{"id":2597737,"date":"2026-05-01T14:10:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T18:10:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/becerras-rise-in-california-governors-race-sparks-red-boxing-accusations\/"},"modified":"2026-05-01T14:13:27","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T18:13:27","slug":"becerras-rise-in-california-governors-race-sparks-red-boxing-accusations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/becerras-rise-in-california-governors-race-sparks-red-boxing-accusations\/","title":{"rendered":"Becerra\u2019s rise in California governor&#8217;s race sparks \u2018red boxing\u2019 accusations"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbecerras-rise-in-california-governors-race-sparks-red-boxing-accusations%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2597737&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>An observation of a recent post on California gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra\u2019s campaign website raises questions about \u201cred boxing,\u201d a tactic used to hint-without formally coordinating-what outside groups should emphasize. The page publicly attacked billionaire Tom Steyer, using highly specific, red-highlighted messaging that critics say looks less like ordinary voter outreach and more like guidance for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tom-cotton-introduces-bill-to-keep-critical-race-theory-out-of-military\/\" title=\"Tom Cotton Introduces Bill To Keep Critical Race Theory Out Of Military\">independent allies<\/a> such as super PACs.<\/p>\n<p>Legal experts argue the approach can exploit gray areas created by Supreme Court limits on campaign finance regulations.While candidates face contribution caps and outside groups (which can spend independently) do not, the tactic can still shape strategy and narrative while maintaining plausible deniability. Evidence from prior research suggests these coded messaging practices are common and may correlate with increased outside spending.<\/p>\n<p>The timing is also notable in this crowded Democratic primary: after former Rep.Eric Swalwell left the race amid allegations, becerra\u2019s campaign gained momentum, and his team reports strong fundraising. The article notes that requests for comment from Steyer and Becerra\u2019s campaign were not answered.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p>An unusual, and perhaps highly strategic, update appeared on <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/california\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"60\">California<\/a> Democratic gubernatorial candidate <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/xavier-becerra\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1719\">Xavier Becerra\u2019s<\/a> campaign website this week.\u00a0Set off in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.xavierbecerra2026.com\/media\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.xavierbecerra2026.com\/media\/\">bold red text and enclosed in a matching box<\/a>, the post laid out a pointed line of attack against one of his chief rivals in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ohio-special-election-opens-door-to-new-squad-member\/\" title=\"Ohio Special Election Opens Door to New Squad Member\">crowded primary race<\/a>: billionaire <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/tom-steyer\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"2792\">Tom Steyer.<\/a> <\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s raising eyebrows isn\u2019t the message itself but who its intended target audience\u00a0is.  <\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4550855\/virginia-supreme-court-redistricting-referendum-deadline\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Time is running out for Virginia Supreme Court to decide on redistricting referendum<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4550120\/spencer-pratt-endorsements-cash-los-angeles-mayor\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Reality star Spencer Pratt racks up cash, endorsements in upstart Los Angeles mayor bid<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4548966\/dc-mayor-debate-public-safety-housing\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>DC mayoral debate sees candidates clash on public safety, housing, and more<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>Some of the language in the box, which is still on his website as of Friday afternoon, reads: \u201cSteyer has spent most of his career making money for himself and spending it to promote himself. Becerra has a 35-year career dedicated to public service and fighting for progressive values. While other politicians profit off the public, Xavier Becerra has a lifelong record of protecting people.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>On its face, the language appeared directed at voters. But in political circles, it bears the hallmarks of \u201cred boxing,\u201d a tactic campaigns quietly use to signal preferred messaging, targets, and strategy to outside groups backing them. Those groups, typically big-money independent expenditure committees, are legally barred from coordinating directly with campaigns, but can spend unlimited sums to influence elections.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Xavier Becerra, a candidate in California\u2019s gubernatorial race, speaks during a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/senate-debate-plans-in-flux-in-battleground-arizona\/\" title=\"Senate debate plans in flux in battleground Arizona\">gubernatorial debate hosted<\/a> by Nexstar on Wednesday, April 22, 2026, in San Francisco. (Jason Henry\/Pool Photo via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cWhat we\u2019re looking at \u2026 is a textbook example,\u201d Aaron McKean of the\u00a0Campaign Legal Center, who argued Becerra\u2019s page effectively guides supposedly independent allies on how to prosecute the case against Steyer. By <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >publicly posting detailed messaging cues<\/a>, campaigns can skirt coordination rules while still shaping the narrative, McKean <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2026-05-01\/coded-messages-red-boxing-other-tactics-in-california-race-for-governor\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2026-05-01\/coded-messages-red-boxing-other-tactics-in-california-race-for-governor\">told <\/a>the <em>Los Angeles Times<\/em>, which first reported the story. <\/p>\n<p>The legal gray zone is a product of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/supreme-court\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/supreme-court\/\">Supreme Court<\/a> rulings that limit how campaign finance can be regulated. While candidates themselves face contribution caps, in California\u2019s 2026 gubernatorial race, donors can give up to $78,400 per candidate across the primary and general; outside groups face no such ceiling.<\/p>\n<p>The result is a system where the line between independence and coordination is, at best, porous. It\u2019s a way of technically working within the law while still helping <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/super-pacs\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1704\">super PACs<\/a> craft their message. It\u2019s also a practice that has become \u201cabsolutely standard procedure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Campaigns engaging in red boxing often publish material that looks like voter outreach but reads more like an internal memo, spelling out attack lines, ideal audiences, even preferred ad formats, sometimes literally highlighted in red.<\/p>\n<p>A <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/papers.ssrn.com\/sol3\/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4768176\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/papers.ssrn.com\/sol3\/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4768176\">2024 study<\/a> in the <em>Election Law Journal<\/em> found that more than 200 federal candidates deployed the tactic in the 2022 midterm elections, and those who did frequently attracted more outside spending than those who didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>For Becerra, the timing is notable. The former Health and Human Services secretary\u00a0had been stuck in the low single digits as he sought to succeed term-limited Gov. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/gavin-newsom\/\">Gavin Newsom<\/a> (D-CA) in a race that at one point featured as many as 60 candidates. <\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/premium\/4548200\/california-jungle-primary-rising-bipartisan-backlash\/\" type=\"post\" id=\"4548200\">CALIFORNIA\u2019S \u2018JUNGLE\u2019 PRIMARY FACES RISING BIPARTISAN BACKLASH<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Former California Democratic Rep. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/eric-swalwell\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"2345\">Eric Swalwell\u2019s<\/a> departure over sexual assault and misconduct allegations reshaped the field, injecting new momentum into Becerra\u2019s campaign and boosting his fundraising. His team says it has pulled in 20,000 donations over the past 10 days, with 97% from first-time contributors. Becerra, who had a standout performance during Tuesday\u2019s debate at Pomona\u00a0College, is quickly emerging as one of the top Democratic front-runners in the race, followed by Steyer and former Rep. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/katie-porter\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"10247\">Katie Porter.<\/a> <\/p>\n<p>Calls to Steyer and Becerra\u2019s campaign for comment were not returned. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An unusual red-box attack on Tom Steyer appeared on Becerra\u2019s site<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2646,"featured_media":2597738,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AP26113136810431.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[24665,37666,43593,32742],"class_list":["post-2597737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-becerra","tag-california-politics","tag-election-controversy","tag-gavin-newsom"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AP26113136810431.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2597737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2646"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2597737"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2597737\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2597741,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2597737\/revisions\/2597741"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2597738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2597737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2597737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2597737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}