Follow along for coverage from Times journalists, including observations from columnists Gustavo Arellano, Mark Z. Barabak and Anita Chabria.<\/p>\n
Commentary: Who won the California governor debate on CNN? Here\u2019s what our columnists say <\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778052442_603_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
The seven participants in Tuesday night\u2019s California gubernatorial debate onstage at East Los Angeles College.<\/p>\n
(Gina Ferazzi \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
For the third time in as many weeks, the leading candidates for California governor met on the debate stage Tuesday night.<\/p>\n
The latest installment was a two-hour session, hosted and carried live from Monterey Park by CNN. The debate marked the first time the candidates appeared before a national audience and came as mail ballots have begun arriving <\/a>in homes throughout the state.<\/p>\n To wrap up debate, candidates are asked what characteristics set them apart from the field <\/p>\n Candidates were asked what distinguished them \u2014 one characteristic that sets them apart from the others.<\/p>\n Antonio Villaraigosa said he is \u201cwilling to say I made a mistake\u201d and willing to \u201ctake on my friends.\u201d<\/p>\n Katie Porter said she is willing to push to make government better, while refusing to take corporate donations.<\/p>\n Tom Steyer said \u201cthis is a simple campaign, because corporations are driving up the costs for working Californians,\u201d and he is the one taking on corporate special interests.<\/p>\n Steve Hilton said he hates \u201cbureaucracy\u201d and \u201cridiculous\u201d rules and regulations that \u201ccrush the life\u201d out of businesses and normal people, and \u201cwill not rest until we restore sanity to our beautiful state.\u201d<\/p>\n Chad Bianco said he is the only candidate with decades of \u201cproven public service\u201d making \u201clife and death\u201d decisions as a law enforcement official.<\/p>\n Xavier Becerra said he has \u201cthe experience to take on the toughest challenges,\u201d such as COVID-19 and President Trump. \u201cI\u2019ve proved that I can fight,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Matt Mahan said he is \u201crelentless about delivering results in people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n Show more <\/p>\n \u2018Which actor would you want to play you?\u2019 How candidates responded <\/p>\n California is synonymous with Hollywood, but the entertainment industry has struggled in recent years and the state\u2019s grip on it has appeared to slip as other places woo production. <\/p>\n Perhaps fittingly, and in one of the few lighthearted moments of an otherwise-tense debate, candidates were asked: \u201cWhich actor would you want to play you in a movie about your life?\u201d <\/p>\n Here\u2019s how they responded:<\/p>\n Matt Mahan: Russell Crowe<\/p>\n Xavier Becerra: Antonio Banderas<\/p>\n Chad Bianco: Clint Eastwood<\/p>\n Steve Hilton: Jason Statham<\/p>\n Tom Steyer: Gregory Peck<\/p>\n Katie Porter: Tina Fey<\/p>\n Antonio Villaraigosa: Antonio Banderas<\/p>\n Regarding Banderas, Becerra got first choice of the actor, but when it was Villaraigosa\u2019s turn, he got in an extra line.<\/p>\n \u201cAt [a] Hollywood event, when I was mayor, Antonio Banderas said he wanted to play me,\u201d Villaraigosa said.<\/p>\n Show more <\/p>\n Candidates tussle over high-speed rail, environmental and energy policies <\/p>\n Steve Hilton and Tom Steyer sparred over environmental policies and Hilton\u2019s position that California\u2019s governmental rules don\u2019t help the environment.<\/p>\n Hilton complained about a plan for \u201ctripling subsidies\u201d for electric vehicles. That, he said, would lead to higher costs for normal Californians just trying to drive to work. <\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s be clear what that is,\u201d he said. \u201cThat is high taxes on hard-working Californians driving their gas cars and trucks every day so that Tom\u2019s rich friends can feel virtuous about saving the climate.\u201d<\/p>\n He said California should instead be using the oil under its soil to drive down gas prices.<\/p>\n Steyer called Hilton \u201cridiculous\u201d and an \u201capologist for fossil fuels,\u201d and said that California must offer subsidies for people to switch to clean vehicles, deploy more clean energy technology and make \u201cthe polluters pay.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDrilling more in California is not going to change the price we pay at the pump,\u201d Steyer said, because those costs are what big oil companies are \u201cgouging us for\u201d based on global energy markets.<\/p>\n Hilton has also said he would kill California\u2019s long-running high-speed rail project, which he called a prime example of waste and fraud that would continue if Democrats remain in power.<\/p>\n Antonio Villaraigosa said he built public transportation as L.A. mayor, and would back high-speed rail, too. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve had incompetence, maybe fraud, but for sure we\u2019ve made mistakes,\u201d he said. But if he were elected, he would get it done right.<\/p>\n Matt Mahan chimed in to say that he would seek to reform state environmental law.<\/p>\n \u201cIt shouldn\u2019t cost us more to get to Modesto than it did to get to the moon,\u201d he said, adding that he would \u201cdemand fundamental reform\u201d of all of the rules and environmental laws around such projects so we \u201cbuild faster.\u201d<\/p>\n Show more <\/p>\n They all had one-word reviews of Gov. Gavin Newsom. What\u2019s yours? <\/p>\n By\u00a0Mark Z. Barabak, Columnist <\/p>\n In one of the crisper \u2014 and more subtly revealing \u2014 moments, each of the candidates was asked to provide a single word to describe the tenure of departing incumbent Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.<\/p>\n Their responses, as follows:<\/p>\n Villaraigosa: Performative.<\/p>\n Porter: Bold.<\/p>\n Steyer: Progressive.<\/p>\n Hilton: Failed.<\/p>\n Bianco: Failure.<\/p>\n Becerra: Game-changing.<\/p>\n Mahan: Incomplete.<\/p>\n The responses from Republicans Hilton and Bianco need no explainer. For those without a decoder ring, Villaraigosa ran against Newsom in 2018. Mahan has been a consistent critic, though he\u2019s toned it down since entering the governor\u2019s race.<\/p>\n Steyer, Porter and Becerra clearly saw no point in antagonizing the Democratic base, which remains most supportive of the governor.<\/p>\n Show more <\/p>\n California is at the center of the AI boom. How would candidates approach the industry? <\/p>\n Candidates were asked about artificial intelligence, its \u201cmassive potential\u201d and the threat it poses to workers. They were also asked whether they would require AI companies to compensate people whose jobs are taken over.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are right to be worried,\u201d said Matt Mahan, whose campaign has received funding from big tech. <\/p>\n But he said he has shown in San Jos\u00e9 that the \u201canswer is to tax these companies and to fund workforce development,\u201d and \u201cpathways to the jobs of the future\u201d \u2014 not to \u201cregulate them to the point where they simply go to other places.\u201d<\/p>\n Tom Steyer said California can\u2019t let AI create \u201c12 trillionaires\u201d while taking the jobs of millions of workers. He said California should charge a fee for every AI calculation that is conducted.<\/p>\n Steve Hilton said such responses were \u201cclassic Democrats\u201d \u2014 \u201cif it moves, tax it.\u201d <\/p>\n He said we \u201chave to have a bit of humility\u201d on a fast-moving technology. He said AI jobs are going elsewhere, and the next governor should work to bring them back to California. He also said the state should be teaching students to thrive in a new AI-driven world.<\/p>\n Katie Porter said we can decide whether we want such technologies to help us, or let them \u201cgut our economy.\u201d She also said human workers should be paid for inputs that AI takes as fodder for the products it kicks out.<\/p>\n Show more <\/p>\n Becerra takes heat over indictment of former advisor <\/p>\n Antonio Villaraigosa hammered Xavier Becerra over and over on his response to questions surrounding the indictment of his former chief of staff.<\/p>\n The Republicans on stage also went after him repeatedly, with Steve Hilton accusing Becerra of wrongdoing in the matter despite him not being charged with a crime.<\/p>\n The focus on Becerra was a clear result of his surge in the race since the collapse of former Rep. Eric Swalwell\u2019s campaign.<\/p>\n Federal prosecutors allege in court documents that Becerra\u2019s longtime advisor Sean McCluskie and two other consultants skimmed more than $200,000 from one of Becerra\u2019s dormant campaign accounts.<\/p>\n Becerra is not accused of wrongdoing, and has been painted as a victim in the prosecutor\u2019s court filings. Still, Hilton suggested Becerra knew about the scheme, which has led to guilty pleas from two individuals involved.<\/p>\n Hilton pointed out that McCluskie skimmed money so he could more easily travel back and forth between Washington, D.C., where he worked for Becerra, and his hometown of Davis, where his family was located. He pointed out that Becerra wanted him working for him.<\/p>\n Becerra pushed back on the criticism, pointing to the court documents.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I had been involved, the U.S. attorney would have had me in that indictment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Villaraigosa pointed out that Becerra was paying a very high fee related to one of the consultants named in the indictment who was overseeing the dormant account, and questioned why that was.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t pass the smell test,\u201d Villaraigosa said.<\/p>\n Show more <\/p>\n Candidates give one-word assessments of Newsom\u2019s tenure <\/p>\n All of the candidates were asked to provide one word to describe Gov. Gavin Newsom\u2019s performance as governor of California.<\/p>\n Antonio Villaraigosa: \u201cperformative.\u201d<\/p>\n Katie Porter: \u201cbold.\u201d<\/p>\n Tom Steyer: \u201cprogressive.\u201d<\/p>\n Steve Hilton: \u201cfailed.\u201d<\/p>\n Chad Bianco: \u201cfailure.\u201d<\/p>\n Xavier Becerra: \u201cgame-changing.\u201d<\/p>\n Matt Mahan: \u201cincomplete.\u201d<\/p>\n Moderators also tried to get the two Republican candidates to weigh in on each other.<\/p>\n Bianco was asked if he thinks that Republican voters can trust Hilton.<\/p>\n \u201cHave Steve and I disagreed? Absolutely we have,\u201d he said. He said those agreements have been \u201cquite big.\u201d<\/p>\n He avoided directly criticizing Hilton, but said he was the only person on the stage \u201cthat their entire existence in their job revolves around honesty, integrity.\u201d<\/p>\n Hilton swerved, saying voters cannot keep voting for the same thing \u2014 Democratic leadership \u2014 if they want to see change in the state.<\/p>\n Show more <\/p>\n Bianco seized 600,000 ballots. Becerra is quietly backing a legal pushback <\/p>\n By\u00a0Anita Chabria, Columnist <\/p>\n Much has been written about Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco taking control of more than 600,000 ballots from the last election, claiming election fraud like a QAnon conspiracy theorist texting from his basement circa 2020.<\/p>\n What has been written about less is Xavier Becerra\u2019s involvement in one of the lawsuits seeking to quash Bianco\u2019s \u201cinvestigation.\u201d<\/p>\n Since last year, Becerra, a lawyer, has been advising the UCLA Voting Rights Project<\/a>. The group filed its own lawsuit against Bianco, arguing that he had broken the chain of custody that protects ballots and that ensures Americans can trust elections.<\/p>\n Becerra (and Antonio Villaraigosa) called out Bianco\u2019s actions in seizing the ballots as illegal.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s why he\u2019s going to lose in the Supreme Court,\u201d Becerra said.<\/p>\n Bianco called the comments \u201cpolitical,\u201d adding with more MAGA flair, that, \u201celection fraud is against the law. There is absolutely nothing we did that was illegal. And the real issue here is the attorney general just doesn\u2019t want them counted.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThem\u201d being the ballots, the attorney general being Rob Bonta, apparently part of the Democratic cabal Bianco believes is rigging votes.<\/p>\n \u201cThe law is pretty clear,\u201d Becerra responded. \u201cAll you had to do was read the law. You cannot take ballots, confiscate them, and count them yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n True that. It\u2019s interesting to me that Becerra has not been more vocal in his involvement with the Voting Rights Project, which has been fighting the good fight to protect American democracy.<\/p>\n Show more <\/p>\n Candidates discuss how to boost housing production, address homelessness <\/p>\n On the issue of housing, Matt Mahan, the mayor of San Jos\u00e9, said he has reduced the city\u2019s homeless population by making it easier to build ADUs in people\u2019s backyards, and by reducing red tape for additional types of housing.<\/p>\n Antonio Villaraigosa said he built more market rate, affordable and workforce housing when he was mayor of Los Angeles than anyone else on the stage.<\/p>\n Steve Hilton pressed for building single-family homes in areas of the state with space, rather than forcing more housing into places where residents don\u2019t want them.<\/p>\n Chad Bianco said the issue of homelessness has \u201cnothing to do with homes,\u201d and more to do with mental health issues and drug and alcohol addiction.<\/p>\n Tom Steyer said \u201cCalifornians can\u2019t afford to live here,\u201d and there has to be a greater conversation about building more housing, and faster.<\/p>\n He also said that cities and counties \u201cdo not want new housing\u201d because they can\u2019t afford to pay the health and education costs associated with more residents, and he will solve that issue by closing tax loopholes for big businesses.<\/p>\n Mahan said that would raise costs for small businesses, and exacerbate the problem. Steyer said there would be an exemption for small businesses under his plan.<\/p>\n Show more <\/p>\n Steve Hilton\u2019s obsession with \u2018legal\u2019 immigrants <\/p>\n By\u00a0Gustavo Arellano, Columnist <\/p>\n Steve Hilton\u2019s family story is one of immigration twice over.<\/p>\n His parents were Hungarian refugees who fled their home country to Great Britain, where Hilton was born. He and his family moved to California in 2012. During tonight\u2019s debate, Hilton proudly declared he was the only immigrant on stage.<\/p>\n And then he said one of his campaign\u2019s shibboleths: \u201clegal.\u201d<\/p>\n The question before the candidates was whether they would support President Trump\u2019s deportation deluge, which has destroyed local economies and his support among the very Latinos who ushered him into office two years ago.<\/p>\n Hilton \u2014 who was right in criticizing his Democratic opponents for not answer the question of whether their party deserved to stay in power \u2014 now did the same when it came to criticizing Trump.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s an appreciation of the difference between legal and illegal immigrants,\u201d Hilton said. He claimed he had spoken to a group of \u201clegal\u201d immigrants in East Los Angeles who \u201cresent the unfairness in California\u201d of the state supposedly offering \u201cfree benefits and housing\u201d to undocumented immigrants.<\/p>\n \u201cWe did it the right way,\u201d Hilton claimed his \u201clegal\u201d immigrant fans said before CNN went to a commercial break and as other candidates tried to interject. \u201cWe are not getting fairness.\u201d<\/p>\n In Hilton\u2019s world, undocumented immigrants are the haves and those who did it the \u201cright\u201d way are the have-nots. It\u2019s a trope Republicans have leaned on ever since they figured out in the late 1980s that anti-immigrant politics can win elections, most notoriously with Proposition 187 in 1994, which passed with nearly two-thirds of the voters.<\/p>\n The idea also worked in 2024 \u2014 as I wrote in a columna that year, California Latino had soured on illegal immigrants once that population went from mostly Mexican to Central and South Americans.<\/p>\n Hilton is making a hard push for Latinos \u2014 but he\u2019s also not reading the room where many of them live. Polls have shown a sharp swing back to sympathy for undocumented immigrants after the horror show that was 2025, when ICE and Border Patrol detained not just recent arrivals but also people who had been in this country for decades whose children were American citizens.<\/p>\n Or maybe Hilton knows that but doesn\u2019t care.<\/p>\n Because all he could do was grin when Antonio Villaraigosa told him that an academic report found that Trump\u2019s deportation deluge cost California $274 billion.<\/p>\n And when Steyer said that immigrants had built this state? \u201cLegal,\u201d Hilton huffed.<\/p>\n Show more <\/p>\n Single-payer healthcare in California? Candidates voice support, doubts, incredulity <\/p>\n On the issue of healthcare, candidates were asked if they as governor would push for a single-payer healthcare system.<\/p>\n Katie Porter, who supports such a system, accused Xavier Becerra of evading the question and demanded that he give a \u201cyes\u201d or \u201cno\u201d answer.<\/p>\n Becerra said that the state should \u201cbuild\u201d toward such a system. He also said that a recent news report that said he opposed a single-payer system was inaccurate.<\/p>\n Both Antonio Villaraigosa and Matt Mahan painted their rivals as chasing a pie-in-the sky proposal that the state can\u2019t afford.<\/p>\n Villaraigosa said such a system would cost $500 billion and require the intervention of the federal government.<\/p>\n Mahan said he was hearing \u201ca lot of rhetoric at the extreme ends of the political spectrum,\u201d and that real solutions include using technology to bring down the sky-high administrative costs of healthcare in the state.<\/p>\n Tom Steyer pushed back, saying that the healthcare system is so broken that \u201cwe don\u2019t have a choice.\u201d<\/p>\n Steve Hilton said the debate about whether to \u201cgo left or to go farther left\u201d among the Democrats on the stage is how California got into the position where too few have access to health care. Part of the solution, he said, is to bring down costs by making sure that undocumented immigrants aren\u2019t getting free care in the state.<\/p>\n Several candidates, including Becerra and Porter, said that they would support providing healthcare to undocumented immigrants.<\/p>\n California became the first state in the nation to offer healthcare to all low-income undocumented immigrants, an expansion spearheaded by Gov. Gavin Newsom.<\/p>\n Newsom has since partially walked back that policy after the costs exceeded expectations.<\/p>\n Undocumented immigrants cannot access federal healthcare programs. But California provides state-funded Medi-Cal coverage costing the state $11.2 billion annually.<\/p>\n Steyer said \u201ceverybody in California has a right to healthcare,\u201d but the current system is \u201ceating up\u201d the state\u2019s budget. California has to try something different, and that is single-payer, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t have a choice,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Show more <\/p>\n Villaraigosa rebounds, but will it be enough? <\/p>\n LOS ANGELES, CA – MAY 5, 2026: Democratic gubernatorial candidate Antonio Villaraigosa during a debate with other candidates at East LA College on May 5, 2026 in Los Angeles, CA.(Gina Ferazzi \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n (Gina Ferazzi\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n By\u00a0Mark Z. Barabak, Columnist <\/p>\n Maybe it was just an off night.<\/p>\n Antonio Villaraigosa was a non-factor in last week\u2019s debate, receding from the conversation for long stretches and looking wan and every bit his 73 years when he did show up.<\/p>\n By contrasts, he was crisp, animated and assertive Tuesday night, cutting Republican Chad Bianco down to size and wheeling on Xavier Becerra in a heated back-and-forth over how best \u2014 and how realistic it is \u2014 to expand healthcare accessibiliy to every Californian.<\/p>\n It may be too little, too late.<\/p>\n Villaraigosa, lagging far behind in polls, barely qualified for the debate stage. But at least the former Los Angeles mayor and one-time Assembly speaker made his presence felt.<\/p>\n Show more <\/p>\n All the reasons why Bianco\u2019s chances are less than zero <\/p>\n By\u00a0Mark Z. Barabak, Columnist <\/p>\n Chad Bianco has amply illustrated why his chances of becoming governor of California are nil. (If there was such a thing as less than zero, that would describe the odds of Riverside County\u2019s far-right sheriff raising his hand to take the oath in January.)<\/p>\n He not only defended his prior membership in the Oath Keepers (speaking of oaths) \u2014 an anti-government extremist group heavily implicated in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.<\/p>\n He also parroted the debunked talking points of Steve Miller, Kristi Noem and others proven to have lied, er, misled the public about the events surrounding the deaths earlier this year of Minneapolis residents Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti.<\/p>\n Good, he claimed, tried to run over an ICE officer when she was shot. (She did not.) He condemned Pretti for allegedly threatening immigration officers with a gun when he was killed. (Though armed, Pretti was wielding a smartphone at the time of his death, having come to the rescue of a woman knocked down by officers.)<\/p>\n You can say this about Bianco: He\u2019s sticking to his guns. He\u2019s also sadly misinformed and positioning himself to appeal not on inch beyond the base of California Trump voters \u2014 a distinct minority in this solidly Democratic state.<\/p>\n Show more <\/p>\n Candidates discuss how they would work with, or against, Trump <\/p>\n The candidates were asked how they would work with Trump for his final two years in office.<\/p>\n Steve Hilton, a Republican endorsed by Trump, said the next governor is going to have to work with the president to get good outcomes for Californians. But Democrats disagreed.<\/p>\n Katie Porter said Trump hurts California \u201cagain and again,\u201d and that she will \u201cabsolutely stand up to him.\u201d<\/p>\n He has made it clear that he is \u201cseeking to specifically punish California,\u201d she said, including by denying wildfire relief and trying to drive jobs out of the state.<\/p>\n \u201cIf he\u2019s going to attack California, yeah, \u2018F\u2019 him,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Chad Bianco said he promised not to talk about Trump or former President Joe Biden, or to lie to voters about national forces causing problems in California, when he said those problems are being caused by Democrats in Sacramento.<\/p>\n Xavier Becerra said that when he was California attorney general, he took on Trump every time he targeted the state, eventually suing the first Trump administration more than 120 times.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd most of those cases, we were able to win,\u201d he said, citing women\u2019s and immigrants\u2019 rights, among other issues.<\/p>\n Matt Mahan said his approach would be to \u201cfight for our values,\u201d and that he is willing to challenge Trump when necessary, but \u201cthe best resistance is delivering results, showing that California\u2019s progressive values work in practice.\u201d<\/p>\n Tom Steyer called Trump a \u201ccrook\u201d who is making life harder in California in a variety of ways.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a bully, and the only thing you can do is stand up to him,\u201d Steyer said.<\/p>\n Show more <\/p>\n Chad Bianco is an Oath Keeper, and \u2018I\u2019m very proud of it\u2019 <\/p>\n By\u00a0Anita Chabria, Columnist <\/p>\n Chad Bianco, the right-wing sheriff of Riverside County, lost his cool on stage, to put it mildly. Steve Hilton has to be doing a victory boogie in his head, because he is now the only viable Republican in the race.<\/p>\n Former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa called Bianco a member of the Oath Keepers, a far-right extremist group that cemented its place in American history when some of its members stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.<\/p>\n Bianco said \u201cI\u2019m very proud of it,\u201d in response to Villaraigosa\u2019s baiting. \u201cI\u2019m very proud.\u201d<\/p>\n Later, when moderator Kaitlin Collins pushed Bianco to clarify his membership, Bianco sorta-kinda-not-really backtracked, implying he was referring to swearing an oath as part of holding office.<\/p>\n But then he added, \u201cEverybody that wants to, like, again lie and emotionally get all spun up about the Oath Keeper organization. I just would, before you do that, and I know none of you have, I want you to go read the mission statement of the Oath Keepers.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s not the first time Bianco has acknowledged his membership with the group, but it does bring fresh questions about his current status.<\/p>\n An Oath Keeper as governor of the Golden State? Perhaps even a line Republicans won\u2019t cross.<\/p>\n Show more <\/p>\n \u2018Boys, boys, enough with the bickering\u2019 <\/p>\n By\u00a0Mark Z. Barabak, Columnist <\/p>\n The debate, at least in its early phase, is a lot more orderly and comprehensible than last week\u2019s edition.<\/p>\n Yes, there is the inevitable cross-talk and candidates speaking out of turn to work in digs and challenge others on stage.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s nothing like the chaotic pileup that turned large portions of the Pomona College debate into a screaming, unintelligble cacophony.<\/p>\n Maybe the candidates are chastened.<\/p>\n \u201cBoys, boys, enough with the bickering,\u201d Katie Porter chided at one point after a heated back-and-forth involving Matt Mahan, Xavier Becerra and Tom Steyer. (Did she mention she\u2019s the only major female candidate left in the race?)<\/p>\n But credit also goes to the moderators, Kaitlan Collins and Elex Michaelson, who\u2019ve run a much tighter ship.<\/p>\n Show more <\/p>\n Sparks fly as conversation turns to sanctuary policies, immigration enforcement <\/p>\n Chad Bianco claimed to be the only person on the stage who understands California\u2019s sanctuary laws and how they harm the state by allowing criminal immigrants to remain.<\/p>\n He said ICE agents are enforcing the law, and state officials forced them to go into the street to do their work rather than allowing them to do so in California jails.<\/p>\n Antonio Villaraigosa responded that Bianco doesn\u2019t understand what he is talking about, and said California\u2019s sanctuary laws allow authorities in the state to hand over violent criminals.<\/p>\n Villaraigosa called Bianco a \u201cbully\u201d and an \u201cOath Keeper\u201d \u2014 a reference to a far-right extremist group that Bianco held membership in previously \u2014 and Bianco said he was proud of it. He later said, in response to a question from the moderators, that he was not still a member of the organization.<\/p>\n Katie Porter summed up much of her Democratic rivals\u2019 thoughts on immigration and how the California governor should respond to the Trump administration\u2019s agenda: \u201cDonald Trump sucks, and I don\u2019t think anyone who doesn\u2019t see that he is targeting and hurting Californians\u201d has \u201cbusiness being governor,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Xavier Becerra said he is the only person on stage with experience fighting the Trump administration over such issues.<\/p>\n \u201cWe stopped him from trying to force local law enforcement to do the bidding of ICE,\u201d Becerra said, and he said he would do it again as governor.<\/p>\n Tom Steyer said it is critical that California\u2019s governor stands up to ICE, which he called a \u201ccriminal organization\u201d that should be broken up. Steyer has called for the abolition of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which was created in the wake of 9\/11.<\/p>\n The moderators asked Steyer about his position that immigration agents should be criminally charged for their actions during enforcement raids, and asked if former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem should face charges.<\/p>\n \u201cIf she has given the orders to break the law in California, yes,\u201d Steyer said.<\/p>\n A California law aimed at prohibiting ICE agents from wearing masks was struck down in court earlier this year, but that didn\u2019t stop the CNN moderators from asking Bianco if masks should be allowed.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe that the state of California doesn\u2019t get to dictate what they do,\u201d he said. The Riverside County sheriff added that his own deputies don\u2019t wear masks, but he would allow them to do so in certain circumstances.<\/p>\n Show more <\/p>\n The Democrats were asked why voters should vote Democratic. Answers were elusive <\/p>\n Xavier Becerra was among candidates stepping around the thorny question of why voters should vote Democratic.<\/p>\n (Gina Ferazzi\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n By\u00a0Gustavo Arellano, Columnist <\/p>\n For the past 15 years, the Democratic Party has ruled California in a style that Mexico\u2019s old PRI party would\u2019ve looked on with envy.<\/p>\n No Republican statewide elected official since 2011. Democratic super-majority in the state Legislature. A former U.S. senator turned vice presidential candidate in Kamala Harris. A governor turned presidential hopeful in the outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom.<\/p>\n So kudos to CNN co-moderator Kaitlan Collins for kicking off the night with a question that was the equivalent of running into a rosebush: Why do the Democratic candidates feel they should have a chance to be governor considering the state is in the dire straits it\u2019s in in its Democratic one-party rule era?<\/p>\n It\u2019s a loaded question, of course. It assumes all of California\u2019s problems have been caused by the party and not climate change or Donald Trump declaring war on it or the coronavirus pandemic or many, many other things. But it was also a simple question to answer.<\/p>\n But since politics are politics, few of the candidates did.<\/p>\n Xavier Becerra was the first person to not answer Collins\u2019 question. He instead talked about how his family was able to find the American Dream (Collins was too polite or too young to tell Becerra she grew up in an era of moderate Democratic and Republican governors and a usual party split on U.S. senators.)<\/p>\n Steyer said he was the only candidate willing to stand up to \u201ccorporate special interests\u201d and didn\u2019t answer the question.<\/p>\n Matt Mahan said he was the only Democrat who had challenged the \u201cestablishment\u201d \u2014 forgetting that Antonio Villaraigosa and Becerra challenged a white Democratic establishment back in their day and Katie Porter did the same not even a decade ago when she made history in Orange County.<\/p>\n These non-answers were like softballs to the Republicans on stage, Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco.<\/p>\n After all the candidates sparred over their non-answers, Bianco roared, \u201cYou just listened to 10 to 15 minutes of why they [Democrats] don\u2019t\u201d deserve another chance to govern. \u201cThey\u2019ve broken us.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Democrats who are here who\u2019ve been responsible for one-party rule won\u2019t take responsibility,\u201d Hilton claimed, insisting that \u201call they can talk about is Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n Hilton and Bianco\u2019s answers hit the Democratic candidates, who wouldn\u2019t dare criticize their own party. Too bad they then shot themselves in the foot with their Trump worship.<\/p>\n Show more <\/p>\n Quips, interruptions as candidates jockey for spotlight <\/p>\n Steve Hilton and Tom Steyer took aim at each other with a pair of quippy lines.<\/p>\n Hilton said taxes, gas prices and other costs will all go up under Steyer and his policies.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything will be higher with Steyer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Steyer said he found it rich for hear talk about $3 per gallon gas from someone \u201cwho is owned by Donald Trump,\u201d who he said is driving up gas prices with his war in Iran.<\/p>\n Matt Mahan and Xavier Becerra also went after each other on the topic of healthcare.<\/p>\n Mahan said the \u201chigher healthcare costs that are squeezing\u201d Americans today are in part because of Becerra, and his record as California attorney general and U.S. Health and Human Services secretary.<\/p>\n He said Becerra \u201cdid nothing as AG and as HHS secretary\u201d to solve the issue. \u201cIt\u2019s as bad as ever,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Becerra said that sounded like a \u201cMAGA talking point,\u201d and noted that, under his tenure as health secretary, more Americans had health coverage than at any other time in history. It has been Trump\u2019s administration, he said, that has caused backsliding.<\/p>\n Katie Porter took the opportunity to address one of the scandals of her candidacy \u2014 that she snapped at a staffer and a journalist \u2014 by denouncing the \u201cbickering\u201d and \u201cname-calling\u201d and \u201cshouting\u201d and \u201cdisrespect\u201d on the stage.<\/p>\n Given how things were going, she said she found it surprising that \u201canyone wants to talk about my temperament.\u201d<\/p>\n Other candidates laughed.<\/p>\n \u201cYou were actually interrupting them too,\u201d Chad Bianco said.<\/p>\n But in an unexpected aside, Porter thanked Hilton for not speaking out of turn.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were told we could interject,\u201d said Villaraigosa, reacting to Porter\u2019s criticism.<\/p>\n Show more <\/p>\n Steyer is talking about changing Prop. 13, even when it doesn\u2019t sound like it <\/p>\n By\u00a0Anita Chabria, Columnist <\/p>\n Early on, Tom Steyer said something important and specific that was lost in the clutter: A pledge to reform Proposition 13, the third-rail of California politics that governs how property taxes are raised, or not.<\/p>\n Prop. 13 has long been controversial because many claim it keeps property taxes artificially low, to the detriment of state coffers. But as any homeowner knows, Prop. 13 is also what allows many homeowners to not be priced out of their own houses by taxes.<\/p>\n Reformers have argued for years, through failed ballot measures and legislation, that Prop. 13 shouldn\u2019t include corporate, industrial and commercial properties, they argue, should pay market value taxes.<\/p>\n Allowing corporations to piggyback on the homeowner protections of Prop. 13 \u201cis the biggest, the worst policy decision, and has had such consequences for so many things,\u201d Patrick Murphy, a professor of political affairs at the University of San Francisco, told me.<\/p>\n He points out that as we debate whether to tax the rich, we are allowing the richest corporations to loophole their way out of property taxes. \u201cWe talk about taxing the wealth when we don\u2019t tax the wealth that you can\u2019t hide,\u201d Murphy said.<\/p>\n Kirk Stark, a UCLA professor of tax law and policy, uses the Disney headquarters to make this point. The current Disney HQ land is taxed at a value of about $260,000 per acre, he told me. When the nearby Burbank Studios was recently sold, he said, the land there was assessed at its market value of roughly $8 million per acre. That \u201csuggests that the Disney land is taxed at substantially less than fair market value,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n But Prop. 13 is beloved by voters, and any reform will be a hard sell. Steyer has been forceful in his promise to push that reform, though he hasn\u2019t always been clear that it\u2019s Prop. 13 he\u2019s talking about.<\/p>\n Show more <\/p>\n Candidates, including Democrats, split on proposed state billionaire tax <\/p>\n Democratic candidate Katie Porter said she doesn\u2019t support the proposed billionaire tax.<\/p>\n (Gina Ferazzi\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Katie Porter and Tom Steyer split on the proposed billionaire tax that will also be on Californians\u2019 ballots this year.<\/p>\n Despite wanting to tax the highest income earners in the state more, Porter said she does not support that proposal \u2014 which would impose a one-time tax of up to 5% on taxpayers and trusts with assets valued at more than $1 billion, with some exclusions, such as property.<\/p>\n She said the billionaire tax is \u201cone-time,\u201d and won\u2019t solve the state\u2019s issues.<\/p>\n \u201cYes to a progressive tax code, yes to the wealthy paying more, but this tax is about cheap political points,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Steyer \u2014 a billionaire himself \u2014 said he would vote for the tax, but that he agrees the state needs to go further, including by taxing corporate interests in the state more.<\/p>\n Chad Bianco agreed with Porter that the billionaire tax was a bad idea.<\/p>\n Antonio Villaraigosa said California over relies on the highest earners in its tax code, leading to \u201cfeast and famine\u201d in its budgets. He said businesses and high-income earners are leaving the state, and a plan for taxing the wealthiest Americans needs to be done at the federal level.<\/p>\n Villaraigosa leaned into his experience leading the state Assembly after he was asked about the wisdom of taxing high-income businesses. Raising taxes on large businesses will make more companies leave the state, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI am the only candidate on this stage that\u2019s actually balanced two state budgets,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Show more <\/p>\n Pain at the pump in California: Who\u2019s to blame and how to fix <\/p>\n Democratic candidate Matt Mahan said during Tuesday\u2019s debate that there are ways to bring down gas prices in the state.<\/p>\n (Gina Ferazzi\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n The candidates argued over the price of gas, a subject on which they disagree vigorously.<\/p>\n Steve Hilton said we can get to $3 per gallon by restarting drilling in California and removing state gas taxes. Matt Mahan, however, said that, although there are ways to bring down gas prices in the state, Hilton is \u201clying\u201d about it being possible to get costs down to $3 a gallon in a year. <\/p>\n Mahan also said some regulations are necessary, unless California wants to go back to a time when the air in L.A. was dangerous to breathe.<\/p>\n Tom Steyer said the state needs to go after big oil companies that are \u201cripping us off at the pump.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey are burning up the planet,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n Xavier Becerra said getting rid of the state gas tax would be foolish because it funds the upkeep of roads and bridges. The real issue driving up gas prices currently, he said, is President Trump\u2019s war in Iran.<\/p>\n Becerra attacked Steyer over his former investment company that made money off fossil fuels and accused him of trying to \u201cbuy his seat\u201d with the vast fortune that he\u2019s spending in the race. <\/p>\n The back and forth started after Steyer attacked the nearly $40,000 campaign donation that Chevron gave Becerra, and which Becerra has defended taking.<\/p>\n Show more <\/p>\n Steve Hilton still can\u2019t admit that Trump lost the 2020 election <\/p>\n Republican candidate Steve Hilton takes part in Tuesday night\u2019s debate.<\/p>\n (Gina Ferazzi\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n By\u00a0Mark Z. Barabak, Columnist <\/p>\n Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election. Period. Full stop.<\/p>\n It\u2019s something Steve Hilton just can\u2019t bring himself to say, as a needling Antonio Villaraigosa repeatedly pointed out.<\/p>\n It shows the bind Hilton \u2014 and many Republicans, for that matter \u2014 face in California. And it shows why the party hasn\u2019t managed to win a statewide election in decades.<\/p>\n The party\u2019s base \u2014 not to mention the tissue-thin-skinned president \u2014 demand utterly loyalty to Trump, which demands refusing to acknowledge his indisputable 2020 defeat. Hilton, who won Trump\u2019s vital endorsement over fellow Republican Chad Bianco, hewed firmly to that line Tuesday night, deflecting by repeatedly insisting Trump is not responsible for what ails California. (Which is true to a point, but also subject to debate.)<\/p>\n Refusing to admit the obvious may please the tetchy resident of the Oval Office. But it\u2019s not likely to win favor among the substantial majority of Californians with little regard for Trump and his MAGA movement.<\/p>\n Show more <\/p>\n Candidates spar early over California\u2019s cost of living <\/p>\n The first issue candidates were asked about was affordability.<\/p>\n Xavier Becerra said Democrats deserve four more years in power in California despite the soaring cost of living, because Democrats do not \u201cleave anyone behind,\u201d and are working to make sure the economy here works for everyone.<\/p>\n Steve Hilton, however, said the Democrats on the stage are responsible for \u201ceverything that we see in California,\u201d but \u201cwon\u2019t take responsibility\u201d and just want voters to focus on President Trump.<\/p>\n Tom Steyer said costs are too high across the board, and that he is the only candidate who is \u201cwilling to take on the corporate special interests\u201d driving up costs in the state.<\/p>\n Asked why the state\u2019s population is declining, Steyer said, \u201cCalifornians can\u2019t afford to live here anymore. It starts with housing.\u201d<\/p>\n Matt Mahan said change is obviously needed. <\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t need MAGA values, but we also don\u2019t need more of the same,\u201d he said \u2014 taking a swipe specifically at Becerra.<\/p>\n Chad Bianco answered the first question of the debate \u2014 why do Democrats deserve to stay in power? \u2014 head on.<\/p>\n They don\u2019t, he said, echoing the main point of his campaign.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are going to get nothing but the same from them. They brought us here,\u201d he said. \u201cThey do not deserve another chance.\u201d<\/p>\n Democrats have ruined California with \u201cendless regulations\u201d and \u201cwe need an unbelievable change to get back\u201d to being a healthy state, he said.<\/p>\n Antonio Villaraigosa, who has been struggling in the polls, opened up by going on the attack against Hilton after the former Fox News host refused to say whether former President Joe Biden won the 2020 election. Villaraigosa also portrayed himself as a moderate who isn\u2019t afraid to criticize Democratic leaders.<\/p>\n Responding to Villaraigosa\u2019s attack on President Trump, Hilton said, \u201cIt\u2019s not Donald Trump that\u2019s given us the highest housing costs in the country. It\u2019s Democrat policies.\u201d<\/p>\n Show more <\/p>\n Debate kicks off, with moderator noting \u2018wide open\u2019 state of race <\/p>\n Moderators Kaitlan Collins and Elex Michaelson kicked off the latest high-staked gubernatorial debate with Michaelson noting that \u201cthis race is wide open.\u201d<\/p>\n There were seven candidates on stage Tuesday, one less than the previous debate at Pomona College. State Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond did not qualify this time around.<\/p>\n Show more <\/p>\n What a difference 30 days make <\/p>\n By\u00a0Mark Z. Barabak, Columnist <\/p>\n One month ago, Eric Swalwell was a leading contender in California\u2019s dozy race for governor and Xavier Becerra \u2014 an afterthought \u2014 was being urged to quit the contest, for the sake of his dignity and the good of the Democratic Party.<\/p>\n Now Becerra is the front-runner in the simmering contest and Swalwell has been politically exiled. The ignominious end of his candidacy and loss of his congressional seat, amid allegations of sexual assault and other potentially illegal misconduct, are the least of his worries.<\/p>\n It took a scandal \u2014 Swalwell\u2019s precipitous decline and fall \u2014 to awaken many Californians to the fact there was a gubernatorial contest underway.<\/p>\n Becerra was the clear-cut, if unexpected beneficiary. Many supposed that Swalwell\u2019s supporters would move to either Katie Porter or Tom Steyer, the two other leading Democratic contenders. But Becerra\u2019s solidity in this time of endless upheaval appears to be what many California voters are seeking.<\/p>\n His lead among Democrats in recent surveys, if modest, has alleviated concerns of the party being shut out in the June 2 top-two primary. Polls suggest Becerra is running even with the top Republican and GOP sacrificial lamb, Steve Hilton.<\/p>\n Becerra\u2019s standing also makes him a prime target. With less than four weeks to election day \u2013 and voting already underway \u2013 time is waning for another dramatic shake-up like the one that took place between April and May.<\/p>\n If some other candidate is going to make a move, tonight\u2019s debate is a big opportunity.<\/p>\n Show more <\/p>\n Coded messages, \u2018red boxing\u2019 and other allegations in California\u2019s testy race for governor <\/p>\n Xavier Becerra answers a question during a gubernatorial debate at Pomona College on April 28.<\/p>\n (Eric Thayer\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Intriguing updates<\/a> emerged on Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra\u2019s campaign website this week.<\/p>\n Highlighted in bright red text, and boxed by a red outline, was a game plan for attacking one of Becerra\u2019s top rivals in the California governor\u2019s race, billionaire hedge fund founder turned environmental activist Tom Steyer. <\/p>\n As ballots arrive, here\u2019s how the top 7 governor candidates stack up in the polls <\/p>\n By\u00a0Anita Chabria, Columnist <\/p>\n As we kick off tonight\u2019s debate, there are a number of candidates not on stage but on your ballot. Mine arrived in the mail today, giving me the first chance to actually see all the names laid out in their fleeting glory.<\/p>\n Yes, for those of you who haven\u2019t seen it, the ballot contains 61 candidates for governor. Tonight, you\u2019ll hear from seven of them vying for our attention before pens hit bubbles on that complicated ballot.<\/p>\n The most notable absence tonight will be Tony Thurmond, the state superintendent of public instruction, who didn\u2019t make the cut. He\u2019s polling at less than 1% of voters, about the same as disgraced former candidate Eric Swalwell. Ouch.<\/p>\n Though he has yet to drop out of the race, Thurmond has pretty much joined candidates such as Livingforgod andcountry Demott and Barack D. Obama Shaw who are clogging the ballot with no chance of winning. And in case you\u2019re wondering, yes, those are the legal names of two actual candidates.<\/p>\n The California Democratic Party, which has been pleading and screaming for weeks for someone, anyone to drop out and clear the field, released another new poll this week that shows maybe voters are starting to choose from the better-known names, but not by much.<\/p>\n Republican Steven Hilton and former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra tie in the EVITARUS Research survey at 18% each. MAGA Sheriff Chad Bianco comes in at 14%, and billionaire progressive Tom Steyer is holding on at 12%, possibly splitting voters with the other progressive, Katie Porter, who has 8% of voters in her corner.<\/p>\n Tech-backed San Jos\u00e9 Mayor Matt Mahan is still breathing, though on life support, at 7%, about where he\u2019s been stuck since Silicon Valley started pouring millions into his campaign.<\/p>\n Antonio Villaraigosa, the former L.A. mayor, is at 2% but somehow made the stage.<\/p>\n Tonight may be the last-best chance for one of these folks to break out. While it\u2019s not the last debate, it\u2019s the highest-profile, likely with the largest audience. But even if someone doesn\u2019t light up voters\u2019 excitement, tonight just may push at least one candidate into the company of Thurmond, Demott and Shaw.<\/p>\n Show more <\/p>\n Becerra\u2019s surge in California governor race draws fresh scrutiny to candidacy, long government record <\/p>\n Then-Rep. Xavier Becerra, second from left, attends a 2009 news conference with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, left, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Majority Whip James E. Clyburn.<\/p>\n (Susan Walsh \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n After winning his first race for Congress in 1992, 34-year-old Xavier Becerra credited a wave of community supporters in Los Angeles, many Latino, for backing his upstart campaign, saying he hoped his win was proof that grassroots politics was more valuable than \u201cheavy dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n More than 30 years later, Becerra, 68, is again an upstart candidate \u2014 this time for California governor. Again he is facing monied competition \u2014 including from chief Democratic rival Tom Steyer, a self-funded billionaire \u2014 and relying on Latino and other grassroots support.<\/p>\n Barabak: Not too early, not too late. Here\u2019s the sweet spot for voting in California <\/p>\n Since 2020, California has mailed an election ballot to every eligible voter in the state. The primary is June 2.<\/p>\n (Bloomberg via Getty Images)<\/p>\n For the next week or so, in homes all over California, ballots will be arriving for the June 2 primary.<\/a><\/p>\n Since 2020, a ballot has been mailed to every active registered voter<\/a> in the state \u2014 more than 23 million, by last count. The time to choose is drawing nigh.<\/p>\n Villaraigosa\u2019s dreams for a political comeback meet reality \u2014 again <\/p>\n Former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa speaks to reporters during Mayor Karen Bass\u2019 formal endorsement of him for California governor outside the L.A. Sentinel newspaper office in September.<\/p>\n (Allen J. Schaben \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Former L.A. mayor and current candidate for governor Antonio Villaraigosa wants voters to know that he navigated billion-dollar budgets, cracked down on violent crime and championed the expansion of bus and rail lines. <\/p>\n The onetime state Assembly speaker argues he\u2019s the only Democratic candidate with the experience to do the complicated job of running California. <\/p>\n How Cinco de Mayo explains tonight\u2019s CNN California governor debate <\/p>\n By\u00a0Gustavo Arellano, Columnist <\/p>\n Today is Cinco de Mayo, when Mexicans remember how their countrymen fended off far-superior European forces in the fight for democracy \u2014 but enough about Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton.<\/p>\n Tonight, those two California gubernatorial candidates will face off against five rivals in a CNN debate co-moderated by L.A. boy-gone-big time Elex Michaelson. Michaelson, who has interviewed all of them in the past, will most likely use his boyish charms to keep the conversation flowing instead of letting the debate devolve in something similar to a Trader Joe\u2019s parking lot come Saturday morning.<\/p>\n The latest Democratic Party poll shows Hilton and Becerra in a tie for the lead, so expect the others \u2014 in case you need a refresher, that\u2019ll be billionaire Tom Steyer, former L.A. Mayor-cum-Becerra frenemy Antonio Villaraigosa, former O.C. Rep. Katie Porter, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, and San Jos\u00e9 Mayor Matt Mahan \u2014 to attack, attack, attack. But a warning to those who wish to charge and lob bombs willy nilly: that\u2019s the mistake the French forces did when they lost the Battle of Puebla in 1862, the ostensible reason for Cinco de Mayo.<\/p>\n And a warning to Becerra, who\u2019s slowly starting to act as if he\u2019s moving onto the general election: Although Mexico won the Battle of Puebla, the French returned a year later and beat the Mexicans on the same battlefield. They installed a puppet emperor, Archduke Maximillian, for four years before Mexico got its act together and toppled the guy.<\/p>\n Now that I think about it, that warning is for Hilton.<\/p>\n Show more <\/p>\n How a Trump-endorsed Republican could become California\u2019s next governor <\/p>\n Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton speaks at a March 7 town hall in Mentone.<\/p>\n (Gina Ferazzi\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Steve Hilton is a former Fox News host who has unexpectedly emerged as a leading candidate in the race for governor with a message that California is a failed state in need of radical reform.<\/p>\n But his sudden rise in California politics comes a decade and a half after he pitched the U.K. Conservative Party with a very different idea: Britain could learn a lot from the Golden State.<\/p>\n Your guide to the California governor candidates\u2019 views on housing and homelessness <\/p>\n (Jim Cooke \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n The high cost of housing in California and the related homelessness crisis<\/a> are some of the most pressing issues facing the state. <\/p>\n As such, the candidates for governor have rolled out a variety of proposals, which seek to build more housing, provide more affordability for Californians and get people off the streets. <\/p>\n Column: Here\u2019s who (we think) won the chaotic California gubernatorial debate <\/p>\n Katie Porter reacts during a gubernatorial debate at Pomona College in Claremont.<\/p>\n (Eric Thayer \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Read what our columnists thought of the gubernatorial debate on April 28.<\/p>\n Eight candidates<\/a> for California governor shared a stage for 90 minutes<\/a> Tuesday night, their second of three scheduled debates before the June 2 primary.<\/p>\n Your guide to the race for California governor: Who will replace Newsom? <\/p>\n (Jim Cooke \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n After a long, sleepy start, the race for California governor has turned into a political blockbuster that\u2019s captivated the nation and the state\u2019s fickle electorate with a career-ending scandal, deluge of attack ads and a surprise long-shot candidate now challenging for the lead. <\/p>\n Welcome to your guide to the 2026 California governor\u2019s race. <\/p>\n Candidates for governor scrap in fiery debate that may grab voter attention, finally <\/p>\n Chad Bianco, from left, Tom Steyer and Steve Hilton were among candidates taking part in Tuesday night\u2019s debate held at Pomona College.<\/p>\n (Eric Thayer \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Read our report on the gubernatorial debate that took place on April 28.<\/p>\n The top candidates for California governor clashed over the high costs of gas, housing and homeowner\u2019s insurance in a testy debate Tuesday evening, a fiery exchange that may finally draw voter attention as the June 2 primary election fast approaches.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What you need to know: Seven California gubernatorial candidates faced off in a debate airing live on CNN.…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":776763,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5123],"tags":[277555,318176,1582,276,93619,14732,33599,318177,115316,2961,224,5337,4154,6176,9221,318175,27132,83020,11459],"class_list":{"0":"post-776762","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-becerra","9":"tag-black-governor","10":"tag-ca","11":"tag-california","12":"tag-california-governor","13":"tag-candidate","14":"tag-debate","15":"tag-former-u-s-secretary","16":"tag-hilton","17":"tag-la","18":"tag-los-angeles","19":"tag-losangeles","20":"tag-poll","21":"tag-race","22":"tag-stage","23":"tag-state-supt","24":"tag-tony-thurmond","25":"tag-winner","26":"tag-woman"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116526453348561666","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/776762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=776762"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/776762\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/776763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=776762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=776762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=776762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Democratic](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778052443_611_.jpeg\")
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