In one corner, you’ve got Xavier Becerra, the son of Mexican immigrants who grew up in California and speaks Spanish.
In the other corner, there’s Steve Hilton, whose British accent reveals his country of birth, and who became a U.S. citizen as an adult.
Now, Becerra, a Democrat, and Hilton, a Republican, are running against each other to become California’s next governor.
With that comes the work of courting Latino voters — one of the state’s fastest-growing eligible electorates, according to a 2024 National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund report.
So both took the opportunity to stop by NALEO’s annual conference, being held this week in Los Angeles, to offer remarks before a roomful of elected officials and policymakers.
First up was Becerra, California’s former attorney general and the U.S. Health and Human Services secretary during the Biden administration.
During his remarks on Wednesday, July 15, Becerra thanked NALEO, which is celebrating 50 years as an organization that encourages Latinos to participate in civic and political life.
“NALEO nurtured us to be leaders. And look at California: You just saw the leader of the state Senate, Monique Limón, the leader of the state Assembly, Robert Rivas. You just saw yesterday the U.S. senator from California, Alex Padilla, and if you all work hard, you may see the next governor of the state of California, who will all be Latinos,” Becerra said to cheers and applause.
NALEO, as an organization, does not endorse candidates for office.
But that did not stop one conference attendee from shouting out, “I’m voting for you!” as Becerra took the stage at the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown hotel.
Hilton, who spoke later in the day, started off by telling the audience they may have heard that he’s endorsed by President Donald Trump.
After that acknowledgement, he quickly pivoted to telling his own immigrant story — and that of his parents. Hilton’s mother and father emigrated from Hungary to England, where he was born.
Hilton noted his first job was as a project manager in construction and spoke of being a small business owner in the restaurant industry before immigrating to the U.S. in 2012.
Now, he said, he’s running to lift up small business owners and working-class Californians.
“I’m not an ideologue. I don’t want to tell anyone how to live their life or run their business. I just want everyone to have a shot at climbing that ladder of opportunity,” said the former Fox News host, who has worked in politics in the U.K.
“I’d love to work with anyone who shares that dream,” he added.
Hilton refrained from taking shots at his political opponent, who had received a much warmer reception from the audience earlier in the day.
Becerra, on the other hand, was less restrained, tying Hilton to Trump, whom he called a “false prophet.”
“We don’t need those prophets. And … we will not accept their disciples,” he said, a reference to Trump’s endorsement of Hilton.
Becerra also made what may have been a veiled reference to a viral moment back in May after Hilton posted a video of himself outside a Del Taco restaurant in Barstow, with a sign claiming that location to be one of the original Del Tacos. Hilton held up a hard-shelled taco and said he was about to enjoy a “Barstow street taco.”
Hilton was quickly mocked, with online commenters pointing out that authentic Mexican street tacos are served in soft tortillas, cooked up by street vendors, and that the hard-shell varieties found in a fast-food chain do not count as the real deal.
While welcoming out-of-state conference attendees, Becerra encouraged them to spend their money in California and said if they plan to buy a street taco, to “buy a real street taco.”
“All I know is that there’s real food in California, and there are real street tacos. And you don’t get them in some establishment that’s been around for a long time. You get it on the street from the guy who’s been making it for a long time in his little cart,” Becerra said, drawing applause.
Hilton’s campaign did not reply to a message seeking a response to Becerra’s comments.
NALEO’s three-day conference, which ends Thursday, featured remarks by several prominent California leaders. In addition to Padilla, Limón and Rivas, the conference also saw Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Sen. Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach, who chairs the California Latino Legislative Caucus, speak.
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass made an appearance on Tuesday, as well.