Former Biden administration Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said his campaign will post exclusively in Spanish on TikTok as part of an effort to reach Hispanic voters in California’s 2026 governor’s race.
Becerra’s campaign said it will publish a mix of short videos featuring the candidate speaking directly to the camera, policy explainers, behind-the-scenes clips from the campaign trail, collaborations with influencers and user-generated content — all in Spanish. In an introductory video, Becerra highlighted housing affordability and lowering health care costs as priorities and said he wanted a two-way conversation with Spanish-speaking users about their concerns.
The campaign and outside survey data point to higher TikTok usage among Hispanic adults than among Black or white adults. A 2024 Pew Research Center survey cited by campaign advisers found that nearly half of Hispanic adults reported using TikTok, compared with 39% of Black adults and 28% of white adults. Democratic strategist José Muñoz, who advises the campaign, said it was critical to "communicate in the language and on the platforms where voters spend their time and get their information."
Becerra’s move follows a wider push by Democrats to shore up support among Latino voters after gains by former President Donald Trump in the 2024 election in several states, including parts of California. Democrats and strategists say the party needs to compete for working-class Latino voters on platforms where they consume news and entertainment, while Republicans have also expanded Spanish-language outreach in recent races.
The decision comes amid an ongoing national debate over the future of TikTok. Congress passed a ban on the app last year citing national security concerns tied to its China-based owner ByteDance. President Joe Biden, who signed that legislation, publicly said before leaving office that he would not enforce the ban. The Supreme Court later ruled the ban constitutional, and President Donald Trump suspended it on his first day in office to give ByteDance time to find a U.S. buyer. Trump, who rejoined the platform last year and has amassed millions of followers, has repeatedly extended the deadline for a sale and has suggested negotiations over the app’s future continue.
The White House has also opened its own TikTok account as administrations on both sides of the aisle test the platform’s value for reaching voters.
National trends in campaign language and outreach are also shifting. The current administration has moved to phase out some multilingual services, while candidates in other states have adopted Spanish-language tactics. In New Jersey’s governor’s race, both major-party candidates have participated in Spanish-language town halls. In Virginia, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger has used Spanish in radio advertising to reach Hispanic voters. In California, fellow Democratic contender Katie Porter has already built a substantial following on TikTok, with more than half a million followers on the platform.
Becerra’s campaign argued that early investment in a Spanish-only TikTok presence is meant to lock in a key user base as politicians continue to experiment with short-form video. The campaign said videos will aim to explain policy issues and surface local concerns while amplifying supporters’ voices on a platform where Hispanic adults are comparatively active.
The campaign faces a competitive Democratic primary and a broader political environment in which outreach strategies and language use are increasingly central to efforts to mobilize Latino voters. Becerra framed his Spanish-language TikTok strategy as an attempt to meet voters where they are and to learn what they want from the next governor of California.
