A correction to an earlier version of this article has been appended to the end of the article.<\/p>\n
The leading candidates vying to be the next governor of California will step onto the debate stage three separate times in the coming weeks, giving them a final chance to make their pitch to voters in prime time before ballots land in mailboxes next month.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard to overstate how important these debates are going to be,\u201d said Melinda Jackson, a political science professor at San Jose State University.<\/p>\n
The debates, the first of which is on Wednesday, come amid a major shakeup in the race following Eric Swalwell\u2019s exit this month<\/a> over sexual misconduct allegations that political experts say has finally led to voters paying attention to the contest for the state\u2019s highest office.<\/p>\n The field of candidates hasn\u2019t squared off since the first statewide televised debate in the race Feb. 3<\/a>. A second debate that had been scheduled for Mar. 24 was canceled amid criticism over the qualification criteria<\/a> that excluded lower-polling candidates.<\/p>\n Jackson said the stakes are particularly high for San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, who has struggled to break through despite the fanfare around his entrance into the race and a hefty campaign war chest funded in large part by wealthy tech donors. An independent expenditure committee supporting the mayor\u2019s gubernatorial bid raised more than $12 million in the week following Swalwell\u2019s suspension of his campaign, and is the middle of a three-week $14 million statewide ad blitz.<\/p>\n Jackson said that at the debates \u2014 he is expected to participate in all three \u2014 Mahan will need to establish his \u201ccredibility\u201d as a candidate since he doesn\u2019t have widespread name recognition beyond the Bay Area, while also differentiating himself from his tech backers.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of voters have mixed feelings about billionaires, especially tech billionaires, funding his campaign,\u201d she said. \u201cSo he\u2019s got to make the case for himself for many voters who have never heard of him before while also trying to tell his story of a middle-class upbringing, sort of the embodiment of the American dream, rather than just a tech bro.\u201d<\/p>\n Jackson expects affordability \u2014 specifically as it relates to housing, groceries and gas \u2014 to be hot button issues at the debates. She also believes President Donald Trump will be a big talking point, especially given his recent endorsement of former Fox News Host Steve Hilton, who is one of the leading Republicans in the race. Democrats are heavily favored in the race, leading Republicans 2-to-1 in voter registration statewide.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Trump factor is important to California Democrats,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cThey want a governor who will stand up to Trump in the way that Gavin Newsom has been doing in the last couple of years.\u201d<\/p>\n The political science professor said that it\u2019s an area where former U.S. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra has a \u201creal advantage because he can talk about his record as attorney general\u201d \u2014 a role he held between 2017 and 2021. During that time, he sued the Trump administration on California\u2019s behalf more than 120 times.<\/p>\n