Xavier Becerra

Democratic Platform

Democrats support progressive taxation, with higher rates on top earners and corporations to fund public investment. The party favors raising the minimum wage, strengthening unions, and expanding worker protections. Democrats generally support government investment in infrastructure, education, and social programs as drivers of broad economic growth.

Xavier Becerra

Becerra supports targeted public investment in infrastructure, clean energy, and education as foundations for a broad-based California economy. Drawing on his experience as HHS Secretary, he emphasizes healthcare access as an economic issue and supports workforce development programs that prepare Californians for the jobs of the future. He backs policies that address California's housing costs and cost-of-living challenges as threats to the state's economic competitiveness.

Republican Platform

Republicans favor lower taxes across income levels, with particular emphasis on cutting corporate and capital gains taxes to stimulate investment and job creation. The party supports deregulation, reduced government spending, and free market solutions over federal programs as the primary engine of prosperity.

Democratic Platform

Democrats support expanding access to affordable healthcare, including protecting the Affordable Care Act and moving toward a public option or expanded Medicare coverage. The party broadly favors government negotiation of prescription drug prices and opposes removing protections for pre-existing conditions.

Xavier Becerra

Becerra has spent his career on healthcare access. As HHS Secretary he oversaw the largest Medicaid and ACA enrollment in history and the COVID-19 vaccination campaign. He supports universal healthcare coverage, protecting abortion access, lowering prescription drug prices, and building on California's progress toward universal coverage. He views healthcare as a right and has been a persistent opponent of efforts to weaken the ACA.

Republican Platform

Republicans have generally sought to repeal or significantly reform the Affordable Care Act, favoring market-based solutions. The party supports expanding health savings accounts, increasing competition among insurers across state lines, and reducing federal mandates on coverage requirements.

Democratic Platform

Democrats generally support pathways to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, including DACA recipients, and favor comprehensive immigration reform. The party supports increased resources for legal immigration processing and a humanitarian approach to asylum seekers at the border.

Xavier Becerra

Becerra is a strong advocate for immigrant rights and comprehensive immigration reform. As California AG he sued to protect DACA and fought Trump administration immigration enforcement actions. He supports a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients and long-term undocumented residents, comprehensive immigration reform, and humane enforcement policies. He himself is the son of Mexican immigrants.

Republican Platform

Republicans prioritize border security and strict enforcement of existing immigration law. The party broadly supports completing physical border barriers, ending policies they view as incentivizing illegal entry, and reforming legal immigration to favor applicants with marketable skills.

Democratic Platform

Democrats favor robust federal investment in public K-12 education and higher education, along with policies to reduce or eliminate student loan debt. The party generally opposes using public funds for private school vouchers and supports universal pre-K and affordable childcare.

Xavier Becerra

Becerra supports robust investment in California's public education system from pre-K through the University of California and California State University systems. He backs affordable higher education, expanded student loan relief, and ensuring that California's public schools are adequately funded and serve all students including English learners and students with disabilities.

Republican Platform

Republicans support school choice, including voucher programs for private and religious schools, and local control over curriculum decisions. The party generally opposes federal education mandates and broadly supports parental rights in schooling. Many Republicans oppose student loan forgiveness as unfair to borrowers who repaid their loans.

Democratic Platform

Democrats broadly support stricter gun safety measures, including universal background checks, red flag laws, and restrictions on assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines. The party frames these regulations as consistent with the Second Amendment and necessary to reduce mass shootings.

Xavier Becerra

Becerra is a strong gun safety advocate who, as California AG, defended the state's gun laws against legal challenges. He supports universal background checks, assault weapons restrictions, red flag laws, and gun safety technology requirements. He views gun violence as a public health crisis requiring comprehensive state and federal action.

Republican Platform

Republicans strongly defend Second Amendment rights and generally oppose new gun control legislation, arguing that existing laws should be enforced more effectively. The party emphasizes mental health intervention, the right to self-defense, and opposes what they view as infringement on law-abiding gun owners.

Democratic Platform

Democrats view climate change as an urgent crisis requiring immediate government action. The party supports transitioning to clean energy through federal investment and regulation, reducing carbon emissions across the economy, and meeting international climate commitments. Democrats generally oppose expanding fossil fuel development on public lands.

Xavier Becerra

Becerra supports California's aggressive clean energy and climate policies, which he views as both an environmental and economic imperative. He backed the Biden administration's climate investments through the Inflation Reduction Act and supports California's goals of carbon neutrality and 100 percent clean electricity. He views California as a model for national climate action.

Republican Platform

Republicans emphasize American energy independence through domestic production of oil, gas, and coal alongside renewable development. Many in the party are skeptical of aggressive climate regulations they argue harm economic growth and jobs. Republicans generally prefer market-based energy solutions over government mandates and oppose restrictions that raise energy costs for families.

Democratic Platform

Democrats generally support a multilateral approach to foreign policy, emphasizing alliances, international institutions, and diplomacy as the first line of engagement. The party broadly supports maintaining NATO commitments, providing aid to democratic allies, and engaging international bodies to address shared challenges.

Xavier Becerra

Becerra supports U.S. alliances, multilateral engagement, and continued U.S. leadership in international institutions. As a governor candidate he engages foreign policy through California's enormous position as the world's fifth-largest economy — its trade relationships with Asia and Latin America, and its role as a hub for international business and immigration.

Republican Platform

Republicans emphasize American sovereignty, a strong military as a deterrent, and bilateral relationships over multilateral institutions. The party broadly supports robust defense spending and is skeptical of international agreements they view as constraining American action or requiring open-ended foreign commitments.

Democratic Platform

Democrats oppose cuts to Social Security or Medicare benefits and support expanding both programs. The party generally favors raising the Social Security payroll tax cap on high earners to ensure long-term solvency and opposes any form of privatization.

Xavier Becerra

Becerra is a strong defender of Social Security and Medicare and has spent his career opposing cuts to both programs. He supports protecting earned benefits, allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, and ensuring long-term program solvency without reducing benefits for current or future beneficiaries.

Republican Platform

Republicans support reforming Social Security and Medicare to ensure long-term fiscal solvency, which some in the party argue requires adjusting benefits or eligibility ages. The party opposes tax increases to fund the programs and some members have supported personal investment account options.

Democratic Platform

Democrats broadly support criminal justice reform, including reducing mandatory minimum sentences, addressing racial disparities in policing and incarceration, and investing in community-based alternatives. The party generally supports police accountability measures and evidence-based approaches to reducing recidivism.

Xavier Becerra

Becerra supports criminal justice reforms that address racial disparities and reduce mass incarceration while maintaining public safety. As California AG he pursued both consumer protection and criminal justice enforcement. He backs community-based violence prevention, alternatives to incarceration for non-violent offenses, and reentry programs that reduce recidivism.

Republican Platform

Republicans emphasize law and order, strong support for law enforcement, and tough penalties for crime. The party generally opposes reducing mandatory minimum sentences for violent offenses and supports prosecutors pursuing strong sentences. Republicans broadly oppose policies they view as undermining police authority or creating leniency for criminals.