Xavier Becerra has emerged as a frontrunner in the California gubernatorial race, polling at 21% and effectively tied with Steve Hilton in the latest California Democratic Party tracking poll.
On The Ezra Klein Show, host Ezra Klein pressed the candidate on the failure of federal housing initiatives, asking, "Mr. Becerra, as Secretary of HHS, you oversaw one of the federal agencies most directly involved in homelessness policy. The Biden administration largely embraced Housing First as the dominant federal framework... What went wrong?"
In response, Xavier Becerra touted his creation of the 988 mental health crisis system, noting, "If you dial nine eight eight or actually text or chat, you'll get someone who will help you, not as a police officer, but as someone who can provide you services." He further signaled a shift toward stricter governance, arguing that for state housing laws, "the difficulty with enforcement is sometimes the penalties, the fines, are never enough. It's almost a cost of doing business to violate the law."
The focus now shifts to whether Xavier Becerra can maintain his momentum against Steve Hilton as voters weigh his administrative record in the Biden administration against the ongoing homelessness crisis.
