Personal attacks intensified a month before the primary election.
The candidates vying to serve as California ’s next governor share their plan on how to make housing more affordable across the state. Seven top-polling candidates vying to become California 's next governor clashed for the last time during a televised debate on Wednesday before the June primary election.
The debate, hosted by NBC and Telemundo Los Angeles, featured Steve Hilton, Chad Bianco, Tom Steyer, Xavier Becerra, Katie Porter, Matt Mahan and Antonio Villaraigosa at the Skirball Cultural Center. Moderated by NBCLA's Colleen Williams and Conan Nolan, along with Telemundo LA's Enrique Chiabra, the candidates were asked about issues that are closely, quintessentially Californian. Steve Hilton, former Fox News host, has been polling as the frontrunner in the race for California's governor for months.
And his pitch has been consistent: Democrats should be blamed for the high cost of living and other problems. The Republican candidate asked California voters whether they want to continue to have a Democratic governor in the deep blue state on challenges such as a housing shortage, homelessness and the insurance crisis.
"We got to think about the fact that who's been in charge all these years. Some of these Democrats on the stage, they talk as if we're in some parallel universe where Democrats haven't been running the state for the last 16 years of one party rule," Hilton said.
"If we want to change in California on all these issues, we can't keep doing the same thing over and over again," Hilton said. San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, who has maintained single-digit numbers in the polls, did not hold back in taking shots at his competitors, especially Tom Steyer and Xavier Becerra.
"We do not need the leadership that MAGA candidates on the stage are offering that's divisive. We don't need the leadership of a billionaire who is now against everything he made his money in, or a career politician who has failed again and again," Mahan said. Despite previous differences, Republican candidates Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco mostly stayed away from attacking each other.
(Bianco suggested to NBCLA's Conan NolanBut Xavier Becerra, who has surged in the polls after Rep. Eric Swalwell dropped out of the race, was questioned about his previous records by the Democratic rivals. Despite Becerra's denial and insistence that"Trump lied about that," Villaraigosa quickly followed up and asked,"Did the New York Times lie?
" When Villaraigosa, who worked with then-Congressman Becerra closely during his tenure as LA mayor, kept pressing on the migrant children issue, Becerra responded with two words:"Calmante, Antonio," telling him to calm down. On the issue of California’s insurance crisis as insurance companies are leaving California, Becerra said he would call for a rate freeze -- while other Democrats all disagreed, saying it’ll drive remaining insurers out of the state.
While discussing homelessness, after Becerra boasted his record of establishing the 988 program, the suicide and crisis lifeline, Mahan shot back by saying,"988 is not going to solve our homelessness problem.
" Xaveir Beccera served as the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services after serving California as a Congressman and Attorney General. When the candidates were asked about California's sanctuary status, the Democrats and Republicans fiercely disagreed with fiery comments. After Chad Bianco blamed the state's sanctuary policy for allowing undocumented immigrants to commit crimes against Americans, Antonio Villaraigosa slammed him for his MAGA stance.
“I know you’re an oath keeper,” Villaraigosa said to Bianco, referring to the sheriff's comments from another debate, in which he said he's anWhen Katie Porter said California doesn't need"crazy cowboys" being vigilante law enforcement, Bianco mentioned mothers who lost their children to terrible crimes would disagree wit her. "You might," Bianco responded, which was met by Porter's death stare.
NBC4’s Political Reporter Conan Nolan speaks with Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, one of the two Republicans running for governor in California. He shares why he believes a Republican will win in the bluest state in the nation and why he blames the media for the controversy over his seizure of some 650,000 that were cast in Riverside County in last year’s special election.
The California Billionaire Tax Act is one of the most controversial proposals that could make the ballot in November. The initiative, which seeks to impose a one-time 5% tax on the net worth of billionaires in California, is supported by some labor unions but opposed by Democratic leaders like Gov. Gavin Newsom. Everyone on the debate stage said he or she does not support the proposal -- except for one person: billionaire candidate Tom Steyer.
Supporters of the Billionaire Tax Act said they have collected enough signatures to be qualified for the November ballot. They are yet to be verified by the state government. Billionaire Tom Steyer is former hedge fund executive turned philanthropist, environmental activist and politician. Here’s what you need to know.
Following the 2025 wildfires, Californians were reminded once again insurance companies are fleeing the state over climate risks and natural disasters, leaving consumers with fewer options. The remaining insurers also raised the prices of coverage while reducing coverage plans or areas. After the Palisades and Eaton fires, many Californians lost their private insurance plans and had to turn to the California FAIR plan.
When asked how the insurance crisis should be handled, only one candidate called for a rate freeze: Xavier Becerra. The two Republican candidates and other Democrats said Becerra's proposal would drive remaining insurers out of the state.
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