Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton, the candidates running to be California’s next governor, clashed on Wednesday over taxes, immigration and regulating artificial intelligence in a testy debate held days before voters begin receiving their ballots in the heavily Democratic state. Hilton, the former Fox News host endorsed by Donald Trump, used the hourlong matchup, hosted by CNN in its studio in Burbank, California, to argue that Becerra, a former congressman who served as the US health and human services secretary during the Biden administration, was not actively campaigning and instead taking voters for granted. He accused Hilton of owing loyalty to Trump – and not the state that roundly rejected the president in each of the last three presidential elections.
Hilton’s bid to succeed California’s term-limited governor, Gavin Newsom, is aimed at voter discontent with the political status quo in a state that hasn’t elected a Republican governor in two decades. But his pitch is complicated by his party identification and the president who has backed him. Though most Californians say the state is headed in the wrong direction, fewer than a quarter of likely voters approve of the president’s job performance, notably lower than the national average, and many cite “fight against Trump administration policies” as a priority.
Recent polls show Becerra with a significant lead over Hilton, suggesting the onus was on the Republican hopeful to persuade voters partisan change was needed in Sacramento. The debate, the only scheduled face-to-face debate before the 3 November general election, comes just days before voters begin receiving their ballots by mail. Both candidates said they would oppose the so-called billionaire tax proposal, a November ballot measure that would levy a one-time 5% tax on any California resident worth more than $1bn.
Becerra’s opposition puts him at odds with progressives, including Senator Bernie Sanders, who will campaign for the measure in California this weekend. But they were at odds on Proposition 39, a ballot measure that would require voters to show a government-issued ID to vote in person. Like other Democratic leaders in the state, Becerra said he opposed the measure, calling it an initiative “backed by Donald Trump” that would make it harder for Californians to vote.
Hilton said he supported the proposal, but insisted he had confidence in the state’s voting system despite Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of fraud. Without distancing himself significantly from Trump, whose Maga base he cannot afford to alienate, Hilton sought to draw subtle differences: “My whole aim here would be to lower the temperature.” An exchange over immigration policy became personal, when Becerra, the son of Mexican immigrants, accused Hilton, who grew up in England and was an adviser to the former UK prime minister David Cameron, of appearing to support measures that would “welcome immigrants who look like you” while wanting to “deport immigrants who look like me”. Becerra’s path to the general election was winding.
After languishing in the low single digits for much of the race, he was catapulted to the front of the pack after the implosion of Eric Swalwell’s campaign amid a slew of sexual misconduct and assault allegations – claims the now former congressman denied. Becerra ultimately advanced first in the June primary, overcoming fierce opposition from his more progressive rival, the billionaire activist Tom Steyer. Hilton came in second, with Trump’s endorsement helping to consolidate conservative support and avert the risk of a Democratic lockout in the state’s non-partisan primary.
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