Xavier Becerra

Becerra entered the race for the seat, which had been renumbered as the 30th district after redistricting.

Becerra won the Democratic primary with a plurality of 32% of the vote.

In the general election, he defeated Republican nominee Morry Waksberg, 58%–24%.

Xavier Becerra (born January 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 25th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services since March 2021.

He is the first Latino to hold this position in history.

Born in Sacramento, California, on January 26, 1958, Becerra is the son of working-class parents, Maria Teresa and Manuel Guerrero Becerra.

His father was born in the U.S. and raised in Tijuana, Mexico, and his mother was from Guadalajara.

As a child, Becerra grew up in a one-room apartment with his three sisters.

He graduated in 1976 from C.K. McClatchy High School, located in the center of Sacramento.

He studied abroad at the University of Salamanca in Salamanca, Spain, from 1978 to 1979, before earning his Bachelor of Arts in economics from Stanford University in 1980, becoming the first person in his family to graduate from college.

He received his Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School in 1984, and was admitted to the State Bar of California in 1985.

Becerra began his career as a lawyer, working on cases involving individuals who had mental disorders for the Legal Assistance Corporation of Central Massachusetts (now Community Legal Aid).

He worked as a lawyer at the Legal Assistance Corporation of central Massachusetts, before returning to California in 1986 to work as an administrative assistant for state senator Art Torres.

Becerra worked as an administrative assistant for California state senator Art Torres in 1986.

He served as a deputy attorney general in the California Department of Justice from 1987 to 1990 before he was elected to the California State Assembly, where he served one term from 1990 to 1992.

He served as a deputy attorney general in the California Department of Justice under Attorney General John Van de Kamp from 1987 to 1990.

After incumbent state assemblyman Charles Calderon decided to seek a seat in the California Senate, Becerra launched a grass-roots campaign for the California State Assembly, defeating Calderon's Senate aide Marta Maestas in the Democratic primary.

He went on to defeat Republican Lee Lieberg and Libertarian Steven Pencall, receiving 60% of the vote.

Becerra served one term in the State Assembly, representing California's 59th district, from 1990 to 1992.

As a state legislator, Becerra worked to pass a law that would increase gang members' sentences.

Becerra was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1992.

In 1992, 25th district congressman Edward Roybal announced his retirement after 30 years in Congress.

He was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Downtown Los Angeles in Congress from 1993 to 2017.

He represented California's 30th congressional district from 1993 to 2003, California's 31st congressional district from 2003 to 2013, and California's 34th congressional district from 2013 to 2017.

He won re-election to a second term in 1994 with 66% of the vote.

He served as Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus from 1997 to 1999, Vice Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus from 2009 to 2013, and as a member of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction.

His district was renumbered as the 31st district after the 2000 census.

Becerra voted against the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 because he "wanted to see direct protections for responsible homeowners" in the bill.

Becerra was a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, of which he served as chairman during the 105th Congress.

He was appointed to serve on the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (often called Bowles-Simpson/Simpson-Bowles) on March 24, 2010.

Becerra was appointed assistant to the Speaker of the House for the 110th Congress.

He won his bid to succeed John Larson as Vice-Chair in the 111th Congress, defeating Marcy Kaptur of Ohio by a vote of 175–67.

Becerra successfully ran for a second term as Vice-Chair in 2011 to serve during the 112th Congress.

During the 111th Congress and 112th Congress, Becerra served on several high-profile committees.

After redistricting, ahead of the 2012 elections, most of Becerra's old district became the 34th district.

He defeated Republican Stephen Smith 85.6% to 14.4%.

A member of the Democratic Party, Becerra was Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus from 2013 to 2017.

Born in Sacramento, California, Becerra graduated from Stanford University and received his Juris Doctor degree from Stanford Law School.

He was elected Chairman of the U.S. House Democratic Caucus from 2013 to 2017.

Becerra previously served as the Attorney General of California from January 2017 until March 2021.