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California's race for governor is now officially set and it's shaping up as a high-profile clash
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between a former Biden cabinet secretary and a Trump-backed former Fox News host
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After a week of ballot counting, the Associated Press projects Republican Steve Hilton has
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locked up the second spot in California's top two primary. That sets up a November showdown
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with Democrat Xavier Becerra, the former U.S. Health Secretary, California Attorney General
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and longtime congressman who finished first in the primary. Hilton is a former advisor to British
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Prime Minister David Cameron. Hilton later was a Fox News host. He moved to California in 2012
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and became a U.S. citizen in 2021. A win would make him California's first Republican governor
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in more than 15 years. Becerra is running on his experience in state and federal government
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while promising to push back against President Trump's policies and tackle issues including insurance and utility costs
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Hilton heads into the fall as the clear underdog. Democrats hold nearly a two-to-one voter registration advantage in California
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and no Republican has won the governor's mansion since Arnold Schwarzenegger left office in 2011