 30, 2026.

Steve Hilton

Office. Hilton has never held elected office (BBC).

British politics.

• After Oxford he worked for the Conservative Party and the ad firm M&C Saatchi, where he made the 1996 “demon eyes” ad against Tony Blair. He co-founded Good Business, which advised companies such as Nike, McDonald’s and Coca-Cola on social responsibility (CalMatters).
• He was a senior adviser to Prime Minister David Cameron from 2010 to 2012. The BBC reported he pushed ideas such as abolishing maternity leave and later split with Cameron over immigration and Brexit (BBC). The LA Times reported he pushed the party toward same-sex marriage and climate policies and backed Brexit early (LA Times).

California career.

• He moved to California in 2012, when his wife, Rachel Whetstone, took a Google communications job. He was a visiting scholar at Stanford and co-founded Crowdpac (LA Times).
• He hosted “The Next Revolution” on Fox News for six years from 2017. The LA Times reported that he criticized COVID-19 lockdowns on the show and called for an investigation of alleged voter fraud after the 2020 election (LA Times).
• He founded Golden Together, a policy group on housing costs, homelessness and the business climate, and wrote books on “positive populism” (LA Times).

Lawsuit. Hilton filed a federal suit on September 4, 2025 claiming Proposition 50, the 2025 congressional redistricting measure, violated equal protection (Hilton campaign, Nov 6, 2025). On Nov. 4, 2025, Judge Kenly Kiya Kato denied his motion for a preliminary injunction and dismissed the complaint with leave to amend, ruling that the court lacked jurisdiction over his claims; Hilton filed a voluntary dismissal without prejudice the same day (docket, Hilton v. Weber, No. 8:25-cv-01988, C.D. Cal.). His campaign says a new case led by other plaintiffs, with Hilton as a partner, continues it (Hilton campaign, Nov 6, 2025).

Ethics and enforcement records. No official findings were found in FPPC, Los Angeles City Ethics Commission or FEC records, and no federal court case against him was found (searched Sept. 30, 2026; FPPC case search; FEC; CourtListener). He has never been in Congress, so House Ethics records do not apply.

Where they stand

Issues come from the Berkeley IGS/LA Times poll of September 15-20, 2026: cost of living (44% named it a top concern), pushing back on the Trump administration (37%) and, among Hilton supporters, taxes. The PPIC September survey found 65% of likely voters call a candidate’s affordability plan very important. Housing, homelessness, healthcare, energy, AI and the film industry come from the candidates’ joint appearances (LA Times, Aug 11) and the primary debates (Fox News; CNN).

Becerra’s entries come from archived copies of his campaign’s issue pages, news releases and interviews. Hilton’s come from his campaign’s policy pages (checked Sept 29, 2026) and interviews.

On the other ballot measures

Sources: Becerra’s July 31, 2026 announcement (archived copy). Hilton’s positions come from his campaign plan and interviews, cited in each cell.

Source: Becerra’s positions are from his July 31, 2026 announcement (archived copy). Hilton’s are from his Prop 4 policy page, his election plan and Democracy Docket. “No stated position” means none was found in those sources.

Endorsements

Xavier Becerra

From his campaign’s endorsement page, as archived on Sept 22, 2026 (archived page), unless another source is linked.

• Elected officials:
  • Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Vice President Kamala Harris (endorsement page, archived Sept 22).
  • U.S. Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff. Reps. Barragán, Brownley, Carbajal, Chu, Cisneros, Correa, Costa, Robert Garcia, Lieu, Lofgren, Ruiz and Takano, and former Reps. Cárdenas and Katie Porter, his primary rival (endorsement page; SF Chronicle).
  • Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, Attorney General Rob Bonta, Controller Malia Cohen, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and Superintendent Tony Thurmond (endorsement page).
  • Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, Senate President pro Tem Monique Limón and the California Latino Legislative Caucus (endorsement page).
  • Los Angeles-area officials include former Mayors Eric Garcetti and Antonio Villaraigosa, City Councilmember Adrin Nazarian, and Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson (endorsement page).
• Unions: California Teachers Association, SEIU California, California Professional Firefighters, State Building and Construction Trades Council, California State Council of Laborers, AFSCME California, Teamsters California, United Farm Workers, California IATSE Council, United Nurses Associations of California, the Union of American Physicians and Dentists, and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Locals 13, 63 and 94, among others (endorsement page).
• Business and professional groups: California Chamber of Commerce, California Medical Association, Los Angeles County Medical Association, California Trucking Association and California Nations Indian Gaming Association (endorsement page).
• Organizations: Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, Equality California, CHIRLA Action Fund, UnidosUS Action Fund, Latino Victory Fund, California YIMBY and the Democratic Governors (endorsement page).
• Party: The California Democratic Party did not endorse a candidate for governor before the primary, the SF Chronicle reported (SF Chronicle). Its general-election list, dated Aug 2, 2026, endorses Becerra (California Democratic Party).
• Newspapers:
  • McClatchy’s California editorial board, which writes for the Sacramento Bee, backed Becerra on Sept 11, 2026, citing his “legislative and legal background” (Sacramento Bee).
  • In the primary, the San Francisco Examiner endorsed Becerra (SF Examiner). The San Francisco Chronicle endorsed Katie Porter (SF Chronicle).

Steve Hilton

From his campaign’s news releases, which are from 2025, unless another source is linked.

• Elected officials and public figures:
  • President Donald Trump, who called Hilton “a hard driving WINNER” (BBC).
  • Reps. Kevin Kiley and Tom McClintock, state Sen. Tony Strickland, Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig, and former state Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero, now the Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor. Also Vivek Ramaswamy, Charlie Kirk, Pastor Jack Hibbs and Jon Voight. All are named in the campaign’s July 31, 2025 release (Hilton campaign).
• Party: The California Republican Party did not endorse anyone for governor at its April 2026 convention (KCRA). Its current 2026 endorsement list names Hilton for governor (California Republican Party, checked Sept 30, 2026). The party gave his campaign $68,000 (Cal-Access).
• Unions: None found.
• Newspapers: In the primary, the California Post, the New York Post’s California edition, endorsed Hilton (New York Post). The Southern California News Group’s editorial board, which writes for the Orange County Register, praised Hilton’s “specific plans and ideas” on Sept 27 and noted Becerra “refused to meet with our editorial board.” It did not make a formal endorsement in that piece (OC Register).

Editorial boards not yet found: No LA Times or Daily News general-election endorsement for governor was found as of Sept 29, 2026.

Polls

These are public polls by academic or media pollsters that publish their methods. Campaign and outside-group polls are left out.

Hilton called the September PPIC poll “misleading” and said “the GOP turnout is way off” (New York Post). After the August IGS poll, Becerra’s campaign said it confirmed voters’ support for his “focus on lowering the cost of living” (ABC7).

Money

Source: the committees’ Form 460 reports and Form 497 late-contribution reports on Cal-Access (Becerra for Governor 2026; Steve Hilton for Governor 2026), read from the Secretary of State’s Cal-Access raw data export downloaded Sept 29, 2026. Independent spending: the committees listed under Outside spending below. “Raised” and “Spent” add each year’s calendar-year totals from the committees’ own summary pages. There is no public financing for state candidates.

The limit for Governor in 2025-26 is $39,200 per person per election, so a donor can give $39,200 for the primary and $39,200 for the general. Political parties have no limit (FPPC).

The LA Times counted $48.8 million given to Becerra’s campaign and to outside groups backing him through Sept 3. It counted $18.8 million for Hilton by the same date (LA Times).

Who is giving

Method: itemized contributions (money and in-kind) on each committee’s Form 460 reports through Sept 19, 2026, from Cal-Access (Becerra; Hilton; raw data export). A donor is a normalized name plus ZIP code. Gifts under $100 that the committee did not itemize are left out of donor counts. Geography, industry and employer rules are the same as on our Mayor page: a ZIP code counts as City of LA if at least half its area is inside the City.

Source: itemized Schedule A contributions on Cal-Access (Becerra; Hilton).

Geography.

Source: donor ZIP codes on the committees’ Cal-Access reports (Becerra; Hilton).

Xavier Becerra

Becerra’s money comes in bigger checks (Cal-Access). Donors who reached the $39,200 limit gave half his itemized dollars. Organizations gave 44%, including unions, tribes, health care companies and trade groups. Donors under $250 gave 3.7%.

• Largest organization donors (totals across both elections): the California State Council of Laborers PAC ($93,900); the Santa Ynez Band of Mission Indians ($89,700); the UNAC/UHCP nurses’ PAC ($85,700); the Pechanga, Morongo and Yocha Dehe tribes ($83,800 each). Donors at $78,400 include AltaMed Health Network, Genentech, the California Medical Association PAC, Airbnb, NextEra Energy Resources, Centene, Elevance Health, Lytton Rancheria, Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, LA County Firefighters Local 1014 and SEIU Local 2015 (Cal-Access).
• Individual donors: the other 16,934 itemized donors are individuals. They gave $18,430,680, or 55.8% of itemized dollars (Cal-Access).
• Top employers by dollars: Anthropic (18 donors, $844,200), Kaiser Permanente (93 donors, $146,293), State of California (120 donors, $135,504), Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy (26 donors, $130,600), Hueston Hennigan (14 donors, $91,000) and Stanford University (34 donors, $90,591) (Cal-Access).
• Industries (share of itemized dollars): political committees and PACs other than unions 12.0%; not employed or retired 12.8%; law 9.3%; labor unions 8.3%; health care 6.8%; technology 5.3%; finance 3.4%; tribal governments 2.6% (26 tribes, $850,500); real estate and development 2.5% ($820,908); entertainment 2.2%. 26.8% could not be assigned (employer missing or no category) (Cal-Access).
• Same-employer giving (five or more donors from one employer within three days): Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, 14 donors, Aug 24-26, 2026 ($78,700); Hueston Hennigan, 10 donors on Aug 31 ($66,000); Anthropic, 5 donors on June 1 ($171,000); Stanford, 11 donors, Apr 21-23 ($35,075); Blue Shield of California, 6 donors on Aug 24 ($30,500); Kaiser Permanente, 20 donors, Apr 20-22 ($20,710) (Cal-Access).
• State lobbying: Sixty-five organizations that are registered lobbyist employers or firms gave $1,770,568 (5.4% of itemized dollars), led by tribes, Airbnb, Blue Shield of California and West Coast University (Cal-Access lobbying directory).

Steve Hilton

Hilton has 2.4 times as many itemized donors as Becerra, and most give small amounts (Cal-Access). Two thirds of his donors gave under $250. With unitemized gifts, contributions under $250 are 29% of his money. A quarter of his donors live outside California. Half his itemized dollars came from people who listed themselves as retired or not employed. Organizations gave 7.7%.

• Largest organization donor: the California Republican Party ($68,000). Others include Uber Technologies, Dimension Energy, Pacific Coast Companies, DWO Enterprises, Smartwash Solutions and Auburn Manor Holding ($39,200 each) (Cal-Access).
• Individual donors: the other 43,233 itemized donors are individuals. They gave $20,492,154, or 92.3% of itemized dollars (Cal-Access).
• Top employer: Lighthouse Worldwide Solutions, an Oregon contamination-monitoring company: 12 donors, $483,699. The LA Times also reported this group (LA Times). No other employer’s staff gave more than $50,000 combined.
• Industries: not employed or retired 50.2%; finance 4.5%; real estate and development 4.4% ($969,323); health care 1.6%; construction 1.4%; law 1.2%; labor unions under 0.1%. 30.0% could not be assigned (Cal-Access).
• Same-employer giving: Lighthouse Worldwide Solutions, 10 donors, Dec 29-30, 2025 ($198,500). No other employer had five donors within three days (Cal-Access).
• State lobbying: Three registered lobbyist employers gave $54,928: Uber ($39,200), SA Recycling ($10,000) and Rivian ($5,728) (Cal-Access lobbying directory).

Industry rule: each donor gets the first category whose keywords appear in the employer name, then the occupation. Contributions from committees are counted as unions when the committee’s name is a union’s.

Outside spending

Independent expenditures naming either candidate, from Form 460 Schedule D and Form 496 reports on Cal-Access (each committee is linked under the table), Jan 1, 2025 to Sept 28, 2026. Almost all of it came before the June 2 primary. Since July 1, reported outside spending on this race totals about $28,000, mostly slate mail. Money spent attacking other primary candidates is not counted.

Source: each committee’s Cal-Access filings: Working Families for Healthy Communities; Latinos United; Californios Unidos; Firefighters IE PAC; California People Supporting Becerra; UAPD IE Committee; Working Families for a Stronger California; San Diego Labor Coalition; committee opposing Hilton; New Majority PAC; Reform Local Government PAC; San Diego County Gun Owners PAC.

Who funds the outside committees. Contributions from Jan 1, 2025 through each committee’s latest report, including late reports, from each committee’s Cal-Access filings (linked above and below). Where a funder is a committee, its own 2025-26 funders are shown one level down.

Working Families for Healthy Communities (pro-Becerra, $17.77 million received; Cal-Access):

• California Association of Realtors’ independent expenditure committee (Cal-Access), $2.75 million. That committee’s itemized funders are the Realtors’ state PAC ($2.08 million), the National Association of Realtors Fund ($1.79 million) and two “CREPAC/Federal” committees ($1 million each), plus $10.75 million unitemized.
• Laborers Pacific Southwest Regional Organizing Coalition PAC (Cal-Access), $2.45 million. Its latest report in the data covers 2024.
• Tribes: Pechanga Band of Indians $2.0 million, Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria $1.5 million (Sept 16, 2026), Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation $500,000, and Wilton Rancheria $500,000 (after Sept 19) (Cal-Access).
• California Medical Association’s independent expenditure committee, $1.4 million (Cal-Access).
• California State Association of Electrical Workers (Cal-Access), $1.0 million. All of its 2025-26 receipts are unitemized ($2.51 million).
• The Committee to Expand the Middle Class, sponsored by Airbnb (Cal-Access), $1.0 million. Its only 2025-26 funder is Airbnb, Inc. ($15.04 million).
• Meta Platforms, $950,000 (Cal-Access).
• $500,000 each from California Resources Corp.’s CRC Services, Global Medical Response, Chevron U.S.A., DaVita’s committee, and McDonald’s committee “Protect Small Businesses.” (Cal-Access)
• $250,000 each from the California Faculty Association’s committee, the California Hospital Association’s committee, and Vlad Tenev (Robinhood) (Cal-Access).
• $115,200 from the California Primary Care Association Advocates. Its only receipt in that period was $115,200 from DaVita (Cal-Access).

Latinos United for Xavier Becerra ($1,844,000; Cal-Access):

• Uber Innovation PAC (Cal-Access), $1.0 million. Its funders are Uber Technologies ($9.03 million).
• California Association of Realtors’ IE committee, $250,000 (Cal-Access).
• American Beverage Association California PAC (Cal-Access), $249,000. Its funders are Coca-Cola ($841,649), PepsiCo ($599,542) and Keurig Dr Pepper ($312,519).
• Meta Platforms, $245,000 (Cal-Access).
• Associated General Contractors PAC (Cal-Access), $100,000. Its funders are construction companies, led by Griffith Company, Granite Construction and Hensel Phelps.

Californios Unidos por Becerra ($325,000; Cal-Access): Laborers Local 300 Small Contributor Committee (Cal-Access) $170,000; its only funder is the Construction Laborers Dues/Vacation Trust ($982,650). Also the Southern California District Council of Laborers PAC (Cal-Access) $100,000 (all receipts unitemized) and LCCC PAC $50,000.

California People Supporting Xavier Becerra ($395,000; Cal-Access): Pechanga Band of Indians $250,000, Lytton Rancheria $125,000 and one individual $20,000.

Working Families for a Stronger California ($958,403; Cal-Access): almost all from LCCC PAC (Cal-Access), a Latino elected officials’ committee. LCCC PAC’s top 2025-26 funders include the California Correctional Peace Officers Association PAC ($350,000), National Enterprises ($275,000), Philip Morris USA/Altria ($250,000), Sempra, PBF Energy, PepsiCo and Phillips 66.

California Professional Firefighters IE PAC ($689,456 since Oct 20, 2024; Cal-Access): almost all from the California Professional Firefighters PAC (Cal-Access) ($640,000), whose own receipts are all unitemized ($5.86 million).

The committee opposing Hilton ($2.5 million received; Cal-Access):

• Bill Bloomfield, $1,000,000 (Cal-Access).
• Democratic Action, sponsored by the Democratic Governors Association (Cal-Access), $750,000. Its state reports list $13.45 million in receipts without itemizing the donors.
• California Nurses Association PAC (Cal-Access), $500,000. Its itemized funder is the California Nurses Association ($3.53 million).
• SEIU California State Council (Cal-Access), $250,000.

New Majority PAC (pro-Hilton; $1,156,875 received since Oct 20, 2024; it spends in many races; Cal-Access): Irvine Company $71,000; R.D. Olson Investments $28,000; two individuals $44,925 combined.

Reform Local Government PAC ($449,015 since Oct 20, 2024; many races; Cal-Access): La Playa LLC $49,000, a retirement-savings committee $45,000 and one individual $40,000.

Key moments

Debates and forums

CalMatters reported that the Sept. 30 debate covered taxes, AI regulation, oil drilling, homelessness, immigration, housing and the film tax credit, that Becerra mentioned Trump more than a dozen times, and that both candidates support expanding the state’s film tax credit (CalMatters, republished by LAist).

ABC7 reported the May 14 debate was the sixth and last before the primary (ABC7). The Aug 11 forum was sponsored by Airbnb, AT&T, California Resources Corp., Google and the Western States Petroleum Assn., the LA Times reported (LA Times).

Events

• Swalwell exits; Becerra rises (April 2026).

  • What happened: Becerra polled around 4% until former Rep. Eric Swalwell left the race in early April. Several Swalwell advisers then joined Becerra’s campaign, the LA Times reported (LA Times).

• Trump endorses Hilton; state GOP holds back (April 2026).

  • What happened: Trump endorsed Hilton in April (LA Times; BBC). The California Republican Party convention then made no endorsement for governor (KCRA).
  • Hilton’s response: he said he was “deeply honored” by Trump’s backing. Since the primary he has asked voters who dislike Trump to back him on state issues: “We may not agree about national politics, but I think we can agree that we need change in California” (LA Times).
  • Becerra’s response: his campaign has described Hilton as Trump’s “endorsed candidate” (ABC7).