Less than a month to go before the 2026 primary election, a crowded field with over 60 candidates looking to become California’s next governor will soon be narrowed down to top two candidates.

To help Californians take their pick, NBC Los Angeles and its sister station Telemundo Los Angeles are set to host a California gubernatorial debate at the Skirball Cultural Center Wednesday evening, featuring seven top-polling candidates — Xavier Becerra, Chad Bianco, Steve Hilton, Matt Mahan, Katie Porter, Tom Steyer, Antonio Villaraigosa

One day before NBCLA’s debate, the candidates squared off in East Los Angeles for the CNN gubernatorial debate Tuesday evening.

Here are five key moments from the two-hour event.

Becerra, biggest target of the night

Xavier Becerra appears to have benefited most from the exit of Rep, Eric Swalwell from the governor’s race after sexual misconduct and assault allegations surfaced. After he surged in the most recent polls, Becerra was the most obvious target, with other candidates going after his records as former Health and Human Services secretary. And San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan particularly went after Becerra hard.

During the opening remarks, Mahan, the youngest candidate in the group, emphasized there should be a change in Democratic leadership and squeezed in his denunciation for Becerra.

“We don’t need MAGA values, but we also don’t need more of the same,” Mahan said. “But we should be honest, the experience we hear from Secretary Becerra didn’t lead to better outcomes. It led to 85,000 migrant children who were lost, more fraud in our health care system.”

Mahan later called Becerra “a career politician,” suggesting that he has spent years in public office without producing results.

“Higher health care costs that are squeezing families today, worse health outcomes, and as fraudulent and wasteful spending in health care grew, Xavier Becerra did nothing as (California attorney general) and as (Health and Human Services secretary.)

Tom Steyer, the billionaire candidate who has spent most of his own money for the gubernatorial campaign, slammed Becerra for taking campaign donations from Chevron. Records show Becerra’s campaign accepted a $39,200 contribution from Chevron.

Trump, second biggest target of the night

President Donald Trump is not running for California governor, and he was not on the debate stage. But he was one of the most criticized figures in the contest run the deep blue state.

Each candidate touted his or her record of fighting back against Trump’s policies.

Becerra shared that he sued the first Trump administration over 120 times when he was the California attorney general. Mahan boasted pushing back against Trump’s immigration policies in San Jose. Katie Porter made it clear she has no problem saying “F Trump” especially when he attacks California.

And all Democratic candidates blamed Trump for high gas prices — one of the biggest pain points for Californians these days — saying the surge in prices was caused by Trump’s war in Iran.

In California’s governor’s race, some voters are seeing ballots packed with dozens of names, including a few that are raising eyebrows. Mekahlo Medina reports for the NBC4 News at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, May 5, 2026.

Billionaire tax proposal

A proposal to tax billionaires in California was discussed although it has not made the ballot yet. (Supporters said they’ve collected the required number of signatures, but they must be verified by the state.)

The 2026 Billionaire Tax Act seeks to impose a one-time tax of about 5% of billionaires’ total wealth. Supporters want to use the tax money to pay for health care, education and social programs.

Steyer said he supports the idea of taxing billionaires like himself, adding he would vote yes if the initiative is on the ballot in November. But Steyer also said the current proposal is not good enough; it needs to go further by taxing billionaires more than once.

In response, Porter, who opposes the proposal over how the billionaire tax money would be used, accused Steyer of trying to score “cheap political point” by supporting the plan.

Villaraigosa also said he opposed the billionaire tax, saying the proposal would drive away billionaires from the state — something Newsom said when explaining why he opposes the proposal.

The Oath Keepers

If Chad Bianco hasn’t let voters know that he is a right-wing candidate, they may know now. The Riverside County sheriff and Trump supporter — although he didn’t win the president’s endorsement — said he’s a proud oath keeper, as in he has sworn an oath multiple times during his law enforcement career.

When being pressed about being part of the extremist group Oath Keepers, Bianco invited people to read the group’s mission statement instead of getting “emotionally spun up.”

But when asked whether he considers himself a member of the Oath Keepers, Bianco said no.

How many times do we have to talk about Katie Porter’s ‘temperament?’

As the debate became more heated, there were numerous times the candidates were talking over one another. There, Porter stood aghast.

“I can’t believe that on a stage with 30 minutes of interrupting and bickering and name calling and shouting and disrespect for everyone up here who’s stepping into public service, that anyone wants to talk about my temperament,” Porter said.

In response to Villaraigosa’s attack ad, which showed Porter berating her staff member and cuting off a reporter during an interview, the former congresswoman said she has taken accountability “hundreds of times” for her actions and apologized. (She said she continued to work with the particular staff member for four years after the incident.)

“I’m able to follow the rules, I’m able to say I’m sorry, and I’m able to do better,” Porter said, adding she hopes Californians can decide for themselves about her temperament based on her performance on the debate stage.

“And if these bullies, these boys bullying and bickering hasn’t been enough to raise questions about their temperament, I would really challenge that,” she said.