Rivals target Becerra in combative CNN debate for California governor
The debate knives were out for Democrat Xavier Becerra Tuesday night as four Democrats and two Republicans attempted to chip away at the former state attorney general’s momentum in the race to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Moderated by CNN reporters Kaitlan Collins and Elex Michaelson, the 120-minute CNN debate was at times a raucous, combative event as the candidates rushed to define themselves ahead of the June 2 primary. Tuesday evening’s event didn’t devolve into the chaos of a cacophonous debate last week but was far livelier than a relatively sleepy one last month.
Voters are already beginning to cast ballots at early voting sites. Only two candidates, regardless of party affiliation, will advance to the general election.
A California Democratic Party poll released Monday showed Becerra as the top Democrat in the race, tied at 18% with Republican Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host who was endorsed by President Donald Trump last month.
Here’s what stood out in the debate.
Democrats attack Becerra’s leadership skills
Becerra has anchored his pitch on his more than three decades of political experience, from the California Assembly to Congress to serving as U.S. secretary of health and human services under former President Joe Biden. On stage, he repeatedly argued he was uniquely qualified to take on President Donald Trump given his experience suing the first Trump administration as attorney general.
“He’s the real menace to California,” Becerra said.
Becerra’s rivals sought to make that tenure a liability by questioning his management style, his focus on Trump, the origins of his political contributions and a corruption scandal involving a top aide.
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, who has ticked up in polls but remains in the single digits, was Becerra’s loudest adversary. Mahan knocked Becerra for blaming California’s affordability crisis on Trump and referenced reporting that some in the Biden administration wanted Becerra out of his cabinet post for allegedly bungling the handling of the migrant crisis.
“What have those 30 years of your leadership gotten us?” Mahan said.
Billionaire Tom Steyer went back and forth with Becerra over the latter’s decision to accept the maximum $39,200 campaign contribution from Chevron. Former Rep. Katie Porter pressed him over his commitment to single-payer healthcare after KQED reported Becerra privately told the California Medical Association that he would not press for the policy as governor. And former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa questioned Becerra’s role in a corruption scandal involving a former aide who pleaded guilty to siphoning funds from Becerra’s dormant campaign account to pad his salary.
Becerra reiterated that he had no knowledge of the scheme and had not been accused of wrongdoing. He said he still supported a path to single-payer health insurance and accused Steyer of hypocrisy when it came to the Chevron donation, noting Steyer made millions from investments in fossil fuels that he’s used to self-fund his campaign.
Chad Bianco defends his membership in a far-right militia
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican running a few points behind Hilton, has previously acknowledged he joined the Oath Keepers, a far-right militia group, in 2014. The group’s leaders went on to play a leading role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
When Villaraigosa called Bianco an Oath Keeper in a back-and-forth over immigration, seemingly referring to the militia group, Bianco said he was “very proud of it.”
Asked by Collins if he meant he was proud to have taken an oath of office or joined the militia, Bianco said the former, but went on to defend the group’s mission statement. When Villaraigosa said he’d seen Oath Keepers swarm the Capitol, Bianco reacted with outrage.
“I saw politicians molesting kids,” Bianco said. “Does that mean you molest kids?”
“What?” Villaraigosa said in shock.
“Exactly,” Bianco said. “Don’t pull those stupid statements out and expect not to be called out.”
Candidates described Newsom’s tenure in a single word
Most of the candidates on stage said California needed major changes. Republicans Hilton and Bianco were characteristically blunt, blaming Democrats for the state’s high costs, the homeless crisis and a continuing exodus of residents.
Villaraigosa echoed that in part. He said it was “the Democrats who brought us here” and argued he would take on his own party if elected. Other Democrats tread more carefully. Mahan said the state government needed to become more efficient and not blame Trump for all of its problems. Steyer vowed to take on corporate interests that he said were inflating prices.
No one mentioned Newsom until prompted by the moderators, who asked the candidates to assign a single word to the Democrats’ time in office.
Villaraigosa called it “performative,” Porter called it “bold,” Steyer chose “progressive,” Hilton described it as “failed,” Bianco labeled it a “failure,” Becerra called Newsom’s tenure “game-changing” and Mahan chose the word “incomplete.”
Some Democrats revive the promise of single-payer healthcare
Some of the sharpest exchanges occurred over single-payer healthcare, a policy vision that Newsom embraced on the campaign trail and abandoned in office when faced with the daunting price tag and political hurdles.
The policy faces steep hurdles to implementation. Top Democrats in the Legislature shelved the latest attempt at so-called CalCare without a hearing last month.
That hasn’t stopped candidates from making promises — sometimes contradicting their previous records. Steyer, who changed his tune on the issue since his run for president in 2020, acknowledged it would be a “big job to get us to single payer” but said it needed to happen to help ensure universal access to health care and control costs.
Porter, who questioned whether the policy was realistic last year, cast herself as a staunch defender of it, and of healthcare for undocumented immigrants. She argued forgoing that coverage would continue to “push us to the brink.”
Mahan accused his fellow Democrats of “not being honest” about costs associated with the policy and proposed other measures to bring down costs, like reducing administrative overhead. Villaraigosa called single payer a “pie in the sky” idea given the state’s fiscal challenges.
Hilton, who spent decades in Britain before moving to the U.S., said he was the only candidate on stage with firsthand experience of single payer and that it had “nearly killed me.”
Becerra touted his roll in the Biden administration, which rolled out subsidies for Affordable Care Act enrollees that Republicans let expire last year. He said he had been “consistent for over 30 years” about his desire to work towards single-payer healthcare.
This won’t be the last time candidates meet on stage
Voters who haven’t been satiated by CNN’s two-hour debate will get another chance to hear from the same group of candidates Wednesday night.
Los Angeles TV station KNBC will host Wednesday’s debate alongside KVEA, a Telemundo affiliate. That event begins at 7 p.m. and viewers in Sacramento can watch it on local NBC affiliate KCRA or Telemundo affiliate KSCO. The event will also stream for free on nbcla.com or telemundo52.com. Reporters with the stations will moderate the event.
