索菲·奥斯汀 加州萨克拉门托——唐纳德·特朗普总统、加州众所周知的高昂生活成本以及政治经验，都是此次投票的议题。选民将于周二决定，是选举民主党人泽维尔·贝塞拉还是共和党人史蒂夫·希尔顿，出任这个全美人口最多州的下一任州长。
SOPHIE AUSTIN SACRAMENTO, Calif. — President Donald Trump, California’s notoriously high cost of living and political experience are on the ballot as voters decide Tuesday whether to elect Democrat Xavier Becerra or Republican Steve Hilton as the next governor of the nation’s most populous state.
胜出者将接替民主党州长加文·纽森。纽森无法寻求第三个任期，但正在考虑竞选白宫。
The winner will succeed Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who can’t seek a third term but is considering a White House run .
贝塞拉曾任加州总检察长，他承诺将重申加州作为自由主义力量、制衡特朗普政府共和党政策的地位。希尔顿曾是英国的政治顾问和福克斯新闻主持人，他把自己塑造成一张新面孔，准备在民主党领导15年后让该州重回正轨。
Becerra, a former state attorney general , has promised to reaffirm California’s status as a liberal counterweight to the Trump administration’s Republican policies. Hilton, a former political adviser in the United Kingdom and Fox News host , has pitched himself as a fresh face ready to set the state back on track after 15 years of Democratic leadership.
希尔顿面临严峻的胜算。在加州登记选民中，民主党人约占45%，而共和党人占25%。
Hilton faces steep odds. Democrats make up roughly 45% of registered voters in California, compared to Republicans’ 25%.
邮寄投票已进行近一个月。特朗普政府试图在该州选举系统中散播不信任，声称可能有最多2万名非公民登记投票。司法部已起诉该州，试图阻止官员清点这些人投出的任何选票。在多个下级法院也站在加州一边之后，美国最高法院于周一驳回了特朗普政府的要求。
Mail voting has been underway for nearly a month. The Trump administration has sought to sow distrust in the state’s election system by alleging up to 20,000 noncitizens could be registered to vote. The Department of Justice has sued the state in an attempt to stop officials from counting any ballots cast by those people. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration’s demand on Monday after several lower courts also sided with California.
州和地方选举官员表示，他们遵守联邦法律，联邦政府给出的数字很可能被夸大了。选举专家表示，非公民投票十分罕见，且从未被证明会改变选举结果。
State and local election officials say they follow federal law and the federal government’s numbers are likely inflated. Election experts say voting by noncitizens is rare and has not been shown to change the outcome of elections.
贝塞拉还曾在国会任职，并在乔·拜登总统政府中担任美国卫生与公众服务部部长。他主张，自己拥有超过35年的政治和政府经验，是最适合这一职位的人选。希尔顿从未担任过民选公职。
Becerra, who also served in Congress and as U.S. health secretary in President Joe Biden’s administration, has argued that he’s best positioned for the job as someone with more than 35 years of experience in politics and government. Hilton has never held elected office.
贝塞拉在9月的一次CNN辩论中表示，该州需要一位能够延续“加州梦”的领导人。
Becerra said at a CNN debate in September that the state needed a leader who could keep the “California dream” alive.
他说：“你没法指望一个从未服过役、从未平衡过加州规模的预算、从未真正站出来保护民众对抗唐纳德·特朗普这样的暴君的人做到这一点。”
“You can’t do it with someone who’s never served, who’s never balanced a budget the size of California, who’s never actually been there to defend people against the tyrant like Donald Trump,” he said.
与此同时，希尔顿试图将自己缺乏政治经验这一点转化为优势，称正是那些经验丰富的民主党人一直在主政，才让加州人难以负担汽油、住房和大学学费。
Meanwhile, Hilton has tried to turn his lack of political experience into an asset, arguing the more experienced Democrats who have been in charge have left Californians struggling to afford gas, housing and a college degree.
“这是地球上最了不起的州和最了不起的国家，这是因为我们拥有这种反叛精神，”他在辩论中说。“这种精神正被这个臃肿的、保姆式的官僚政府所压制，而泽维尔已经参与其中36年了。”这两位候选人是从一个庞大的初选阵营中脱颖而出的，其中还包括六位知名民主党人和两位引人注目的共和党人。
“This is the most amazing state and the most amazing country on Earth, and it’s because we’ve got this rebel spirit,” he said at the debate. “That spirit is being crushed by this bloated, nanny-state bureaucratic government that Xavier has been a part of for 36 years.”The two candidates emerged from a large primary field with half a dozen prominent Democrats and two notable Republicans.
在竞选的头几个月里，贝塞拉并不被视为主要竞争者。当前民主党众议员埃里克·斯瓦尔韦尔——此前被视为领跑者——在被指控性侵多名女性后退出竞选并辞去国会议员职务时，情况发生了变化。他否认了这些指控。他的退出促使党内建制派和选民寻找一个更可靠的替代人选，而他们在贝塞拉身上找到了这样的人。
Becerra wasn’t considered a top contender for the first months of his campaign. That changed when former Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell , who had been viewed as a front-runner, dropped out of the race and resigned from Congress following allegations he sexually assaulted several women. He’s denied the accusations. His departure caused the party establishment and voters to look for a more reliable alternative, and they found one in Becerra.
此后，贝塞拉开展了一场相对低调的竞选活动，举行的公开活动和新闻发布会远不及希尔顿那么多。他试图利用特朗普在该州的极不受欢迎，将希尔顿与特朗普捆绑在一起，并指出总统已为这位共和党人背书。贝塞拉的竞选团队推出了一个网站，列出希尔顿表达支持总统及其政策的言论。该网站还配有这两位共和党人并肩站立的插图。
Since then, Becerra has run a relatively low-key campaign, not holding nearly as many public events or press availabilities as Hilton. He’s sought to take advantage of Trump’s deep unpopularity in the state by tying Hilton to Trump, noting the president has endorsed the Republican. Becerra’s campaign launched a website that lists quotes of Hilton expressing support for the president and his policies. The site includes illustrations of the two Republicans standing side by side.
与此同时，希尔顿试图通过发布声势浩大的广告——有时还使用人工智能生成的内容——来取得突破，鼓励通常选择民主党的选民尝试新事物。他还试图通过做出雄心勃勃的承诺来吸引公众，包括承诺废除机动车管理局，并将汽油价格降至每加仑3美元，这是该州多年来未曾见过的水平。
Hilton, meanwhile, has tried to break through by releasing splashy ads, sometimes with AI-generated content, to encourage voters who typically choose Democrats to try something new. He’s also tried to appeal to the public by making ambitious promises, including pledging to abolish the DMV and cut gas prices to $3 a gallon, a rate the state hasn’t seen in years.
作为一名在加利福尼亚州参选的共和党候选人，他带来变革的承诺引起了一些选民的共鸣。
His promise to bring change as a Republican candidate running in California has resonated with some voters.
居住在萨克拉门托郊外、从事建筑行业的独立选民理查德·哈特曼表示，他倾向于投票给希尔顿，以便为民主党主导的加州带来平衡。他尤其关心无家可归问题和高昂的生活成本。
Richard Hartman, an independent voter living outside Sacramento who works in the construction industry, said he was leaning toward voting for Hilton to bring balance to the Democrat-dominated state. He’s particularly concerned about homelessness and the high cost of living.
“没有平衡，什么都行不通，”他说。“你不能单腿站着四处走动。你必须有两只脚，我认为政治也是同样的道理。”尽管贝塞拉和希尔顿有诸多不同，他们至少有一个共同点：两人都出身于移民背景。
“Nothing works without balance,” he said. “You can’t stand on one leg and walk around. You have to have two feet, and I think that’s the same thing in politics.”For all their differences, Becerra and Hilton share at least one thing in common: Both come from immigrant backgrounds.
希尔顿的父母逃离了匈牙利的共产主义，定居英国，希尔顿在那里出生。希尔顿后来担任前首相戴维·卡梅伦的顾问，之后于2012年搬到加州。如果他获胜，他将成为自共和党人阿诺德·施瓦辛格2011年离任以来首位担任州长的移民。
Hilton’s parents fled communism in Hungary and settled in the United Kingdom, where Hilton was born. Hilton went on to advise former Prime Minister David Cameron before moving to California in 2012. If he wins, he would be the first immigrant to serve as governor since Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger left office in 2011.
贝塞拉出生在萨克拉门托，母亲来自墨西哥，父亲出生在加州、在墨西哥长大。他将吸引拉丁裔选民作为竞选策略的关键部分，包括发布西班牙语广告和社交媒体帖子。他将成为该州自19世纪末以来首位拉丁裔州长。
Becerra was born in Sacramento to a mother from Mexico and a father who was born in California and raised in Mexico. He’s made appealing to Latino voters a key part of his campaign strategy, including by releasing ads and social media posts in Spanish. He’d be the state’s first Latino governor since the late 19th century.
他的背景吸引了一些具有墨西哥血统的加州人，包括萨克拉门托的民主党退休人士乔伊·托雷斯。她自豪地计划投票给他。“我读过关于他的报道，我真的很高兴，”托雷斯说。
His background has appealed to some Californians with Mexican heritage, including Joy Torrez, a Democratic retiree in Sacramento. She proudly planned to vote for him. “I’ve read about him, and I’m really pleased,” Torrez said.