Dem
47
GOP
53
With Kamala Harris not running for governor of California, former representative Katie Porter stumbling, and Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) announcing that he will not run for governor, former Secretary of HHS Xavier Becerra had a decent chance of winning the Democratic nomination. But now he is enmeshed in a scandal that could blow up in his face. And he didn't actually do anything wrong personally.
The problem is that some of his campaign aides stole money from his campaign account and he didn't even know about it. This doesn't make him a crook, but it does raise the question: "If you couldn't even manage your own campaign account properly, how can we trust you to manage the $320 billion California state budget?"
Becerra, who spent 24 years in the House, was apparently completely blind to this until federal investigators told him about it. This is especially bad news because Becerra's main selling point has been what a great manager he is.
Two people have been indicted for stealing $225,000 from Becerra's account. They are Dana Williamson, a former chief of staff to Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), and Becerra's own chief of staff, Sean McCluskie. When Becerra, the former California AG, took the job as secretary of HHS in the Biden administration, he took McCluskie with him at lower pay than he was making in California. McCluskie's family stayed behind in California, and the many cross-country trips were a big drain on McCluskie's finances. So he skimmed money off Becerra's account by routing it through Williamson's company where McCluskie's wife was a no-show employee. McCluskie pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud last week.
No one thinks that Becerra took part in the fraud in any way, but that is actually a black mark against him. He had no idea what was going on with his own money. That doesn't scream "management genius." If he were running for senator, being a great manager isn't so important. Senators manage less than a hundred staff members. The governor of California is responsible for managing over a quarter of a million people. Will this be fatal to Becerra's campaign? No one knows, but it certainly won't help. (V)