Stop being so chill, Xavier Becerra. Fight for California’s future
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- Xavier Becerra became California’s surprise gubernatorial front-runner after Eric Swalwell’s departure, energizing supporters with packed rallies and dominant social media momentum.
- His Wednesday debate performance failed to build on that surge, instead showing a stiff, overly cautious candidate who seemed more bureaucrat than relatable leader.
- With six weeks before the June 2 primary, Becerra must prove he can combine competence with the personality and energy voters increasingly demand.
Xavier Becerra needed to land a knockout punch, even more so than the five other candidates for California governor he was facing at Wednesday night’s debate.
Instead, he fired off some slaps.
He needed to roar about his many accomplishments in his 35-year career in Sacramento and Washington, to distinguish himself from the relative political neophytes around him.
Instead, Becerra recited his resume with the vigor of someone rattling off his LinkedIn page.
He needed to uplift Californians with a vision of hope, when many feel the state is going in the wrong direction.
Instead, he offered the oratory equivalent of a pat on the shoulder.
No candidate had more at stake that night than Becerra, who went from an afterthought to a contender after Eric Swalwell dropped out and resigned his congressional seat over sexual assault allegations.
Five weeks ago, Becerra and other candidates of color were protesting their exclusion from a USC debate because they were all polling so low. Now, the 68-year-old has a chance to become California’s first Latino governor.
In addition to new endorsements, Becerra has jumped nine points in a recent state Democratic Party poll, tying with billionaire Tom Steyer at 13%.
This possibility seems to have uncorked California’s silent majority — the rancho libertarians turned off by hard-right politics but also the wokoso politics they feel have left them behind. The people who yearn for an unglamorous, competent leader after eight years of all-about-me Gavin Newsom and a decade of Donald Trump.
Becerra’s campaign — once as rudderless as a leaf in a river in a race so chaotic for Democrats that many feared two Republicans would win in the June 2 primary and face each other in the general election — suddenly latched on to a palpable wave.
At the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books last weekend, I saw people sporting Becerra campaign buttons who had just come from a rally that was expected to draw a few hundred but instead had more than 2,000 RSVPs. On social media, friends who had never especially cared for state politics suddenly declared they were for Becerra and fought off their more lefty pals who think he’s a Latino Ned Flanders not up for this fraught moment.
Unglamorous and competent are Becerra’s middle names, and they were on display at the debate — for better and mostly worse. This was his chance to show both his new followers and undecided voters that they could trust him as California’s next governor.
But where he needed to be limber like a prizefighter, the former California attorney general was as tightly wound as a Rolex.
While the other candidates pressed their palms against the lecterns, ready to pounce on every question, Becerra clasped his hands like an altar boy. When he did gesture, his movements never went farther than the span of his shoulders.
As the others grinned and grimaced at their rivals’ responses, Becerra was as stone-faced as Buster Keaton. He stumbled more than he should have — how could someone in his position mistake Iraq for Iran when criticizing Trump’s Middle East quagmire? — and rarely seemed at ease, as if the weight of the moment and the good luck of his surge had suddenly hit him at the worst possible time.
Becerra’s supporters say a levelheaded leader is what California needs. But voters almost never go for what they need — they pick what they want. And California wants someone who’s loud, or at least louder than Becerra. There’s a reason that strident partisans such as Republicans Chad Bianco and Steve Hilton and progressives Tom Steyer and Katie Porter have consistently placed high in the polls, while moderates like Becerra, his frenemy Antonio Villaraigosa and San José Mayor Matt Mahan have lagged.
The weird thing is that Becerra does know how to brawl. Wallflowers don’t go from a working-class Mexican immigrant family to Stanford Law School. Wimps don’t survive the ruthlessness of Eastside politics as an outsider to become a Congress member at just 34. Cowards don’t file more than 100 lawsuits against the Trump administration as California’s top prosecutor or tackle the COVID-19 pandemic as President Biden’s Health secretary.
I’ve encountered the Sacramento native only a few times but always came away impressed. In small crowds, he makes people laugh and tear up. He’s quick with ripostes, righteous in off-the-cuff remarks and has a do-gooder aura that never comes off as sanctimonious.
We saw hints of that Becerra at the debate. To Hilton, he quipped, “You can be a talking head and not worry about the consequences of what you do,” after the former Fox News host babbled on about how one-party ruled had failed California.
After Porter accused him of not offering hard numbers for his economic plans, Becerra responded that he has balanced federal budgets larger than California’s. “It’s easy to say you haven’t done this; it’s easier to prove that you actually have,” he concluded.
But after Becerra described the evils of racial profiling by law enforcement and Bianco, the sheriff of Riverside County, ranted that California politicians need to stop thinking so much about race, it was Porter who responded with a verbal haymaker as Becerra silently looked on.
You don’t fight as a choirboy in a battle royale. Becerra wasn’t bad at the debate, but he also wasn’t great — and that won’t win this race.
The debate took place at a critical moment in the gubernatorial race. Ballots will start landing in mailboxes in less than two weeks, and voters are split by a crowded field of candidates.
Voters want someone who’ll do the job, yes — especially if it comes with no drama. They also want to elect someone they think is a human, not a joyless bureaucrat. So how did Becerra respond to the debate’s last question about what was the last series you’ve streamed?
Becerra flashed his biggest smile of the night. It was such a softball query that even a kindergartner could have slammed it à la Shohei Ohtani.
“I wish I could tell you I had time to watch streaming shows,” he replied.
Dude. We’re all overworked, but everyone I know unwinds by watching mindless drivel (my current obsession is “Vanderpump Villa”). We all need to relax, even for a moment. As my dad says when he sees me filing one columna after another and urges me to take a break, “El trabajo nunca se acaba pero uno sí se acaba.”
Work never ends, but people do.
Xavier, you know you’re on the wrong side of California when the only other candidate with a similar answer was Bianco, who said he doesn’t watch television at all.
Being careful has served you well, but this is the greatest opportunity of your life. You don’t have to suddenly become a flamethrower, but some sparks would help. It’s six weeks until the primary, so time to throw down — channel your inner cholo and go get what should be yours.
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Ideas expressed in the piece
Becerra failed to deliver the forceful performance required to capitalize on his political opportunity at Wednesday’s gubernatorial debate. The article characterizes his demeanor as overly restrained and controlled, contrasting his stiff posture and stone-faced expression with the animated gestures and expressions of other candidates. The piece suggests this physical restraint conveyed an image of a cautious functionary rather than a dynamic leader capable of governing California during turbulent times.
The column contends that while Becerra possesses impressive credentials and accomplishments, voters select leaders based on personality and emotional energy rather than demonstrated competence alone. The article argues that Becerra, who has shown combative skill in previous roles, inexplicably held back at the debate rather than showcasing his genuine fighting spirit. The piece emphasizes that other candidates—both progressives and conservatives—perform better in the race precisely because they project vigor and conviction, while Becerra’s measured approach fails to energize voters.
The piece argues that Becerra’s response to a question about streaming habits revealed a fundamental misunderstanding of voter expectations and human connection. When asked about recent television viewing, the article suggests Becerra missed an opportunity to demonstrate relatable humanity by claiming he lacks time for leisure. The column contends this response reinforced perceptions that he is a joyless bureaucrat, not a person voters can relate to or trust with state leadership.
The article concludes that Becerra must dramatically shift his approach to seize what may be his only genuine opportunity to become governor. The column urges him to display greater aggression, authenticity, and personal warmth during the remaining six weeks before the primary. The piece insists that voters respond to candidates who project energy and humanity, not those who appear cautious or overly controlled.
Different views on the topic
Political analysts and polling data suggest that Becerra’s composed, measured demeanor is actually resonating effectively with California voters and generating significant electoral momentum. Democratic Party tracking polls released April 17 show Becerra surged from 4 percent to 13 percent following Eric Swalwell’s exit, topping all Democratic candidates[1]. Dan Schnur, a political communications lecturer at USC and UC Berkeley, observed that this “Becerra boomlet has taken place over the last six days” and “is certainly working to his benefit,” pointing to increased attendance at his events, expanded social media engagement, and endorsements from fourteen Assembly Democrats led by Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas—with Becerra raising more than $1 million in a single week following Swalwell’s departure[2].
Becerra’s candidacy is being positioned by political observers as offering a “steady hand” in response to political turbulence caused by Swalwell’s scandal, suggesting his measured approach appeals to voters seeking stable, experienced leadership[3]. Where the article argues voters prefer dramatic personalities, the polling evidence indicates that a significant portion of the California electorate is responding positively to Becerra’s emphasis on competence and accomplishment over theatrical presentation. His rapid rise from polling obscurity to the top Democratic position within days suggests that his more reserved demeanor may align closely with what voters actually want in their next governor.
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