Another poll released Tuesday showed the percentage of undecided voters in the gubernatorial primary was growing, and another statewide debate tonight wasn\u2019t likely to add any clarity.<\/p>\n
The playing field was confused enough as the campaign closed in on five weeks before the official June 2 primary election day and a week before ballots start landing in mailboxes of more than 23 million registered voters.<\/p>\n
Then tonight\u2019s CBS News debate at Pomona College in Los Angeles County added two candidates, and used five moderators plus student questions in a confusing three-section format, culminating in a predictably confusing outcome.<\/p>\n
Before the candidates\u2019 presentations \u2013 not really a debate, but rather another 90 minutes of questions and answers \u2013 CBS commentators called California\u2019s 2026 gubernatorial campaign \u201ca wide-open field,\u201d and \u201ca fractured field.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aired on CBS stations in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento, the televised event aimed to highlight candidates\u2019 positions on the top issues identified by prospective voters in a poll conducted April 23-27 by CBN News \u2013 affordability, gas prices, health care costs, education, homelessness, wildfires, ICE and Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
The evening was more rough-and-tumble than last Wednesday\u2019s event in San Francisco, but again, no candidate broke away from the scrum, and the playing field just got muddier.<\/p>\n
None of the eight candidates voiced any substantially new campaign messages tonight, as they all followed their same game plans. What did change was the heightened energy level, perhaps an indication of a growing sense of urgency.<\/p>\n
The first major poll since the April 22 Inside California Politics governor\u2019s \u201cdebate\u201d released today showed the percentage of undecided prospective voters has grown, to 26 percent.<\/p>\n
Trailing that number in the poll released today were Republicans Steve Hilton at 16% and Chad Bianco at 10%, and Democrats Tom Steyer at 15%, Xavier Becerra at 13%, Katie Porter at 9%, Matt Mahan and Antonio Villaraigosa at 4% and Tony Thurmond at 1%.<\/p>\n
The number of players, mixed signals and ambiguous rules weren\u2019t the only factors that muddled the messaging. The CBS moderators used different questioning strategies, and directed questions in an uneven manner that seemed to give higher polling candidates more opportunities \u2013 and more air time.<\/p>\n
Unlike last week, and in contrast to typical methods used in most political debates, each candidate did not get a chance to answer each of the moderators\u2019 and students\u2019 questions.<\/p>\n
Moderators turned to front-running Democrat Steyer and Republican Bianco 11 times each, while front-running Republican Hilton was asked nine questions.<\/p>\n
Becerra, the next highest polling candidate in Tuesday\u2019s poll, answered eight questions, as did Villaraigosa.<\/p>\n
Mahan, in a last-ditch effort to boost his long-shot candidacy, was nearly shut out, receiving only six questions, one fewer than Thurmond. Mahan\u2019s support in Tuesday\u2019s poll results was 4%, compared to Thurmond\u2019s 1%.<\/p>\n
Mahan was able to repeat the themes of his \u201cBack to Basics\u201d campaign and tout his successes as mayor of San Jose, especially with regard to homelessness.<\/p>\n
He was more aggressive in going after Becerra and the other candidates. When he criticized Becerra for lax oversight of California insurance companies when he was attorney general, Mahan was praised by Hilton and Villagairosa.<\/p>\n
Here are some key soundbites from each candidate:<\/p>\n
Hilton: \u201cIn my first budget, there will be $3 gas, I\u2019ll cut electric costs in half, and make everyone\u2019s first $100,000 tax free.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steyer: \u201cI\u2019m the person who is the change agent. I am against repealing the gas tax. We should have a windfall profits tax instead.\u201d<\/p>\n
Becerra: \u201cThe governor\u2019s office is not a place for training wheels. I\u2019ll fight for the hardest working and the lowest paid workers. We need to keep the gas tax \u2013 you have to fund roads, bridges, and quality infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bianco: “We have to blame the absolutely failed Democrat-Progressive agenda. Regulations and taxes have to go. Don\u2019t worry about what Trump is doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Porter: \u201cWe need housing to grow jobs. We should provide two free years at CSU, and free child care. I\u2019m the only candidate who refuses corporate donations \u2013 I am not for sale at any price.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mahan: \u201cI\u2019m the only candidate who will suspend, then reform the gas tax, and remove barriers to building new housing. Education changed my life. We need to cut administrative overhead in our schools\u2026and reward teachers whose students grow faster.\u201d<\/p>\n
Villaraigosa: \u201cLet\u2019s provide first-time buyer assistance, and build 150,000 new housing units. I want to be transformational.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thurmond: \u201cA better California is possible. We can build two million housing units by 2030, taxing billionaires and fighting back for working people.\u201d<\/p>\n