Former US Secretary of Health and Human Services, former congressman, and former Attorney General of California Xavier Becerra has officially joined an already crowded field of Democrats who may be challenging Kamala Harris in the race for California Governor next year.

Becerra, 67, announced Wednesday that he will be giving it a go in the 2026 race for the office of California Governor.

"California is at a crossroads," Becerra said in a statement. "From housing to healthcare, childcare to college, working families are facing an affordability crisis. The California Dream is slipping away. I’m running for Governor to fight for that dream, to build a stronger, affordable California for everyone, and to take on bullies who get in our way."

Becerra's announcement comes almost a month after former House Rep. Katie Porter announced that she'll also be running for governor.

Also in the race officially at this early point are Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, state Controller Betty Yee, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, former state Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, current CA Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, and businessman Stephen Cloobeck.

And the Republicans trying for longshot wins in this very blue state will include handlebar mustachioed Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, former judge Jimmy Parker, and Central California poultry mogul Leo Zacky.

Not yet in the race but likely to announce a run is Kamala Harris, who could probably upend the Democratic field if she decides to run.

Attorney General Rob Bonta, sensing those political winds, has already announced that he has no intention of running for governor next year, and back in February he basically endorsed Harris.

But Becerra will make a go of it, and he likely hopes that Harris will stay out of the race.

Born in Sacramento, Becerra has had a long career in public service, having first been elected to the state Assembly in 1990, and then getting elected to the US House of Representatives in 1992. He served in the House, representing a shifting district in Los Angeles County, until 2017, when he was appointed Attorney General of California — he was Gov. Jerry Brown's chosen replacement when Kamala Harris was elected to the Senate. Becerra was in the mix when it came time to fill Harris's seat in the Senate in 2021, but he then joined the Biden administration as Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Becerra's ambitions for the governor's office were already clear nearly a year ago, as Politico reported, with rumors going around that Becerra was plotting an early exit from the Biden cabinet. Some spending that appeared to be for campaign consultation last year — but which Becerra's team denied was for that purpose — raised eyebrows as a potential violation of the Hatch Act, which bans cabinet members from preparing for campaigns or engaging in this kind of political activity while in office.

At the time, it was said that Becerra's California election committee, dating back to his attorney general days, had about $1.5 million in the bank.

Top image: Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra gives remarks on reproductive care alongside Senate Democrats at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services building on June 18, 2024 in Washington, DC. Becerra will embark on a tour through parts of the United States on behalf of U.S. President Joe Biden's administration to promote access to reproductive care. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)