Candidates vying to be California’s next governor participated in a televised debate on Wednesday night. Six leading gubernatorial contenders discussed the state’s most pressing issues. The debate was held live in San Francisco, California, and hosted by Nexstar Media Group. Frank Buckley of KTLA News and Nikki Laurenzo of “Inside California Politics” were the moderators.
Wednesday’s debate was the first since Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) ended his campaign, which was mired in controversy over sexual misconduct allegations. The departure of Swalwell from the race prompted Nexstar Media Group and Emerson College to conduct a new poll to determine which candidates would have enough support to qualify for the debate. Six candidates were determined to have enough public support to participate.
Republicans had two candidates: Steve Hilton, a former political adviser, former Fox News host, and current political pundit, and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco. Democrats had four on the debate stage: Xavier Becerra, former health and human services secretary under the Biden administration; San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan; former Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA); and billionaire businessman, philanthropist, activist, and former Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer. Mahan and Becerra were the newest additions to the debate lineup, benefitting from Swalwell’s departure.
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There were few fiery exchanges, viral clips or moments that have occurred in some debates in recent years. Candidates were respectful and civil to each other. Comments from Democrats blaming Trump for matters in California and a moment in which Becerra mistakenly referred to the Iran conflict as a “war in Iraq” were arguably among the most notable moments.
Each candidate was given 60 seconds to answer a moderator’s question. Subsequent rebuttals and follow-ups received 30 seconds to respond. If a clarification was needed, moderators gave an additional 15 seconds to talk. When a candidate’s time expired, a bell sounded.
The elephant in the room was unquestionably Swalwell’s resignation, but there was only a brief discussion about his controversy, with Becerra mentioning that he “heard rumors” about Swalwell but never saw “any corroboration.”
“Yeah, you hear rumors all the time about all sorts of things,” said Becerra. “Rumors are not facts, and the Democratic caucus is not a place that adjudicates those things. Law enforcement does.”
“Rumors are one thing, but getting the facts really gets you to move,” he added.
The candidates’ first topic was one that many Californians have expressed dismay about in recent years: affordability. This concerned the state’s high cost of living and its having the most expensive gas prices in the country. Tom Steyer was asked the first question of the debate about whether or not California should cut the gas tax.
Steyer responded by blaming President Donald Trump and the war in Iran.
“Let me say that the reason that gasoline is so expensive, 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. “That has put $70 billion in the pockets of the oil companies who actually put him in the presidency. Californians are suffering across the board. The biggest problem in California is that the Californians can’t afford to live here anymore.
He was against eliminating the gas tax and suggested a “windfall profit tax on oil companies” before pivoting back to blaming Trump.
“The problem we have here is a president who is out of control, who’s driving up costs across the board, and we actually need to take on the special interest oil companies who are taking advantage of Californians and making $70 billion more because of this war.”
Porter highlighted environmental issues in her answer to the question, calling for a move away from fossil fuels. Mahan called for a brief suspension of the gas tax, followed by reform, while Becerra opposed suspending it. Hilton supported cutting the gas tax in half and “eliminating carbon-climate policies. Bianco called for the total elimination of the gas tax, blaming “Democrat policies” for the high gas tax.
“When you send oil, make it into gasoline and send it across state lines, and it miraculously becomes $2 cheaper, you know that your state is the problem,” Bianco said. “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. We have the highest cost of living in the country because we have had one party, Democratic, progressive rule, which is destroying this state.”
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Candidates verbally sparred on a variety of topics in addition to high gas prices, including other affordability concerns in the state and homelessness, among others. President Donald Trump’s name came up several times, with multiple Democrats blaming him for some of the problems in the state. Republicans Bianco and Hilton regularly blamed “Democratic” and “progressive” policies for the state’s plights.
California’s gubernatorial primary is on June 2, and mail ballots are scheduled to be sent to voters early in May. Under California’s election rules, the candidates with the top two-highest vote tallies, regardless of political party, advance to the general election in November. The most recent polling data, conducted between April 14-15, showed the Republicans at the top with Hilton leading all candidates with 17% support and Bianco in a second-place tie with Steyer at 14%.
