Takeaways from the latest California governor’s debate
By Arit John, CNN
(CNN) — Eight candidates seeking to become California’s next governor met for an unwieldy debate Tuesday, where the candidates discussed their plans to make the state more affordable and sought to gain ground in an unsettled field.
The debate, hosted by CBS News affiliates in California, comes as the race’s remaining candidates seek to carve out a lane for themselves after former Rep. Eric Swalwell’s exit from the contest earlier this month.
Xavier Becerra, a former Health and Human Services secretary under former President Joe Biden, has risen in recent polls, seen a boost in fundraising, and earned more endorsements. But as Tuesday’s debate made clear, that rise has also come with new attacks from his opponents in both parties, including a pair of attack ads released by billionaire investor Tom Steyer.
The two Republicans and six Democrats sparred with each other – and, at times, the moderators – during the 90-minute event in Claremont, California.
In addition to Becerra and Steyer, the other candidates on stage were Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, former Fox News host Steve Hilton, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, former US Rep. Katie Porter, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
Tuesday’s event was one week before CNN hosts its debate in the governor’s race on May 5.
Becerra at center stage
Becerra entered as the candidate with the most momentum and the largest target on his back. Throughout the debate, he emphasized his past jobs as HHS secretary and California attorney general. But he also put aside a nice guy reputation with a few shots at his opponents.
As the debate turned to healthcare, the moderators asked Becerra how he would respond to the expiration of the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium subsidies. The former HHS secretary used the moment to criticize President Donald Trump and his endorsed candidate, Hilton.
“The first thing we have to do is stop Steve Hilton’s daddy,” Becerra said. “We need someone who’s going to fight Donald Trump, not agree with him.”
Hilton responded by saying Democrats “can’t do anything but blame Trump,” leading to a back-and-forth between the two candidates.
“Steve, would you oppose Donald Trump’s cuts?” Becerra said.
“The actual amount of money going into healthcare from the federal government is going up this year,” Hilton said.
“I think that’s a no,” Becerra said.
The former secretary also responded to Mahan, after the mayor said Becerra was “defending the status quo and just blaming Trump.”
“The only person who’s actually run a healthcare system, the largest system in the world, is me,” Becerra said. “I expanded healthcare beyond what we had ever seen in the country’s history, so if you want to talk about what works, ask somebody who actually did it.”
Mahan tries to make his mark
The San Jose mayor entered the race in January, later than much of the rest of the field, and has sought to define himself as a common-sense moderate.
He pushed back on California’s gas tax, calling it regressive and arguing that rural and working-class Californians pay more to protect the roads than “wealthier EV owners.” After Becerra said he would call for a freeze on home insurance rates, Mahan dismissed the idea, saying “Xavier’s plan won’t work.”
And when it came to funding healthcare, Mahan said everyone on the stage had it wrong. He told Hilton and Bianco that the Trump administration’s cuts to Medicaid are “cruel.” To Steyer and Porter, who support a single-payer, government funded healthcare system, he said, “We don’t know how to pay for single-payer, and we see countries with single-payer struggling with long lines and cuts to care.”
He also renewed his attacks on Becerra’s record handling the Covid-19 pandemic; the breakout of mpox, also known as monkeypox; and the surge of immigrant children and teenagers crossing the US-Mexico border.
“The secretary has never met a crisis that he couldn’t ignore,” Mahan said.
“You’re not wearing a mask, are you, Matt? You are not worrying about catching monkeypox, right?” Becerra fired back. “We were able to deal with these crises.”
Porter calls out Steyer’s past fossil fuel investments
Porter has spent the last several months seeking to rehabilitate her campaign after a pair of viral videos showed her in an unflattering light. In one of those videos, Porter threatened to end an interview with CBS News correspondent Julie Watts, one of Tuesday’s debate moderators.
This time around, Porter’s tense moments were with those on stage. She pushed back on Bianco after he interrupted her while she was speaking. And as Steyer explained how he would advance an effort to allow the state to sue fossil fuel companies over climate disasters, Porter interjected to note Steyer’s past investments in fossil fuels.
“Let’s be clear, the oil companies have been polluting – and knowingly polluting – for 45 years,” Steyer said. “It is a reason we’re getting warm, and it is a reason we’ve had these fires that have dramatically hurt people in Altadena and Pacific Palisades.”
“So fossil fuel companies who were causing great damage while you were investing in them?” Porter said.
When it was her turn to speak, Porter doubled down, saying “profiteers” should also have to pay for the cost of climate change-related disasters.
“You pay the lowest tax rate on this stage, and yet you made the billions that you’re using to fund your campaign off fossil fuels,” Porter said, addressing Steyer.
Steyer defended himself by pointing to Pacific Gas & Electric spending at least $8 million on efforts against his campaign. The billionaire said oil and gas companies oppose him because “I’m the person on this stage who’s the change agent.”
The-CNN-Wire
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