Outside Becerra’s final Southern California rally, Big Oil, Big Tobacco, Big Tech, and Utility Companies got a send-off – and a spotlight.

LONG BEACH — As Xavier Becerra held his closing Southern California rally today, a group of his most loyal supporters joined him outside: the corporate special interests that have spent over $54 million to boost his campaign and stop Tom Steyer’s. 

Representing Big Oil, Big Tobacco, Big Tech, and the utility monopolies – dubbed “Becerra’s Besties” – the corporate characters greeted press and rally attendees outside the Long Beach Convention Center, carrying signs reading “$8 Gas!”, “Higher Bills!”, “Keep Prices High!”, and “More Layoffs!” 

Watch the full press conference here.

Leading the press conference were two local activists and supporters who know first-hand how corporate influence hurts California communities. 

“It’s working families and communities of color who feel these costs the hardest,” said Esther Lim, President of the Korean American Democratic Committee. “High gas prices, sky-high utility bills – these are crises. And Xavier Becerra has taken millions from the people causing them.”

“Here in Long Beach, we live with the consequences of these deals every day — in our air, our water, our energy bills,” said Long Beach resident and activist Ashley Craig. “Xavier Becerra says he’s open to more drilling. That’s not a policy position. That’s a thank you note to the people funding his campaign.”

The action comes with just two days left to vote, and as candidates make their closing arguments with voters. Recent polling shows this as a three-way race for two spots in November between a corporate Democrat, a MAGA Republican, and Steyer, a progressive Democrat running on a platform of taking on corporate interests to lower costs for working Californians. 

###