Final California Governor Debate Gets Personal

The final televised debate before California's June 2 gubernatorial primary put seven candidates on stage in Los Angeles on Wednesday, but produced no clear breakout moment. Instead, it underscored deep divides over housing, taxes on the ultra-wealthy, and immigration, while highlighting personal tensions that could shape the final stretch of the race to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom.

• The debate featured two Republicans, former Fox News host Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, and five Democrats—ex-Biden official Xavier Becerra, former hedge fund manager Tom Steyer, former congresswoman Katie Porter, and current and former mayors Matt Mahan and Antonio Villaraigosa—all vying to finish in the top two so as to advance to the November election.
• A proposed billionaire tax expected on the November ballot united most of the field in opposition: both Republicans and all Democrats except Steyer rejected the measure, citing concerns about its narrow scope, one-time structure, and potential impact on innovation, while Steyer—himself a billionaire—backed it as consistent with his platform of higher taxes on corporations and the wealthy, per the New York Times.
• The sharpest personal clash came when Bianco, adopting a combative, MAGA-aligned stance on immigration and crime, interrupted Porter during a discussion of immigrant-related violence. "Sir, I don't need any lectures from you about being a mother," she told him, prompting Bianco to reply, "You might." Porter later called his behavior disrespectful to women, per the Times.

• Housing was a key topic, with multiple candidates backing down-payment assistance for first-time home buyers. The Republicans called for stripping building or environmental regulations. Porter linked the cost of housing with homelessness, while Bianco claimed the two issues weren't related, per USA Today.
• Hilton and Bianco mostly avoided attacking each other, while underdog Villaraigosa got in "significant blows against his opponents," including Democrats, per the Times. He pointed out Bianco is a former member of the Oath Keepers and accused Becerra of overseeing the exploitation of migrant children in the workforce under the Biden administration.

• With insurance companies pulling out of California, Becerra called for a rate freeze, but was the only candidate to do so, per KNBC. "One, the governor can't [freeze rates]. Two, it's just going to make it worse," said Villaraigosa. "Every insurer remaining in the state will leave," Porter said, per USA Today.
• The one-hour debate followed another on Tuesday night, in which Bianco said Democrats were responsible for the state's high unemployment and gas prices. Becerra instead blamed those issues on Trump. Steyer said he would work to lower the cost of healthcare, housing and energy, while Porter said California "does need to make changes," per CNN.