California’s gubernatorial debate on Wednesday marked the first televised debate since then-Rep. Eric Swalwell dropped his bid over the sexual assault allegations against him.
There were six candidates on the debate stage who met the 5% polling threshold. The Republican candidates were Chad Bianco, the sheriff of Riverside County, and Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host endorsed by President Donald Trump. On the Democratic side, the qualifying candidates were billionaire Tom Steyer, former Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA), San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, and former Biden administration Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.
Despite Swalwell’s absence, no candidate came out of the debate as the clear front-runner. The Democratic candidates are looking to fill the recent void and emerge as their party’s choice, though none have successfully put distance between themselves and the rest of the pack. Steyer and Becerra have received the biggest polling boosts from Swalwell’s departure, as Porter’s numbers have been hurt by videos of her berating a former staffer and growing frustrated with a reporter.
Hilton currently leads the pack, with Steyer and Bianco a few percentage points behind, according to Decision Desk HQ. Here are the five things to know from Wednesday’s debate between the front-runners.
CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATS AIM TO STEAL A MARCH ON RIVALS WITH FIRST DEBATE SINCE SWALWELL SHOCKER
Candidates stay civil
Wednesday night’s debate did not get too heated, as each candidate mostly focused on policy issues and resisted personal digs.
“Well, it’s all about what we can do for Californians and the practical things that we can get done,” Hilton said in the spin room after the debate. “I think it’s going to be a tremendous advantage to have a governor who can work with the federal administration to deliver some of these things.”
The candidates debated policies such as the state gas tax, the prospect of an electric vehicle mileage tax, and legislation to lower housing costs.
One of the most heated moments of the debate was when Porter and Bianco went toe-to-toe in a debate over English-language enforcement for commercial drivers in the state. Porter bashed Bianco after he said liberal politicians had to stop saying non-English speaking drivers are getting pulled over due to racial profiling. “You either violated the law, or you didn’t,” Bianco said.
“I am stunned that Mr. Bianco would say to black and brown Californians and immigrants who are being terrorized and racially profiled that you have to ‘get over’ racism,” Porter said. “It’s not something that you get over. It’s something that you fight. And if he doesn’t understand the importance of that, he has no business representing a state with the diversity of California.”
“That’s not even close to what I said,” Bianco fired back. “Californians are absolutely sick and tired of our politicians making race the basis of everything.”
Debate touches on Swalwell
The debate only briefly touched on the sexual assault and rape allegations surrounding Swalwell. The moderators from NewsNation asked only Becerra about the allegations, as he was chairman of the House Democratic caucus when Swalwell was first elected to the chamber. Becerra said he “heard the rumors” surrounding Swalwell.
“You hear rumors all the time about all sorts of things,” Becerra replied. “Rumors are not facts. And the Democratic caucus is not a place that adjudicates those things. If someone had come forward, we could then have investigations.”
He noted how, when he was the attorney general of California, his administration prosecuted sex traffickers and abusers “based on facts.”
“Let me just applaud those courageous survivors who stood up and told America what the truth was, and today Eric Swalwell is facing accountability,” Becerra said.
Affordability takes center stage
The candidates’ debate centered on how to address voters’ concerns about affordability, with moderators asking about the state’s gas tax right off the bat.
Steyer blamed Trump for high gas prices and said he opposed cutting the gas tax.
“Let me say that the reason that gasoline is so expensive is that our president, Donald Trump, has started an insane war in Iran and driven up the cost of gasoline for everybody in California,” Steyer said.
Bianco voiced a different perspective, blaming Democrats for high prices.
“It is Democrat policies for the last 20, 30 years that are driving the cost of not only gasoline, but the cost of living in California up,” Bianco said. “We have the highest cost of living in the country because we have had one-party, Democratic, progressive rule, which is destroying this state.”
The candidates also touched on housing affordability and increasing insurance costs across the state.
Hilton called for insurance deregulation and the ending of lawsuits as part of a three-point plan to stop what he called an “absolutely massive problem that is crushing so many families.”
“We have to stop these nuisance lawsuits, often filed by private equity from out of state, that are increasing the cost of insurance,” Hilton said.
Democrats back Newsom’s record
Democrats, still waiting to see if outgoing, term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) weighs in on the race with an endorsement, were careful to support the current governor and likely presidential candidate.
The Democratic candidates gave Newsom “A” and “B” ratings for how he has handled California’s homelessness crisis.
Initially reluctant to give a letter grade, Mahan gave Newsom a “B” for “the important initiatives that he championed where I’ve been proud to stand with him,” but bashed the state’s local leaders for not implementing them well.
Republicans walk in lockstep
If both Bianco and Hilton retain the lead over the Democratic candidates, the GOP candidates could find themselves advancing as the two candidates to head from the June 2 primary to the general election in November.
Bianco and Hilton didn’t spar much and remained in agreement on many issues, such as the homelessness crisis and enforcing English proficiency for truck drivers with commercial driver’s licenses.
“It’s going to be he and I going to November,” Bianco said, pointing to his fellow GOP candidate.
Hilton said he would endorse Bianco if the sheriff were the only GOP candidate on the general election ticket.
