Democrat Xavier Becerra ’80 J.D. ’84 defeated Republican Steve Hilton in California’s gubernatorial race Tuesday, the Associated Press (AP) called at 8 p.m. He has pledged to declare a housing state of emergency on his first day.
Students at an election night watch party at The Arbor met the result with a mix of relief and resignation, while one described a “tactical” vote for Hilton.
Benjamin Yan ’24 M.S. ’27 said the outcome matched his expectations. “California is going to [be] California,” said Yan, a master’s student in computer science who has voted in the state since 2022. “I don’t think there was any way I was going to vote for anybody but a Democratic candidate,” he said, citing health care as a major issue. From 2021 to 2025, Becerra served as the Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Joe Biden.
Yan also backed the Regional Transit Measure (RTM), a 14-year sales tax in five Bay Area counties, including Santa Clara, meant to prevent service cuts of Caltrain, BART and Muni. “I’m about as loyal as a Caltrain customer can get,” he said.
Jackson Whitt ’26 M.S. ’28 voted for Becerra but originally supported billionaire Tom Steyer, who did not advance past the June primary. “I would have preferred someone else was in the race besides Becerra,” Whitt said, calling him “70 corporations in a trench coat.”
Becerra “will be ineffective,” Whitt added, but Hilton “would be actively harmful to California.” Transgender rights tipped his vote, Whitt said.
Gabriel Meezan ’28 also backed Steyer in the primary. “I liked his environmental lean,” Meezan said. “I thought that was really important and something that we’re going to have to reckon with.” Meezan pointed to Becerra’s donations from corporations like Chevron, which gave $500,000 to a Political Action Committee (PAC) supporting Becerra. But in November, he said, he “became less invested in the specific policies and voted on party lines.”
“Continuity is not as good as change in the direction that I want,” he added, “but it’s better than change the other way.”
William Thornton ’28, a San Francisco voter, was the third of five students who told the Daily they had preferred Steyer. He voted for Hilton anyway, as a tactical bet aimed at “anyone but Becerra.” He said a Republican governor would face a legislature able to override his vetoes and, he predicted, a recall within a year. “I am not very optimistic about our state’s future under Becerra,” Thornton said. “That’s a real shame, because I want to be proud to be Californian.”
Ananya Gupta ’30, an organizer for the Policy Hackathon and a General Fellow for Stanford Democracy Day, described enthusiasm for turnout as varied. She said some people “feel like this is a real turning point in our politics and we have a real opportunity to make a difference,” while others “feel like their vote doesn’t matter.”
For many in the Class of 2030, Gupta said, this was probably their first chance to vote: “It’s a really big deal.”