Sacramento\u00a0\u2014\u00a0The two candidates for California governor came to Sacramento on Tuesday offering policy agendas that were both sweeping and vague on details, with both warning of the dangers posed by their rival\u2019s political party.<\/p>\n
Democrat Xavier Becerra vowed to lower healthcare costs for Californians and teased two new policies on energy and artificial intelligence. Republican Steve Hilton pledged to slash gas prices and utility bills to help remedy his dystopian view of California under Democratic rule. <\/p>\n
The two candidates will face off in the Nov. 3 election to succeed outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom, and took time to deliver their campaign messages at an afternoon political forum in the state capital. <\/p>\n
Hilton pointed to the size of the state budget, the homelessness crisis, high taxes, the cost of living, the unemployment rate and the business climate to argue that 15 years of Democratic control has proved disastrous in California.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just a complete failure on every front, and it seems to have been immune to any kind of challenge because it\u2019s very powerful. The machine is very powerful, funded by government unions, and you\u2019ve got this alliance of the government unions and nonprofits, and the Chamber of Commerce, and all of this,\u201d he told hundreds of people at a convention center in Sacramento.<\/p>\n
Becerra defended California\u2019s Democratic leadership, which controls the state Legislature, the governor\u2019s office and every other statewide political office, as a staunch bulwark against the ruthless agenda of the Trump administration and Republican-led Congress.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re a state. We\u2019re a family. You don\u2019t blame just one parent when things go awry with one of the children,\u201d he said in reference to more than a decade of Democratic governance in California. \u201cWe\u2019re all in this together. We all have to work together. I could say that one of the members of the American family in Washington, D.C., has created more chaos than any Democrat in the state of California.\u201d <\/p>\n
After a chaotic and competitive June primary, Tuesday marked one of the few times the two men have addressed the same audience<\/a>. They appeared at a forum hosted by the news organization Politico and sponsored by Airbnb, AT&T, energy company California Resources Corp., Google and the Western States Petroleum Assn.<\/p>\n In a state with a pronounced Democratic tilt, Becerra, a former U.S. Health and Human Services secretary, is the front-runner in the race<\/a>. Nearly 45% of the state\u2019s voters are registered Democrats, while 25% are Republicans, according to a May report by the secretary of state\u2019s office. Becerra has raised millions of dollars more than Hilton and benefited from well-funded independent groups that spent millions supporting his campaign. <\/p>\n Becerra repeatedly said he would not promise anything he could not deliver, saying that voters \u201cwant to see actual outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s also why I think you can\u2019t do pie in the sky, inflated promises, because people want to see you deliver, and you can talk a great game, but unless you can deliver, people are going to crucify you,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n He said he could not promise to build 3 million new housing units, as Newsom did eight years ago as a candidate for governor.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s an inflated promise. But I will tell you, we will build, and I will tell you, there will be more Californians who own a home,\u201d Becerra said.<\/p>\n Later, he told reporters he was not specifically referring to the figure Newsom had promised. \u201cI could have said 2 million. I could have said 5 million. What I was saying is, it\u2019s gonna be something that\u2019s realistic,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n Becerra was willing to make some big promises on healthcare. <\/p>\n \u201cAm I going to promise you that I can drop the price of prescription drugs? Yes, because I did it before, and I know I can do it again. Am I telling you that I can keep Californians insured for healthcare, even though the guy in the White House stripped a trillion dollars out of the healthcare system? Yes, because I know how much money is in the healthcare system,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Pressed for specifics on how he would prevent people from losing their health insurance, Becerra hinted that the solution could be within the healthcare industry itself. <\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s money in them there hills,\u201d he said. \u201cHealthcare is more expensive in California than anywhere else in the country, and healthcare is more expensive in the U.S. than it is anywhere else in the world. There is money that\u2019s being spent that does nothing to dispense healthcare to you, and we\u2019ve got to stop that game.\u201d<\/p>\n Hilton acknowledged the long odds he faces in the November general election.<\/p>\n \u201cI know I\u2019m probably the only person in this room that actually thinks I can win this election,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Since the June primary, Hilton has been a constant presence on the campaign trail, crisscrossing the state, holding town halls and news conferences, making speeches and giving media interviews. Becerra has been far less visibly active.<\/p>\n Hilton argued that California is at a crossroads, pointing to residents and businesses moving out of the state. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m here to say we can turn them around,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s an absolute crisis that we\u2019re in if we don\u2019t change direction.\u201d<\/p>\n Hilton has vowed to cut gas prices to $3 per gallon, reduce utility bills, eliminate income taxes for Californians making under $150,000, increase the supply of starter homes and overhaul the business climate, particularly in the entertainment and agricultural industries. Just how Hilton would deliver on his agenda, given that Democrats control the California Legislature, remains unclear.<\/p>\n While he did not make any formal policy announcements at the summit, Becerra said there is \u201ca lot of room to expand\u201d on regulations and protections on AI, and he signaled support for a government-purchased stake in AI companies. \u201cWe can make it so they can prosper, but we prosper with them,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n