Republican Steve Hilton is moving quickly to define former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra as a career politician, launching a new campaign ad that attacks the Democrat’s decades in public office as California’s governor race begins shifting toward November.
The ad, released as California primary ballots were still being counted, mocks Becerra’s long résumé in government and presents him as a continuation of the Democratic leadership that has dominated the state for years. Hilton’s campaign uses the spot to argue that voters should not expect major change from Becerra if he becomes governor.
The 55-second ad shows clips of Becerra on an old-fashioned television screen while captions criticize his record. One caption says, “I’ve been a career politician for 36 years. Vote for me.” Other lines point to issues likely to become central in the general election, including homelessness, the state’s high-speed rail project, and Becerra’s time as secretary of Health and Human Services under former President Joe Biden.
The ad ends by tying Becerra to outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom and suggesting that a Becerra administration would represent more of the same. Its closing message tells voters, “Don’t watch another rerun.”
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The timing of the ad is important. The Associated Press has projected Becerra will advance to California’s November general election, but the second spot has not been fully settled in every report as ballots continue to be counted. Hilton has been running close behind Becerra, while Democrat Tom Steyer has remained in third place.
California uses a top-two primary system, meaning all candidates run on the same ballot regardless of party, and the two highest vote-getters advance to the general election. That system has made the race especially competitive because a divided Democratic field created an opening for Hilton, a Republican former Fox News host and political commentator.
Becerra celebrated his advancement by framing the result as a victory for California voters and working families. His campaign also highlighted the historical significance of his run, saying he is the first Latino candidate to advance from a California gubernatorial primary to a general election. If elected, he would become California’s first Latino governor since Romualdo Pacheco briefly served in 1875.
Hilton, meanwhile, is positioning himself as an outsider and reform candidate. His campaign argues that California’s high cost of living, homelessness crisis, crime concerns, and state government spending problems are the result of years of Democratic control. By attacking Becerra’s long career, Hilton is trying to make the race a referendum on the state’s political establishment.
Becerra’s supporters are likely to respond that his experience is a strength, not a weakness. Before serving in the Biden administration, he was California attorney general and spent years in Congress. His campaign is expected to argue that he understands state and federal government and is prepared to manage the nation’s most populous state.
The race could become a test of whether California voters want continuity or change after Newsom. Democrats still hold a major advantage in statewide elections, but Republicans hope frustration over affordability, housing, homelessness and regulations could give Hilton an opening.
The new ad suggests Hilton will try to keep the general election focused on California’s problems rather than national partisan identity. That strategy may be necessary in a state where Republicans face a difficult statewide path, even when they qualify for the November ballot.
For Becerra, the challenge will be defending his record while separating himself from voter frustration with Sacramento. For Hilton, the challenge will be convincing enough independents and moderate Democrats that a Republican can lead California differently.
With ballots still being counted and results not yet certified, the race is not fully settled. But Hilton’s new ad shows that the fall campaign has already begun.
Why It Matters
The ad matters because it shows how Hilton plans to attack Becerra in the general election: by tying him to decades of Democratic leadership and portraying him as part of California’s status quo.
It also signals that California’s governor race may focus heavily on homelessness, affordability, high-speed rail, state spending and whether voters want a major change after Gavin Newsom.
What Comes Next
Vote counting will continue until California certifies the results. If Hilton officially secures the second general-election spot, he is expected to make Becerra’s long government career a central theme of the campaign.
Becerra will likely respond by emphasizing experience, working-class roots and his historic candidacy as the first Latino candidate to advance from a California gubernatorial primary to a general election.
CONFIRMED: Xavier Becerra will be the Democrat candidate for governor.
Is this is a joke? pic.twitter.com/wTciEuqrxS
— Steve Hilton (@SteveHiltonx) June 6, 2026
