The top candidates for California governor tonight finally showed the frustration \u2013 perhaps even desperation \u2013 of failing to break out of the pack as the finish line approaches.<\/p>\n
After weeks of street campaigning, social media posts, spending millions and politely sharing stages across California, five Democrats and two Republicans sharpened their messaging and focused their attacks in a San Francisco debate.<\/p>\n
Polls released earlier this week showed some separation of three candidates \u2013 Democrats Xavier Becerra and Tom Steyer and Republican Steve Hilton \u2013 from the others, and the trio were on the receiving end of most of the barbs at the CBS\/San Francisco Examiner event televised statewide from the historic Julia Morgan Ballroom.<\/p>\n
Hilton and fellow Republican Chad Bianco continued to aavoid criticizing each other. The Democrats \u2013 who need at least one champion to be on the November ballot \u2013 didn\u2019t hesitate to go after each other.<\/p>\n
\u201cI guess this is what happens when you are leading in the polls,\u201d shrugged a smiling Becerra, who spent nearly 10 minutes deflecting criticism from both sides, stemming from a breaking news story this afternoon.<\/p>\n
Katie Porter, Anthony Villagairosa, Matt Mahan and Steyer didn\u2019t hesitate to pile on when Hilton questioned Becerra\u2019s role in the case connected to today\u2019s guilty plea by Dana Williamson, former campaign manager for Gov. Gavin Newsom to charges that she assisted in a scheme to divert money from dormant Becerra campaign accounts to pay Becerra\u2019s former chief of staff. Becerra, who has admitted to approving the transfers, was cleared of any wrongdoing in the case.<\/p>\n
That didn\u2019t stop Hilton, who accused Becerra of being \u201cimplicated in a corruption scandal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou shouldn\u2019t be on this stage, you shouldn\u2019t be in this race, you should be preparing for your criminal defense,\u201d Hiltont told Becerra.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was not involved in any wrongdoing,\u201d countered the former state attorney general. \u201cThe U.S. attorney said no candidate running for governor has been implicated.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mahan added accusations that Becerra ignored a giant unemployment scandal as attorney general, and that he \u201cwasn\u2019t minding the shop\u2026and was sidelined by the Biden Administration\u201d during the COVID pandemic.<\/p>\n
The debate came at a pivotal moment in the top-two primary campaign \u2013 as mail ballots are returned and new polls show the number of undecided voters are dwindling with less than three weeks until the official June 2 Election Day.<\/p>\n
The pressure leading up to the debate couldn\u2019t have been greater, especially after likely voters told Emerson College pollsters that their support for the candidates, even after four months of campaigning, could still be fickle: 40% of voters who favored a candidate said they were open to changing their minds before sending in their ballots.<\/p>\n
Unlike previous debates, tonight\u2019s format announced by sponsors CBS and the San Francisco Examiner included opportunities for candidates to ask questions of each other \u2013 and candidates took advantage of the rule, often talking over one another, interrupting and shouting questions. No one was spared, and all participated.<\/p>\n
Hilton at one point challenged Becerra\u2019s claim to be the \u201cleading candidate,\u201d saying that he, not Becerra, was on top. Becerra was the latest front-runner in the crowded field, according to an Emerson College poll released this week. A Kreate Strategies poll earlier had identified Hilton as the favorite.<\/p>\n
The Emerson interviews occurred May 9-10 \u2013the only poll conducted wholly after the May 5 debate in Southern California.<\/p>\n
Released three days before tonight\u2019s event, the poll showed Becerra at 19%, followed by billionaire activist Steyer and former Fox News host Hilton at 17%. Republican Riverside County Sheriff Bianco slipped to 11%, followed by former Congress member Porter at 10% and San Jose mayor Mahan at 8%.<\/p>\n
Each candidate also had a couple of chances to push their messaging, to attempt to differentiate themselves from the group.<\/p>\n
Porter said she is the only candidate to reject any corporate contributions. \u201cI\u2019m not a billionaire,\u201d she said. \u201cI push a shopping cart.\u201d She supports free child care, free tuition at state universities and no state income tax for incomes below $100,000 \u2013 which was first proposed last month by Hilton.<\/p>\n
Steyer, who has spent more than $150 million of his own money on this campaign, said, \u201cI\u2019m a billionaire who is fighting for others, who is willing to tax billionaires and myself.\u201d \u201cHealthcare is a right,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Hilton has been endorsed by Trump, but did not mention him in this debate. \u201cWe have had one-party rule for 16 years \u2013 no more one-party rule,\u201d he said. \u201cI am not an idealogue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mahan chose to target the three leading candidates in his final statement, without naming them: \u201cWe don\u2019t need a career politician, or a divisive MAGA candidate, or billionaires.\u201d<\/p>\n
Becerra, looking at Mahan, Hilton and Steyer, said \u201cWe don\u2019t need someone who needs training wheels.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bianco chose not to repeat his support for Trump at this debate, instead saying \u201cI am the only one up here working every day to solve problems\u2026 I know how to work with others.\u201d<\/p>\n
The slow pace of returned mail ballots \u2013 just 3% at mid-week \u2013 also may indicate that voters are holding off on sending in their ballots even as the June 2 final-count day draws closer. More than 22 million ballots were mailed to voters May 4.<\/p>\n
One pollster, Kevin Wen, CEO of Kreate Strategies, said before tonight\u2019s debate that \u201cthe [California governor] race continues to develop without full consolidation. With multiple candidates remaining competitive and undecided voters still in play, the electorate remains fluid heading into the primary.\u201d<\/p>\n
The next set of polls, as early as next week, could reveal whether that is still the case.<\/p>\n
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