Why is California gubernatorial favorite Xavier Becerra ducking reporters? | Opinion

Because of some reporters in Sacramento, the odds-on-favorite to be the next governor of California — Xavier Becerra — is answering questions again.

This week, the former state attorney general took questions from reporters after a large policy summit in Sacramento. It was a stark contrast to the previous week, when Becerra left a press conference early, seemingly to avoid answering questions on camera.

It seems likely that Becerra hoped to change the narrative after looking ridiculous while evading reporters.

Some of the questions Becerra avoided last week were easy, including when he plans to accept one of the many invitations to a gubernatorial debate. Others — including whether he had any regrets about his time in the Biden administration — were perhaps more challenging. Regardless, the questions were predictable, and he could have prepared answers. But he did not.

A few people took to social media to attack the professionalism of one reporter in particular, ABC10’s Jenny Huh, who was accused of engaging in “right wing guerrilla media tactics.”

“What’s so earthshaking about a debate that you have to engage in performative journalism like this?” said Steve Harmon, a former journalist and spokesperson, on X. “If you were a print reporter, you’d make a note that he didn’t take questions and include it in your story. A camera shouldn’t be a license to turn a minor issue into a major one.”

Becerra hadn’t had media availability since early June, as Huh confirmed. It’s not a minor issue that the heavy favorite to be the next governor might be trying to run out the clock without agreeing to a debate. It’s very important for democracy that gubernatorial candidates get asked questions and engage in debates.

How many debates would be appropriate for the governor’s race? I don’t know, but the answer is more than zero.

To his credit, Becerra did ultimately agree to a debate, though it’s largely lip service until he accepts an actual invitation and sets a date and time. Until then, he should expect reporters to keep asking him about it.

It’s strange to claim Huh was being performative. She needs her camera rolling in case Becerra says something, and it would make terrible TV if he did speak and her camera was off.

It’s not the reporter who made this an issue. It was Becerra who chose to run away instead of stopping for a few seconds, answering, and then leaving.

If Becerra didn’t want to talk to reporters, he shouldn’t have gone to a press conference.

This is not the first time this election that Becerra has had an amateurish run-in with a reporter. In May, he embarrassed himself by arguing with another TV reporter in Los Angeles about the definition of a “profile” story and mansplaining what kinds of questions she should ask.

“I don’t know how you define ‘profile,’ but I’d like to begin the interview,” KTLA’s Annie Rose Ramos said.

In both instances, the reporters were simply doing their jobs. Reporters should be professional, but they must not easily accept being ignored or evaded with weak answers.

California’s political and legislative press corps has been decimated in recent years due to budget cuts and a consolidation of news organizations, while the demand for news content is greater than ever. The press corps is having to do more with less.

This comes at the tail end of the Newsom administration. For nearly eight years, Gov. Gavin Newsom has gone long stretches without engaging with California reporters — who might ask relevant questions about the state’s pressing issues — while favoring national media that might ask whether being handsome is hard.

We should be applauding reporters for being dissatisfied with being ignored and for holding politicians accountable.

Matt Fleming is an opinion writer living in Placer County. You can follow him on X @Flemingwords or connect via email: flemingwords@gmail.com.

This story was originally published August 14, 2026 at 4:30 AM with the headline "Why is California gubernatorial favorite Xavier Becerra ducking reporters? | Opinion."