A Democratic candidate for governor of California will be giving TikTok a go, but with a caveat: He'll only post videos in Spanish.
At least for now.
Former Biden administration Health Secretary Xavier Becerra is embracing the popular short-video app to target Spanish-language users. His campaign and surveys note that Hispanic adults use TikTok in much higher numbers than Black and white adults.
Congress last year passed a ban on TikTok, calling it a potential national security threat, but President Joe Biden, who signed the bill into law and was Becerra's boss at the time, announced before leaving office that he wouldn't enforce it. After the Supreme Court ruled the ban constitutional, President Donald Trump suspended it on his first day in office to give the China-based company ByteDance, which opposed the ban, time to find a new buyer.
Trump, a Republican, had tried to ban dealings with ByteDance during his first term, but he joined the TikTok platform last year and has millions of followers. He has repeatedly extended the deadline for ByteDance to find a buyer and has hinted occasionally, as recently as Monday, that there was a deal over the future of the social media app, but without offering details. The White House started its own TikTok account last month.
Becerra's new approach is part of an effort by Democrats to counter the rightward swing that was seen last year both in red states such as Texas and Florida and blue states such as California, New Jersey and New York, where Trump improved his numbers among Latinos.
The idea is to lock in a key user base by pushing out content early on a platform politicians are still largely experimenting with. The effort comes when the Trump administration is phasing out multilingual services as part of the president's push to make English the official language of the United States.
Candidates running in the 2025 elections in New Jersey and Virginia are already adapting their campaigns to appeal to Hispanics, who may have stayed away from the polls or voted for Trump based on his economic promises. But strategists say that it’s still very much up for debate whether the trend will hold.
“It’s critical to communicate in the language and on the platforms where voters spend their time and get their information,” Becerra said in a statement.
A 2024 Pew Research Center survey concluded that while TikTok has seen significant user growth in a short time, the demographics were different depending on race and ethnicity. Nearly half of Hispanic adults reported using it compared with 39% of Black adults and 28% of white adults.
Becerra’s campaign says it will push out a mix of videos with him speaking directly to the camera, policy explainers and behind-the-scenes clips from the campaign trail. It also plans to collaborate with influencers and publish videos created by supporters. All in Spanish.
“The working-class Latinos Democrats need to win back aren't necessarily going to a Spanish-language website, but they are scrolling and watching vertical video in their free time,” said José Muñoz, a Democratic strategist advising the campaign and a former press secretary at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
In the New Jersey governor's race this year, both Democratic candidate Mikie Sherrill and Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli are participating in Spanish-language town halls on Univision, where Hispanic voters will ask the candidates questions. In Virginia, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger speaks Spanish in a radio ad about being a mother of three girls who attended public school.
“I know how difficult things are for families these days,” she says in Spanish.
One of Becerra’s challengers in the 2026 California governor's race, Katie Porter, has quickly established herself as a leading contender in the Democratic primary and has already built a sizable following on TikTok, with more than half a million followers, compared with about 200,000 followers on Instagram and 164,000 on Facebook.
In his introduction video, Becerra says his priority is to make housing more affordable and reduce health care costs.
“I am the only candidate in this race who will speak to you in Spanish on this platform,” he said. “But I want this to be a two-way conversation. I want to learn what worries you the most and what you want from the next California governor.”
FILE - Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra talks to reporters after a news conference in Sacramento, Calif., Oct. 29, 2024.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 17, 2025--
Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE:JOBY), a company developing electric air taxis for commercial passenger service, today announced the next three vertiports to be added to Dubai's electric air taxi network, alongside Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA) and Skyports Infrastructure, who will be responsible for building the vertiports. The sites, at the American University of Dubai, Atlantis the Royal and the Dubai Mall, will enable Joby to deliver high-speed, emissions-free connections between some of Dubai’s most high-profile destinations, as part of its six-year exclusive agreement with the RTA to establish air taxi services in the Emirate.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251117321480/en/
The news comes as Joby successfully completed a landmark flight test, becoming the first electric air taxi company to conduct a point-to-point flight in the UAE. On Sunday 9 November, Joby landed its aircraft at Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) following a 17-minute piloted flight from its test facility in Margham, underscoring Joby’s commercial market readiness and ability to operate in shared airspace. Tens of thousands of attendees will have the opportunity to see Joby’s aircraft in action at this week’s Dubai Airshow, with demonstration flights planned for each day of the show.
His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer, Director General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), stated that “the successful completion of the first crewed flight of the electric aerial taxi marks a new milestone in Dubai’s distinguished record of leadership and innovation. The successful completion by Joby Aviation of the first air taxi flight between two distinct locations underscores the success of RTA’s operational framework for developing Dubai’s aerial mobility ecosystem. This milestone paves the way for a new phase of integration among smart mobility systems across the emirate, further strengthening the confidence of global partners in Dubai’s regulatory and technological environment and establishing it as a leading global platform for future mobility trials.
“RTA is steadily progressing towards the commercial launch of the aerial taxi service in 2026, solidifying Dubai’s position as the city of the future and a global hub for innovative and sustainable urban mobility solutions, combining efficient infrastructure with high quality of life," His Excellency confirmed.
JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby Aviation,said: “From flight demonstrations to infrastructure, we're making incredible progress on all fronts as we look ahead to launching commercial passenger service in Dubai next year. By working alongside the RTA, other government agencies and infrastructure partners, we’ve been able to streamline development of the world’s first air taxi service and are closer than ever to making urban air transport an everyday reality for residents and visitors across the UAE.”
Today’s vertiport announcement brings together three major Dubai property developers - Emaar Properties, Atlantis The Royal, and Wasl Asset Management Group - to deliver a network of valuable and high-traffic sites across the emirate:
Alongside the vertiport at Dubai International Airport, which is set to be completed in the first quarter of 2026, these sites will make up the initial vertiport network for Joby’s air taxi service in Dubai, which is set to launch in 2026.
About Joby
Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE:JOBY) is a California-based transportation company developing an all-electric, vertical take-off and landing air taxi. Joby intends to both operate its fast, quiet, and convenient air taxi service in cities around the world and sell its aircraft to other operators and partners. To learn more, visit www.jobyaviation.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including but not limited to, statements regarding the development and performance of our aircraft, the growth of our manufacturing capabilities, our regulatory outlook, progress and timing, including our plans to begin carrying passengers in 2026, timing and potential locations of our vertiports, and planned participation in the Dubai airshow; our business plan, objectives, goals and market opportunity; plans for, and potential benefits of, our strategic partnerships; and our current expectations relating to our business, financial condition, results of operations, prospects, capital needs and growth of our operations. You can identify forward-looking statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements may include words such as “anticipate”, “estimate”, “expect”, “project”, “plan”, “intend”, “believe”, “may”, “will”, “should”, “can have”, “likely” and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of the timing or nature of future operating or financial performance or other events. All forward looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including: our ability to launch our air taxi service and the growth of the urban air mobility market generally; our ability to produce aircraft that meet our performance expectations in the volumes and on the timelines that we project; complexities related to obtaining certification and operating in foreign markets; the competitive environment in which we operate; our future capital needs; our ability to adequately protect and enforce our intellectual property rights; our ability to effectively respond to evolving regulations and standards relating to our aircraft; our reliance on third-party suppliers and service partners; uncertainties related to our estimates of the size of the market for our service and future revenue opportunities; and other important factors discussed in the section titled “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on February 27, 2025, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on May 8, 2025 and August 7, 2025, and in future filings and other reports we file with or furnish to the SEC. Any such forward-looking statements represent management’s estimates and beliefs as of the date of this release. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change.
Joby’s air taxi en route from its flight test facility in Margham to Al Maktoum International Airport, marking the first electric air taxi company to conduct a point-to-point flight in the UAE. Credit: Joby Aviation
