Xavier Becerra walked into California’s political history this week, securing an election victory that extends the state’s streak of five consecutive Catholic governors.
Campaigning earlier this year, the Democrat and former U.S. health and human services secretary pointed directly to his upbringing. The sanctity of life is something that’s really ingrained in you, Becerra said, framing a background that anchors a distinctly progressive political career.
Catholics make up 25 percent of adults in California, representing nearly half of the state’s Christians, according to a 2024 Pew Research Center poll. Yet political analysts point out that this massive demographic refuses to vote as a monolith.
There is no Catholic vote, said David Gibson, director of Fordham University’s Center on Religion and Culture. Unlike white evangelicals or Black Protestants, who lean heavily toward specific parties, California’s Catholic population splits across political lines.
That dynamic played out clearly at the ballot box. About 6 in 10 Catholic voters supported Becerra in the governor’s race, while roughly 4 in 10 backed his Republican opponent, Steve Hilton, according to The AP Voter Poll. Latino Catholics backed Becerra by a margin of 7 in 10, while white Catholics split evenly between the two candidates.
The state's political leadership often manages a sharp divide between church teachings and legislative priorities. Gov. Gavin Newsom champions abortion rights, placing him squarely at odds with official Catholic doctrine. At the same time, Newsom announced plans to change more than 500 death sentences in the state to life in prison without the possibility of parole, drawing swift praise from the California Catholic Conference.
Church leadership has similarly crossed party lines in both directions. San Bernardino Bishop Alberto Rojas excused parishioners from their weekly obligation to attend Mass last year following immigration detentions on parish properties in the diocese, while San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone barred U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi from receiving Communion in 2022 over her support of abortion rights.
That tension extends far beyond contemporary politics into the state’s foundational history. California’s 21 missions, established between 1769 and 1823, remain deeply embedded in the culture. They also carry a painful legacy of disease and demographic collapse for Indigenous populations.
For residents like Tracy Creighton, whose ancestry traces back to the missions founded more than two centuries ago by Spanish Franciscan priests, the faith remains a personal anchor despite its complicated history. That is why I stay Catholic.
