June 3, 2026
It’s not often that anything — or anyone — good comes out of California politics. Instead, voters typically face a Hobson’s choice between two candidates who either promote a culture of death or are too scared to take a stand for Life.
This year, that may be different. As votes flooded in from the gubernatorial primary last night, two candidates emerged as frontrunners, vying for the chance to replace the term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom as California’s chief executive.
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One, Xavier Becerra, is the typical pro-death California politician. But the other, Steve Hilton, may finally present California with a chance to choose a culture of Life.
Here’s what you need to know.
Xavier Becerra
Becerra served as Health and Human Services Secretary — the job Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., now holds — under former President Biden. There, he presided over the most pro-abortion regime in American history.
Under his oversight, the Biden FDA (an agency within HHS) removed the in-person dispensing requirement for the Chemical Abortion Pill mifepristone, a decision that has resulted in a massive spike of hospitalizations and adverse effects.
Becerra was so radically pro-abortion that he even weighed declaring an abortion “public health emergency,” a power grab that would have enabled him to throw out pro-life laws and expand abortion access nationwide.
Not only that, but he issued a nationwide memo ordering doctors to commit abortions, even against state law, if they felt it was necessary to “stabilize” a woman. He also offered state governors a streamlined path to fund abortions for women traveling from pro-life states, and demanded that all health insurers cover abortion-causing “contraceptive” pills.
In a previous position as a California representative in Congress, Becerra voted against a bill that would ban partial-birth abortion, and as HHS Secretary, he refused to name a single abortion limit he would support.
If elected, Becerra plans to continue Gov. Gavin Newsom’s devastating “shield state” policy by refusing to extradite doctors who mail deadly Chemical Abortion Pills into states where those pills are illegal.
Steve Hilton
While Xavier Becerra pushes policies that bring nothing but death, Steve Hilton says he’ll “move California toward life.” His website reads:
California talks about values, but too often leaves women without real support. If the state is serious about valuing life, that has to include both mother and child.
Steve Hilton will move California toward life. That means building a culture where people want to have children and feel supported in doing so — not priced out or pushed toward one outcome.
Too often, abortion is treated as the only option. California can do better.
Steve will expand access to prenatal care, strengthen and promote adoption, and work with faith-based and community organizations to provide real, practical support for women.
He will also pursue policies that encourage responsibility and reduce unwanted pregnancies, while making it easier—not harder—for families to grow and thrive.
While Hilton has not stated a firm position on in-state abortion, he has affirmed that he will honor other states’ laws by extraditing doctors who mail Chemical Abortion Pills illegally.
Hilton and Becerra currently lead in the California all-party primary, from which the top two candidates will face off in the general election on November 3. For California voters, that may mean finally having a choice — between a candidate who advances a culture of death and one who promotes a culture of life.