“Fighting for the California Dream”: Xavier Becerra Draws Crowds in Oxnard
OXNARD, Calif.— Former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary and California gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra brought his campaign tour to Oxnard Thursday night, drawing hundreds of supporters and community members to a town hall focused on affordability, housing and healthcare.
The event, held at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center, was part of Becerra’s statewide “Fighting for the California Dream” campaign tour as he seeks to connect directly with voters ahead of the 2026 governor’s race.
Attendees packed the venue to hear Becerra outline his plans to address some of California’s most pressing issues, including the rising cost of living and housing affordability.
“Most of you … the only thing missing between being a renter and being the owner is that down payment,” Becerra told the crowd.
Becerra emphasized support for working-class Californians throughout the event and in an exclusive one-on-one interview with your News Channel.
“The hardest working, the lowest paid deserve to have a chance to live in California,” he said. “They have worked for us. It’s their time.”
The town hall also drew strong support from labor groups, including the United Food and Commercial Workers, whose members cheered as Becerra arrived.
While many attendees voiced support for the candidate, a small group of protesters interrupted portions of the event before being escorted out by security.
We spoke with one voter who says she’s upset he doesn’t have a Climate Action plan. She says the fact Becerra accepted maximum campaign contributions from Chevron shows a lack of integrity.
But Becerra says his administration would focus on serving all Californians regardless of their political support.
On homelessness, Becerra said prevention and mental health services would be key priorities.
“These are folks that if we got them help early, we could probably stand them up pretty quickly,” he said.
He also stressed accountability in how homelessness funding is distributed across the state.
“When the state of California, through taxpayers, provides to cities and counties tens of billions of dollars, we need to see results,” Becerra said. “If you can improve accountability and get folks off the street and stood up, we want to scale your program and make it bigger.”
Before launching his gubernatorial campaign, Becerra served as California Attorney General and later joined President Joe Biden’s cabinet as secretary of Health and Human Services.
His stop in Oxnard comes as candidates across California ramp up campaign efforts to connect with voters on issues impacting communities statewide.
