Jesse Watters Says the ‘Biggest Qualification’ for Latino Candidate in California ‘Is the Sound of His Name’

Fox News host Jesse Watters claimed that leading California gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra’s (D) “biggest qualification” is “the sound of his name.”

Watters made his comment on Tuesday’s Jesse Watters Primetime ahead of polls closing in California’s primary race to replace Governor Gavin Newsom (D). Baccer, former HHS Secretary for President Joe Biden, is the leading Democrat in the polls alongside Tom Steyer, both of whom shot up after Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) resigned from his House seat and suspended his campaign for California governor after a wave of accusations of sexual assault and harassment.

“On the Democrat side, there’s a big oil billionaire who basically bought his way to the top,” said Watters of Steyer. “He’s up against a guy whose biggest qualification is the sound of his name. In a state that is half Hispanic, Xavier Becerra.”

The host stopped short of spelling his point out directly– namely, that the former California Attorney General is primarily suited for the governor’s job because his ethnicity matches that of many voters.

Watters’ characterization of Becerra as “half Hispanic” is misleading. According to the Washington Post, Becerra’s father, Manuel, was “born in the United States but raised in Tijuana, Mexico” and “left school around sixth grade, crossing the border with his relatives to find work picking crops in the fields of California.” His mother, Maria, was born in Mexico.

Becerra has faced criticism from some within his party who expressed shock over his rise in the polls, with one House Democrat telling Politico, “If you took a gun to my head and asked me, ‘Who are Xavier Becerra’s friends — or who were they?’ I couldn’t tell you. I don’t know.”

Watters’ focus on qualifications comes as many within the Republican party on Tuesday called out the lack of experience Housing Finance Agency boss Bill Pulte has in the intelligence field after President Donald Trump’s controversial decision to appoint him as acting director of National Intelligence. His appointment drew sharp criticism from members of both parties, with many noting Pulte’s limited credentials.

Watch above via Fox News.

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