Key takeaways from the latest California governor debate

While previous debates have been generally cordial, the gloves were off on Tuesday’s CNN debate as candidates turned combative.  

Seven of the eight remaining candidates in the race for California’s next governor showed they are not afraid to get aggressive with each other. Their main target? Former U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra, who’s been climbing in the polls.

The two Republicans, former commentator Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, largely criticized the Democrats on stage instead of each other. The other four Democrats on the stage, former U.S. Congresswoman Katie Porter, billionaire Tom Steyer, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa set their attacks on Becerra. State Superintendent Tony Thurmond was the only Democrat still in the race who did not qualify for the debate. 

Candidates spent much of the two-hour debate attacking each other’s campaigns, with details sprinkled in of their own policy ideas. Candidates were clearly working hard to distinguish themselves from the crowded field and convince voters - who are already receiving their primary ballots - that they are the person for the job.

Fighting for airtime

Most questions on Tuesday were answered partially with policy points and partially with attacks against their fellow candidates, leading those on stage to raise their hands to ask the moderators to allow them to respond. 

When it took too long to get called on for rebuttal, many of the candidates opted into simply speaking over each other.

“I can’t believe that on a stage with 30 minutes of interrupting and bickering and name-calling and shouting and disrespect … that anyone wants to talk about my temperament,” Porter at one point said, unprompted. The former Congresswoman alluded to the backlash she received over videos of her berating staff and arguing with a journalist.

Six-on-one

As the clear beneficiary of former Congressman Eric Swalwell’s departure from the race, Becerra has been shooting up in the polls, trending higher than the last in every poll that has been released in recent weeks.

His boost in support made him the clear target for every Democrat on the debate stage. Becerra faced criticisms over his time as HHS secretary, his views on single payer health care and a financial scandal involving his former employee.

Porter called Becerra out on a recent KQED report claiming Becerra told health care donors that he does not support the idea of single payer, despite publicly supporting the idea for decades. After multiple pushes by Porter to clarify his stance, Becerra stated he believes in Medicare for All.

Mahan also pushed back on Becerra’s experience, calling him a career politician and claiming he did not accomplish as much as he could have as HHS secretary.

Generally presenting as calm and mild-mannered, Becerra was adamant about responding each time his record was questioned. At times, the former HHS secretary spoke over those next to him and demanded moderators allocate time for his rebuttal.

Villaraigosa went after Becerra multiple times, at one point shouting across the room at Becerra, demanding he “be accountable” over reports that he lost 85,000 children during his time as secretary. Becerra referred to that claim as “MAGA talking points.”

Differing policy views on display

Candidates were asked to clarify their support for two controversial ideas in the state: a billionaire’s tax and single-payer health care.

A one-time five percent tax on the state’s billionaires recently passed a crucial hurdle in order to place it on the November ballot.

Porter said she supports progressive tax policy and agrees the richest need to pay more, but that this specific tax amounts to “cheap political points.”

Steyer, the only billionaire in the race, has been adamant about supporting a wealth tax. He said he will vote for the billionaire tax in November, but that it doesn’t go far enough.

Single payer once again met its doom in California recently, as the Legislature quietly killed a bill that would begin the universal health care process.

Villaraigosa said he believes health care is a right, but that the idea of single payer right now is “pie in the sky.” Hilton said single payer is a “complete disaster," while Mahan said the other candidates were not being honest about the feasibility of single payer health care.

Trump’s immigration crackdown looms large

The president was once again a main topic of conversation on Tuesday, as Democrats continually blamed many of the state’s problems on the president. 

When asked if he would push to deport undocumented farmworkers, Hilton sidestepped the issue, saying he would work with federal officers to enforce the law. An immigrant from the United Kingdom who moved to California in 2012, Hilton repeatedly said he is a legal immigrant who “did it the right way.”

Porter said it’s the governor’s job to protect every Californian, regardless of immigration status. Steyer doubled down on his plan to prosecute Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents who break the law as well as the officials who send them.

Bianco claimed no federal agents have broken the law during the president’s extreme deportation agenda and threw shade at Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good, U.S. citizens who were killed by ICE officers.