BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK\/KBFX) \u2014 Voters across California will get a major look at the candidates running for governor later this month, as CBS stations statewide prepare to host one of the largest debates of the race.<\/p>\n
The CBS California Governor\u2019s Debate is set for Tuesday, April 28 at 5:30 p.m., bringing together top candidates in the 2026 race just weeks before the primary election.<\/p>\n
How to watch locally<\/p>\n
Viewers in Kern County can watch the debate:<\/p>\n
The debate will be carried across CBS stations throughout California, including affiliates like Bakersfield, expanding access for voters statewide.<\/p>\n
What to expect<\/p>\n
The live debate is a joint venture between CBS LA, CBS Bay Area and CBS Sacramento and is being hosted in collaboration with the Asian Pacific American Public Affairs Association at Pomona College\u2019s Bridges Auditorium.<\/p>\n
The event will feature leading candidates based on polling and fundraising, offering one of the most high-profile forums of the race ahead of the primary, according to CBS News Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
Participants in the debate include:<\/p>\n
Xavier Becerra (D)Chad Bianco (R)Steve Hilton (R)Matt Mahan (D)Tom Steyer (D)Tony Thurmond (D)Antonio Villaraigosa (D)Katie Porter (D)*<\/p>\n
*Former Congressperson Katie Porter (D) was invited but has yet to formally accept.<\/p>\n
Moderators and coverage<\/p>\n
The debate will be moderated by a panel of CBS journalists from across the state, including veteran anchor Pat Harvey, along with reporters and political experts from CBS stations in L.A., San Francisco and Sacramento.<\/p>\n
A special \u201cCountdown to the Debate\u201d pre-show will air starting at 5:00 p.m., featuring candidate arrivals and live analysis ahead of the event.<\/p>\n
Why it matters<\/p>\n
The debate comes at a critical time in California\u2019s gubernatorial race, with voters set to receive primary election ballots shortly after the event.<\/p>\n
Comment with Bubbles<\/p>\n
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With no clear frontrunner in a crowded field, debates like this could play a major role in shaping momentum heading into the June primary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK\/KBFX) \u2014 Voters across California will get a major look at the candidates running for governor…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":281075,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[151,153,152],"class_list":["post-281074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield-headlines","tag-bakersfield-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=281074"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281074\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/281075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=281074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=281074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=281074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}