Romualdo Pacheco was California’s first Latino governor, serving roughly 10 months in 1875 after his predecessor resigned to join the U.S. Senate, while Xavier Becerra became the state’s first elected Latino governor by winning the November 4, 2026 general election, sacbee.com reported.
The two milestones stand 151 years apart, and the distinction between them carries significant weight. Pacheco, born in Santa Barbara when the region was still Mexican territory, assumed the office through constitutional succession rather than a popular vote. Becerra, by contrast, secured his victory at the ballot box, defeating Republican Steve Hilton to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Who was Romualdo Pacheco, the California-born pioneer who held office in 1875?
Pacheco entered the world in Santa Barbara in 1831, a birthplace that made him the first California-born person to serve as governor. At age 7, his family sent him to Honolulu, Hawaii, where he spent five years attending a school operated by a Scottish missionary and his wife, according to the California State Library’s Governor’s Gallery.
His adolescence placed him at sea during a tumultuous era. At 15, Pacheco began working as an officer on his stepfather’s merchant ships, but those vessels were captured twice by the U.S. Navy during the Mexican-American War. After the conflict ended, he pledged allegiance to the United States, a decision that opened the door to his decades of public service in California and Washington.
How did Pacheco rise from San Luis Obispo County judge to lieutenant governor?
Before reaching the state’s highest office, Pacheco built a résumé spanning the judiciary, the legislature, and the state treasury. He served as a judge in San Luis Obispo County, represented his region as a state senator, and held the post of California state treasurer. In 1871, voters elected him lieutenant governor, placing him directly in the line of succession to the governorship.
His ascension came abruptly in 1875 when Gov. Newton Booth resigned the governorship to accept a seat in the U.S. Senate. Pacheco succeeded Booth and served from February to December 1875, completing the remainder of the term as the state’s first Latino chief executive and its first native-born governor.
What did Pacheco accomplish after leaving the governor’s office?
Pacheco moved to Washington, where his electoral fortunes proved dramatic and narrowly decided. In 1876, he won a U.S. House of Representatives election by a single vote, took office in 1877, but was unseated the following year after his opponent successfully challenged the results. He won another congressional election in 1878 and served a full term from 1879 to 1883.
His public service continued abroad when President Benjamin Harrison appointed him as a U.S. diplomat to Central America in 1890. Pacheco eventually returned to California, worked as a stockbroker in San Francisco, and died in Oakland in 1899.
What makes Xavier Becerra’s November 2026 victory a different kind of first?
Becerra’s win on Tuesday, November 4, 2026, adds a new chapter with a crucial qualifier: he is the first elected Latino governor of California. Defeating Steve Hilton with about 64% of the vote to 36% for his opponent, according to preliminary results from the Secretary of State’s Office, Becerra will take office succeeding Gavin Newsom.
“Californians don’t expect a miracle from government,” Becerra said. “They just want a government that works, a government that can build things, a government that keeps our streets clean and schools safe.”
Where Pacheco’s 1875 tenure was a brief interlude of succession lasting from February to December, Becerra’s mandate marks the first time California voters have directly handed the governorship to a Latino leader at the polls.
