Toxic Dem civil war breaks out between governor frontrunners Tom Steyer and Xavier Becerra
The top two Democrats in the California gubernatorial campaign have gone to war with each other over their political adverts.Billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer, whose campaign is attempting a last-minute surge against Democratic frontrunner Xavier Becerra, have each threatened legal action against the other.Steyer on Saturday published a commercial titled “Risky,“ which sought to connect Becerra to the criminal convictions of two former senior aides and suggested he could face legal jeopardy.Law enforcement have said Beccera was a victim in the case.The spot focuses on the federal corruption case involving Becerra’s former campaign manager, Dana Williamson, and former chief of staff, Sean McCluskie.Prosecutors alleged the pair, along with lobbyist Greg Campbell, diverted $225,000 from a dormant Becerra campaign account to McCluskie.
The three defendants have pleaded guilty to various charges stemming from the case, including fraud-related offenses.After highlighting those guilty pleas, the advertisement claims Becerra “knew and did nothing” and warns he “could be indicted next.”The accusations prompted an immediate and aggressive response from the Becerra campaign.In a cease-and-desist letter sent Saturday, attorney Nicholas Sanders of The Political Law Group argued the ad falsely attempts to tie Becerra to crimes committed by others and demanded that Steyer’s campaign pull the commercial from circulation.Federal prosecutors have previously stated that Becerra was not implicated in the criminal charging documents tied to the case, according to Sanders.The attorney described the advertisement as “textbook defamation” and warned that legal action could follow if it remains on the air.Here is the latest on the 2026 California governors race“Someone should tell Tom that voters have a word for what he’s doing: it’s lying,” Becerra campaign spokesperson Jonathan Underland said.
“And it’s not a quality Californians are looking for i...