The lack of high visibility types there combined with ‘ranked voting’ has kept Democrats up at night looking at Republicans leading the race for the November vote to succeed Gavin Newsom as Governor….
Now they seem to have Becerra coming off the bench….
Some people ain’t happy looking back at his tenure in the Biden Admin
But?
Becerra IS a Democrat, Right?
And?
It’s up to voters in THAT state…
NOT ex-Biden types…..
Democrats wanted a frontrunner in California’s gubernatorial race. What they did not envision was Xavier Becerra, whose abrupt rise from afterthought to favorite has left former Biden administration officials — his one-time colleagues — reacting with a mix of incredulity, mockery and resignation.
“It’s like: ‘We need to figure out a candidate who can win!’ But then…him? Really?’” said one former Biden administration official. “It’s amazing.”
In the last several weeks, as former Rep. Eric Swalwell’s flameout catapulted Becerra to the front of a crowded June primary, Biden White House alumni have been marveling at his stroke of luck — and the growing possibility that a Cabinet official who was widely derided and deemed to have been in over his head could soon be the governor of the country’s largest state….
…
The chatter had been mostly private until Tuesday evening’s gubernatorial debate aired on CNN — during which one of his rivals, Matt Mahan, said Biden “had to sideline him during Covid because he wasn’t delivering results,” a claim Becerra refuted. Afterward during a panel appearance during the network’s post-debate coverage, former Biden Justice Department communications director Xochitl Hinojosa spoke of Becerra as “not effective” while leading HHS….
…
Some of the former Biden officials acknowledge that Becerra’s rise, while confounding on one level, makes sense in the context of a lackluster Democratic field and a desire among many voters in a solidly blue state to settle on an acceptable Democratic candidate in an effort to ensure at least one finishes in the primary in the top two — avoiding a Democratic lockout.
“Most people don’t care if he actually wins because he’s better than Steyer, and what other choice is there?” a fifth former official said.
Still, there’s little sugarcoating the resignation and lack of enthusiasm for his candidacy, or anyone else’s.
“There are a lot of administration alumni running for office across the country and most of them have been endorsed by Biden and Harris,” the fourth official noted. “That hasn’t happened for Becerra and it’s obvious, at least to most of us, as to why.”…
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