California’s gubernatorial candidates hurled verbal punches at each other on Tuesday evening in their first televised debate, as Republicans hope for a miracle at the ballot box in November.
Democrat Xavier Becerra faced off against Republican Steve Hilton this week for what will likely be the pair’s only debate before the Nov. 3 election. Their face-off, just days before voters begin receiving their ballots by mail, comes as polling indicates Beccera holds a massive lead, signaling a steep obstacle course for Hilton’s ambitions to become California’s first Republican governor since 2011.
The pair’s debate, moderated by CNN, touched on the top problems for voters, including the economy, immigration, and housing. Becerra sought to turn the race into a referendum on Hilton’s ties to President Donald Trump, who is quite unpopular in the state. Hilton sought to link Becerra to the status quo of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D-CA) administration, arguing that voters frustrated with the state’s challenging cost of living, lingering homelessness crisis, and other issues would be “insane” to elect Democrats again to lead California’s top office after they have held power for 16 years.
Hilton named Newsom eight times during the debate. Becerra brought up Trump at least 40 times, leading Hilton to clap back with one of many one-liners the pair exchanged as their hourlong exchange often derailed into bitter jabs.
“All you ever say is ‘Trump, Trump, Trump,’” Hilton told Becerra, the only time the Republican mentioned the president, “and that’s nothing but an insult to every Californian who is desperate for something to change in this state and all you’re offering is more of the same.”
The attacks
Much of the debate centered on verbal punches, as Hilton jockeyed for a game-winning one-liner.
“First of all, I want to thank CNN for bringing Xavier out of hiding; he’s been barely seen since the primary,” he ribbed Becerra, referencing the Democrat’s low profile since the June election.
At another point, Becerra said his opponent is “trying to convince the people of California that proposing Trump tax policies, promising Trump tax cuts — believing you’re going to get better results than Trump has gotten so far to date.”
“Isn’t it the definition of insanity?” Becerra added. “You do the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.”
Hilton fired back: “Like voting Democrat.”
Hilton also hurled insults, bringing up a report that one of Becerra’s colleagues in former President Joe Biden’s Cabinet had described the Democrat as an “idiot” and “b****-a**.”
At one point, Hilton claimed Becerra had “never created a job” in his 36 years as a politician.
“You’ve never actually had to make any money of your own,” Hilton said. “All you’ve ever done is spend other people’s money in every government job you’ve had.”
The economy
The two men’s opposition to a proposed wealth tax proved to be one rare point of agreement. Becerra bucked his party on the issue, refusing to endorse a ballot measure voters will be considering on Nov. 3. The state’s Democratic Party is pushing Proposition 40, which would levy a one-time 5% tax on residents worth over $1 billion.
“It’s a one-time tax, and it isn’t predictable and sustainable,” Becerra said. “We need to have policy that everyone sees is fair … [and] sustains us going forward.”
The pair split into their usual camps when Becerra slammed Hilton’s proposal to cut taxes. The Democrat said Hilton’s plan to eliminate state taxes on the first $150,000 of income and a flat 8% tax rate on income above that level “would damage our state even further.”
Hilton pushed back.
“It’s very important we have this debate — and the simple point is that the quickest way to get more money in people’s pockets is for the government to take less out,” the Republican said. “That’s what I’m going to be doing.”
While he appears to face a long-shot bid at claiming the governor’s mansion, Hilton focused most of his attacks on Becerra based on the Democrat’s years in power, both in California and as Secretary of Health and Human Services during the Biden administration.
“This is the most amazing state in the most amazing country on earth, and it’s because we’ve got this rebel spirit that we do things differently,” Hilton said. “People build. We can grow anything, build anything, make anything, invent anything. That spirit is being crushed by this bloated nanny-state bureaucratic government that Xavier has been a part of for 36 years and would continue. It’s time to try something different.”
The emphasis came up again during a discussion about thousands of film and TV jobs that Los Angeles has lost in recent years.
“Who’s been in charge when all those jobs have gone?” Hilton questioned.
“Donald Trump,” Becerra replied.
“The Democrats,” Hilton said.
Housing
Hilton wants to build 10 new cities to help solve California’s housing crisis. The Republican candidate vowed to cap government fees and regulations on a new home in California at $50,000 if he wins the election.
“We have got so much space that we could be building in,” he said.
Becerra emphasized his hopes of cutting back administrative and bureaucratic hurdles to getting construction permits, and boosting down-payment assistance programs to tackle the housing issue.
Immigration
Becerra sought to tie Hilton to Trump’s aggressive deportation crackdown that ICE has been carrying out, in one of the Democrats’ many attempts to link his rival to the president.
“You seem to welcome immigrants who look like you but deport immigrants who look like me,” Becerra, the son of Mexican immigrants, told Hilton. “We need a governor who will protect everyone who works hard. I don’t need to be here and listen to you say you’ll enforce Trump’s laws but not our state laws.”
“What a disgraceful remark that was,” Hilton lashed back.
Hilton noted his own background as a child of European immigrants, and said he would prefer to “turn down the temperature” on the immigration debate, a comment signaling his desire to distance himself from the president.
The Republican dodged questions on whether he would back reversing California’s sanctuary law limiting police cooperation with immigration agents and direct California authorities to aid federal deportations.
Artificial intelligence
AI has become one of the most pressing issues nationwide in recent weeks.
When pressed on whether there should be limits on data centers that power AI, Becerra said he would determine where they could be built based on whether it would benefit the community.
Hilton came down fairly hard on AI, supporting more regulation and laws overseeing AI companies. He also called for “an immediate pause” on AI technology in classrooms.
“I think that should be led in California because this industry is here,” Hilton said.
“We lead this industry, and I think we need to lead the regulation of this industry as well,” he said.
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Hilton raised concerns about Becerra’s ties to major tech companies. In defense, Becerra cited his record of legal action against firms such as Meta and Amazon, and sought to paint his opponent as an inept politician.
“We have to fight to keep the California dream, but you can’t do it with someone who’s never served, with someone who’s never balanced a budget,” Becerra said.