Becerra Wins California Governor Race

California has picked its next governor, and the plot twist is that there wasn't one. Decision Desk HQ and the Associated Press called it for Democrat Xavier Becerra over Republican Steve Hilton on election night. The Daily Signal puts the call at 11:13 p.m. EST. Becerra, a former state attorney general and Biden health secretary, takes over from Gavin Newsom in January.

Here's my research-trip note: the outlets can't agree on the numbers. Breitbart had 21 percent counted and a 19-point lead. The Daily Signal had 39 percent and about 30 points. Either way, nobody needed a cliffhanger.

Democrats already hold the Assembly and the Senate, so Sacramento now has the whole set. If I pitched a sequel where the same outfit that ran the state for eight years gets four more, my editor would call it unrealistic. California voters, who will pay for it, don't get an editor.