Eight contenders for California governor clashed in a fast‑paced, frequently unruly debate at Pomona College in Claremont on Tuesday night, with Xavier Becerra taking centre stage as rivals from both parties tried to halt his late surge ahead of the June 2026 primary.
The race was dramatically reshaped earlier this month when Democratic congressman Eric Swalwell quit after being accused of sexual assault, opening up a lane that Becerra has been quick to occupy.
The former California attorney general and US health and human services secretary has since climbed in polls, pulled in fresh endorsements and, crucially, become the main target in a crowded field where at least five candidates are still bunched together.
The stakes are unusually high. In California's nonpartisan primary system, only the top two vote‑getters in June, regardless of party, advance to November's ballot to succeed term‑limited Democratic governor Gavin Newsom.
With millions of postal ballots due to land on doormats within a week, Tuesday's 90‑minute showdown, hosted by CBS California affiliates and Asian Pacific American Public Affairs, offered perhaps the last big televised chance to break through.
Xavier Becerra Becomes The Punchbag — And Leans In
Xavier Becerra did not just stand at the literal centre of the stage; politically, the evening revolved around him. For months he had struggled to gain traction so badly that he was excluded from a March debate. On Tuesday, almost everyone wanted a piece of him.
San Jose's mayor, Matt Mahan, was midway through a question about wildfire response when he abruptly swerved to Becerra's record in Washington, accusing him of mishandling Covid‑19, monkeypox and the influx of migrant children during his time in President Joe Biden's cabinet.
Conservative pundit turned candidate Steve Hilton seized on Becerra's proposal to declare a state of emergency to freeze home insurance policies and stop more Californians losing cover.
Waving an arm towards the former secretary, Hilton demanded: 'Have you read the statute that sets out the governor's emergency powers?' When Becerra said he had, Hilton shot back: 'Then you would know that what you're proposing is not in there. You can't do it.' Becerra replied simply: 'That's not correct.'
Pressed afterwards, Becerra defended both his health record and his insurance idea. He argued he had had to 'fix problems created by the first Trump administration' and shrugged off the barrage as the price of momentum, remarking that 'that's what happens when you shoot to the top.'
On healthcare, he sharpened his elbows further. Asked how he would respond if enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies expire, he used the moment to attack Donald Trump and Hilton, the former president's endorsed hopeful. 'The first thing we have to do is stop Steve Hilton's daddy,' Becerra said, insisting California needed a governor who would 'fight Donald Trump, not agree with him'.
When Hilton countered that Democrats 'can't do anything but blame Trump' and claimed federal health spending was still rising, Becerra pounced: 'I think that's a no.' He later reminded both the audience and his critics that 'the only person who's actually run a healthcare system, the largest system in the world, is me', adding that he had 'expanded healthcare beyond what we had ever seen in the country's history.'
California Governor Race Debate Descends Into Noise
If voters tuned in hoping for quiet, orderly exchanges, they will have been disappointed. All eight candidates — Becerra, Tom Steyer, Katie Porter, Mahan, Hilton, Riverside County sheriff Chad Bianco, state schools chief Tony Thurmond and former Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa — repeatedly talked over one another, prompting moderators to threaten to cut microphones.
At times, candidates were given only seconds to respond, with little chance to rebut attacks. It made for raw television but not always for clarity. Ryan Kossarian, a Pomona politics student chosen to ask the first student question, summed up what many in the hall appeared to feel, dryly observing: 'Wow, that was a bit of a mess.'
CBS moderator Pat Harvey tried to keep the tone light, joking: 'Thank you all of you for having coffee before you came out here tonight. This has been electric.'
After the event, fellow moderator Sara Sadhwani suggested the format at least allowed Californians to gauge the candidates' temperaments, not just their talking points.
Those personalities did stand out. Bianco, one of the two Republicans on stage, was easily the angriest voice in the room, denouncing 'failed Democrat policies' and warning students that if any Democrat became governor, 'these kids are all going to have to move.' By contrast, Hilton kept his attacks more clipped, making their temperamental contrast as obvious as their policy similarities.
California Governor Race Debate Reveals Competing Visions
Matt Mahan, who only entered the race in January, worked hard to present himself as the pragmatic middle ground. He denounced California's gas tax as regressive and accused 'wealthier EV owners' of paying less than rural and working‑class drivers to maintain roads. When Becerra promised to freeze insurance rates, Mahan waved it away with a curt 'Xavier's plan won't work.'
He also tried to carve out an alternative on healthcare funding. To the Republicans, he said Trump‑era Medicaid cuts were 'cruel.' To progressive rivals like Steyer and Porter, who support single‑payer healthcare, he argued that 'we don't know how to pay for single‑payer' and pointed to other countries struggling with long waits and cuts.
His sharpest jab came when he accused Becerra of having 'never met a crisis that he couldn't ignore.' Becerra hit back with a pointed reference to the present, asking if Mahan was 'wearing a mask' or 'worrying about catching monkeypox' now, arguing that the crises had been 'dealt with.'
Katie Porter, the only woman in the race, leaned heavily into her established persona as a single mother under strain, pitching tuition‑free college and free childcare as 'real affordability solutions.' At the same time, she aimed several of the evening's most stinging personal shots.
At one point, as men on stage bickered over each other and moderators struggled to regain control, Porter dropped her head into her hands and muttered: 'This is worse than my teenagers at dinner.'
She saved her most forensic energy for Tom Steyer. When the billionaire laid out his plan to sue fossil fuel companies for climate‑driven disasters, Porter cut in to remind viewers of his past investments in the sector. 'So fossil fuel companies who were causing great damage while you were investing in them?' she asked. Later she accused him directly of paying 'the lowest tax rate on this stage' while using billions 'made off fossil fuels' to bankroll his run.
Steyer countered by highlighting that Pacific Gas & Electric had spent at least $8 million opposing him and cast himself as the lone 'change agent.'
Becerra In The Spotlight As Fractious California Governor Debate Leaves Race Wide Open
For all the fireworks, many fundamentals remain unresolved. Polls still show a large bloc of undecided voters, and none of the candidates produced a moment so commanding that it clearly reorders the contest. Becerra leaves Claremont as the man to beat but also as the man everyone now feels licensed to attack.
Eight candidates for California governor clashed in a lively debate in Claremont, California, on Tuesday night, each trying to break away from a tightly packed field in which five contenders are polling closely together. The televised event, sponsored by CBS California and Asian Pacific American Public Affairs, offered a crucial chance to gain momentum in the race to succeed Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, who is barred from standing again because of term limits.
The leading group includes three Democrats — former hedge fund manager Tom Steyer, former California attorney general and Biden administration cabinet secretary Xavier Becerra, and former congresswoman Katie Porter — alongside two Republicans, ex‑Fox News host Steve Hilton and Riverside County sheriff Chad Bianco.
With many voters still undecided, there remains scope for one or two hopefuls to pull ahead before the June vote, and under California's nonpartisan primary system, the two candidates with the highest number of votes will progress to the November election regardless of party label.
