In an age when mass incarceration and public safety are discussed nationwide, California’s attorney general — a position up for election on this November’s ballot — will shape the state’s approach to criminal justice.

Current Attorney General Xavier Becerra and Judge Steven Bailey are competing for the position, in which they would serve as the state’s top lawyer and law enforcement officer.

Appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2017, Becerra is now running to serve a full four-year term. Becerra — the first Latinx person to hold the state office — took over for Kamala Harris in 2017, after she was elected to the U. S. Senate. Before assuming his position as attorney general, Becerra served 12 terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Becerra is the son of immigrants and was the first person in his family to graduate from college.

Historically, incumbents have higher odds of winning elections, but Bailey believes his challenge can succeed through its focus on California. For the past 27 years, Bailey has worked in the California legal system, first as an attorney and then as a judge for the Superior Court of the County of El Dorado.

“(Becerra) spent a lot of time in Washington,” Bailey said. “As a judge, I was able to see a case from both sides — that is a different perspective than an average lawyer would have.”

With less than three weeks to go until the election, Bailey is facing several accusations of judicial misconduct. He has been accused of using his position as a judge to advance his bid for attorney general and sending defendants convicted of DUIs to an alcohol monitoring program where his son worked. The case, which will be heard by the Commission on Judicial Performance, will not end until after

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