POLITICO: Becerra’s “Exposed Weaknesses” Take Center Stage

In-depth report confirms Becerra’s recent missteps have “exposed weaknesses that critics say could follow him into the California governor’s office” if he wins

CALIFORNIA – On the heels of a shaky debate performance last night, POLITICO detailed Xavier Becerra’s weaknesses, missteps, and incompetence this morning. 

The piece exposed numerous weaknesses in Becerra’s candidacy made evident this week: avoiding tough questions from the press, a corruption scandal that raises questions about his competence, “long-simmering tensions” with his former administration colleagues, and how he “only recently began” to provide policy proposals – many of which are troublingly vague.

While Becerra’s team says it’s just “one rough day” and that Becerra can “get back up, and keep on swinging,” last night after the debate, Becerra only participated in one brief interview in the spin room before taking off. (Tom Steyer stayed until the end.)

“It’s not that Becerra’s just had a terrible couple of days – it exposes a much larger pattern of weakness and ducking away when things get tough,” said Steyer for Governor spokesperson Danni Wang. “After what we’ve seen this week, how can voters trust that Becerra is strong enough to lead, even when things get tough? It’s becoming more and more clear: Becerra is a risky choice.”

Excerpts of the full piece are below and can be found here.

Xavier Becerra’s rocky transition into Democratic front-runner has exposed vulnerabilities that could haunt him well beyond California’s gubernatorial primary.

He has given evasive answers to reporters, sparred awkwardly with a local TV 

journalist, and delivered muddled policy responses in debates — all while rivals move aggressively to criticize his tenure as Health and Human Services secretary, his corporate campaign backers and a corruption scandal involving his top aides.

…the bright glare of top-dog status…reveals Becerra’s shortcomings as a communicator, which, critics say, could hobble his effectiveness if he wins the governorship.

Becerra’s campaign declared one lingering headache resolved on Thursday, after his former political adviser, Dana Williamson, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud by siphoning funds from his dormant campaign account to his ex-chief of staff. The plea deal affirmed that his former aides had lied to him about the scheme, undercutting his opponents’ contention that he was in on the plan and could still be legally vulnerable.

But the initial reaction to the news underscored Becerra’s damned-either-way bind in this corruption case. His Democratic rivals, especially Tom Steyer, refused to let up after the plea deal and continued to insist, without evidence, that Becerra had been involved. Others argue his ignorance about the scheme undermines his pitch as a competent manager.

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Some of the damage has been self-inflicted, like his evasive answers at a media scrum that was cut short by a staffer, and the local news clip where Becerra argues with a journalist about whether her report will be a “gotcha” piece. Those missteps, along with vague answers on policy in recent forums, show that Becerra has not mastered the art of the snappy soundbite, despite decades in politics.

“He was very low [in the polls] for a reason,” said one veteran Democratic strategist, who was granted anonymity to share frank assessments of Becerra’s performance. “He was never the gregarious, outspoken, exciting candidate that people are now turning him into.”

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Long-simmering tensions with some of his colleagues in President Joe Biden’s administration have resurfaced, including former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas declining to endorse him and domestic policy chief Susan Rice reposting a number of critical posts after Becerra’s local news fumble.

He only recently began churning out specific policy proposals, despite being in the race for more than a year. In last week’s debate on CNN, his rival Katie Porter challenged him to give a yes-or-no answer on whether he supported a state-level single-payer health care system. He did not, despite being asked multiple times.

“What we’ve seen this week is he’s somebody who’s never really endured public vetting before,” said a Democratic consultant who is not working on the governor’s race. “Many of his highest profile jobs were appointed and not exactly the types of positions where you had to answer a lot of tough questions.”

Becerra faced grillings before congressional committees during his tenure as Health secretary. But he was rarely a prominent surrogate for the Biden administration. Allies say his lower-voltage media presence was a sign of his deference to the White House when it came to messaging; detractors say it’s proof he was sidelined as a face of the administration.

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If Becerra makes it through his very bad week unscathed, it could ultimately seem quaint compared to the gauntlet of governing the state.

“With all the tough questions our next governor is going to have to face, with really polarizing issues like high-speed rail [and] like our budget, the campaign might be the easiest part of this,” said Grevenworth.

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