California gubernatorial candidate Becerra enjoys ‘Becerramentum’ surge in polls
Former Attorney General Xavier Becerra continued to see a surge of support for his previously tepid campaign for governor as two new polls showed him gaining on his fellow Democratic contenders.
On Monday, Kreate Strategies and Gudelunas Strategies published two surveys conducted last week that show Becerra has made gains among likely primary voters in the week since former U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell dropped out and resigned form office amid sexual misconduct allegations.
Kreate put Becerra in fourth place, tying with former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter at 10%, behind Republican media pundit Steve Hilton (18%), Democratic climate activist Tom Steyer (16%) and Republican Riverside County sheriff Chad Bianco (14%). Gudelunas’ survey, which was sponsored by an anti-Steyer independent expenditure that is backing Becerra, said Becerra was tied with Steyer at 15%, with Hilton leading at 20%.
A previous Kreate poll conducted a month ago put Becerra’s support at 2%.
Both pollsters surveyed respondents via text message, phone and web. Kreate’s margin of error was plus or minus 3.5 points, while Gudelunas was plus or minus 3.2 points. Becerra, 68, also leads in favorability among non-Republicans, ahead of Porter and Steyer, according to the Gudelunas poll.
Becerra’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment on the latest polls. Senior campaign adviser Michael Bustamante previously made the case that voters who had supported Swalwell were responding to Becerra’s “message and experience” as they looked for an alternative candidate to support.
Swalwell had previously been considered a leading candidate in the race until five women accused him of sexual misconduct. He dropped out of the race and resigned from office last week but has denied all accusations.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is termed out of office and cannot run again, has so far declined to endorse a successor.
An Emerson College poll published last week showed a 15-point increase for Becerra, who had been reporting single-digit numbers a month ago. In November, his campaign was rocked by revelations that Sean McCluskie, his longtime chief of staff, had stolen campaign funds from him.
Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who like Becerra was polling at single-digits in the governor’s race, recently blasted Becerra’s handling of child trafficking while Becerra was former president Joe Biden’s Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Becerra denied knowing about the campaign fund conspiracy, which McCluskie pleaded guilty to and is awaiting sentencing for.
Since the Emerson poll, there has been an increase in support on social media for Becerra, who recently hired LaMont Digital, which also ran ads for Swalwell’s campaign. Some X accounts had been semi-dormant until last week, drawing suspicions that they had been paid to support Becerra, which his campaign denied.
Bearstar Strategies, which has been casting around for a candidate since U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla and Attorney General Rob Bonta declined to run, has been eyeing Becerra, according to Politico. The firm has long advised Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Vice President Kamala Harris. Other members of Newsom’s orbit, like his former chief of staff Jim DeBoo, are leading the California Is Not For Sale anti-Steyer super PAC.
On Monday, former state controller Betty Yee dropped out of the race, citing lagging poll numbers and a lack of resources.
She declined to immediately endorse anyone, and said she would speak with the remaining candidates before offering her support.
“I really am looking for somebody who hopefully will feel that it’s important to carry my mantle about my vision of California and hopefully being able to incorporate it into their own,” she said. “I hope the next governor will really be focused on governing California. It is tough work. It is not always the one that garners headlines.”
