As Xavier Becerra campaigns for California governor on his long record of government service, Democratic insiders have wondered if he will receive a late campaign endorsement from his last boss, former President Joseph R. Biden Jr.
The answer appears to be no.
Mr. Biden recently told Ron Klain, Mr. Biden’s former chief of staff, that he would not make an endorsement in the race, Mr. Klain said. But that is not meant as a slight against Mr. Becerra.
“He told me that he is a big fan of Xavier, he likes Xavier, appreciates the job he did, but that there are other people in the race who he also has a relationship with,” Mr. Klain said in an interview this week. “He’s just going to stay neutral.”
Mr. Becerra served as Mr. Biden’s secretary for health and human services during the Covid-19 pandemic and was responsible for the nation’s response to a surge in migrant children crossing the southern border. He had also served as California’s attorney general, a congressman and a state lawmaker.
Mr. Becerra, 68, has become an unexpected front-runner in the June 2 primary for California governor after the abrupt departure of Eric Swalwell amid sexual assault allegations last month, and is seen as a safe choice for Democratic voters looking for someone with a long government résumé.
While he has been endorsed by some House members and state lawmakers, high-profile Democrats like Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Vice President Kamala Harris have not weighed in, even as they have endorsed candidates in a handful of other contests.
Some candidates might not want an endorsement from Mr. Biden, given how clumsily he exited the presidential race in 2024 and how Democratic voters may still blame him for allowing President Trump to win a second term.
But Democratic voters still have not coalesced around one candidate in this year’s volatile primary, and a signal from a prominent leader could help them decide. Mr. Becerra’s natural voter base aligns with Mr. Biden’s previous supporters: more cautious Democrats looking for a longtime establishment leader instead of a change agent or a progressive outsider.
A spokesman for Mr. Biden declined to comment. A spokeswoman for Ms. Harris did not respond to messages seeking comment. And Mr. Newsom has said he is not endorsing in the race because his predecessor, former Gov. Jerry Brown, did not do so in his 2018 primary.
While politicians may withhold endorsements for many reasons, critics of Mr. Becerra saw the non-endorsements as a commentary on his performance in the Biden administration, where some viewed him as a weak executive.
Administration officials told The New York Times in 2022 that Mr. Becerra had a limited role in crafting pandemic policy and failed to settle disputes among leaders of the health agencies he oversaw. Mr. Biden expressed frustration with Mr. Becerra over delays in sheltering a growing number of migrant children and placing them with family members or sponsors, The Times reported in 2021.
Similar criticisms from some former administration officials have surfaced in recent weeks as Mr. Becerra has risen in the polls. His opponents have highlighted the denunciations, which have largely been anonymous, in an onslaught of negative ads and debate stage attacks.
After a CNN debate this month, Xochitl Hinojosa, a Justice Department spokeswoman under Mr. Biden, said on air that Mr. Becerra “was not effective in government” from her vantage point in the administration.
Last week, Alejandro Mayorkas, the Homeland Security secretary under Mr. Biden, took a pass when asked by Politico if he was backing Mr. Becerra in the California governor’s race. The headline was shared on social media by Susan Rice, who served as domestic policy adviser to Mr. Biden and was considered a critic of Mr. Becerra.
Other Biden administration alumni have supported his campaign, however. Jennifer Granholm, Mr. Biden’s energy secretary, and Mr. Klain have donated to Mr. Becerra and recently hosted him for a virtual briefing with supporters.
Dr. Ashish Jha, who led the White House’s Covid response from April 2022 to June 2023, said that Mr. Biden’s decision to run the pandemic response from the White House created inherent tensions for Mr. Becerra. But he handled them well, Dr. Jha said.
“Given the complicated difficult situation he was in,” Dr. Jha said, “he actually did a very good job.”
Mr. Klain, who was Mr. Biden’s chief of staff from 2021 to 2023, called the criticisms of Mr. Becerra “profoundly unfair.”
Mr. Biden rarely gets involved in primary contests, Mr. Klain said, adding that the former president would stick to that pattern in California’s crowded race.
“Here, where he at least has favorable feelings to at least two, if not more, of the candidates, he’s just not going to take a side,” Mr. Klain said.
Six prominent Democrats are vying to succeed Mr. Newsom, who cannot run for re-election because of term limits. Tom Steyer, a former hedge fund manager who has become an advocate for progressive policies, is Mr. Becerra’s closest competitor in the polls. He ran against Mr. Biden for president in 2020, but then dropped out and helped raise millions of dollars for Mr. Biden’s campaign.
Mr. Biden has made endorsements of former aides in two other primary contests.
Earlier this month, Mr. Biden endorsed Keisha Lance Bottoms, a former mayor of Atlanta who was a senior adviser in his White House, in her bid to become the next governor of Georgia. She won the Democratic primary for Georgia governor with 56 percent of the vote on Tuesday.
Mr. Biden has also endorsed Dan Koh, a former White House adviser who is seeking a House seat in Massachusetts.
Soumya Karlamangla contributed reporting.
Laurel Rosenhall is a Sacramento-based reporter covering California politics and government for The Times.
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