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SAN FRANCISCO — Gov. Gavin Newsom, barred from operating for reelection, nonetheless took warmth Tuesday throughout the first debate in California’s 2026 race for governor.
Six Democrats and one Republican on the stage in Newsom’s hometown of San Francisco took direct goal on the governor’s report on homelessness, efforts to ban the sale of latest gas-powered automobiles and opposition to an anti-crime poll measure that Californians overwhelmingly handed two years in the past.
Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who unsuccessfully ran towards Newsom for governor in 2018, pointed to state spending on homelessness for example of ineptitude.
“We spent $24 billion on the state, together with billions extra from the counties and the cities all through the state, and homelessness went on,” he mentioned. “We can’t be afraid to look within the mirror.”
The televised debate revealed the schism between the average and progressive Democrats hoping to switch Newsom, in addition to efforts by Steve Hilton, the only real Republican who took half, to coalesce the conservative vote.
Hilton, a former Fox New commentator and British political strategist, referred to as on his prime GOP rival, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, to drop out of the race.
“My Republican colleague Chad Bianco shouldn’t be right here tonight to face these Democrats or his report in 2020, throughout the Black Lives Matter riots,” Hilton mentioned on the occasion, which was co-sponsored by the nonprofit Black Motion Alliance, which was based to present Black voters a larger voice within the Bay Space.
Bianco “took a knee when instructed to by BLM, now he says he was praying,” Hilton mentioned. “Chad Bianco has obtained extra baggage than LAX.”
Bianco was invited to the talk however mentioned he was unable to attend due to a scheduling battle. His marketing campaign didn’t reply to requests for remark about Hilton’s assaults.
The, at occasions, feisty debate got here amid a gubernatorial race that so far has lacked sizzle or a candidate on both facet of the aisle who has excited Californians. Public opinion polls present that the majority voters stay undecided.
Seven of the dozen outstanding candidates operating to switch Newsom participated within the gathering on the Ruth Williams Opera Home in entrance of a reside viewers of about 200 folks. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin) was scheduled to take part however canceled, citing the necessity to return to Washington, D.C., for congressional votes. Former Rep. Katie Porter (D-Irvine) additionally didn’t attend the talk.
The 2-hour conflict, at occasions tormented by audio points, was hosted by two native Fox Information associates and moderated by KTVU political reporter Greg Lee and anchor André Senior, in addition to KTTV’s Marla Tellez.
5 takeaways from the talk:
Making California reasonably priced once more
When grilled about how they deliberate to sort out the excessive price of dwelling within the state — fuel costs, lease, utility payments and different day-to-day monetary challenges — many of the candidates prefaced their solutions by speaking about rising up in struggling households, usually with immigrant dad and mom who labored blue-collar jobs.
Former U.S. Well being and Human Providers Secretary Xavier Becerra mentioned he would stabilize rents and freeze utility and residential insurance coverage prices “till we discover out why they’re growing.” California Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond mentioned he would elevate taxes on billionaires and create tax credit to assist households afford the excessive price of dwelling.
Villaraigosa and Hilton mentioned they’d decrease fuel costs by slicing rules on California’s oil refineries.
Hilton blamed the state’s excessive price of dwelling squarely on Democratic insurance policies. “They’ve been in energy for 16 years,” he mentioned. “Who else is there guilty?”
Billionaire hedge fund founder turned local weather activist Tom Steyer mentioned he favors lease management. Steyer and former state Controller Betty Yee mentioned they’d prioritize zoning and allowing reform to construct extra housing, notably close to public transit. Each Steyer, a progressive, and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, a average, spoke about utilizing new know-how reminiscent of pre-fabricated properties to construct extra reasonably priced housing.
Defending immigrants
Within the wake of the Trump administration’s chaotic immigration raids that began in Los Angeles in June and have unfold throughout the nation — lately ensuing within the taking pictures deaths of two folks by federal brokers in Minneapolis — the Democrats on stage unanimously voiced help for immigrants who reside in California. Some pledged that, if elected, they’d use the governor’s workplace to aggressively push again on President Trump’s immigration insurance policies.
“We’ve obtained to say no to ICE, and we’ve obtained to tackle Trump wherever he raises his ugly head,” Villaraigosa mentioned.
Steyer, whose hedge fund invested in an organization that runs migrant detention facilities on the U.S.-Mexico border, and Thurmond each mentioned they help abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Thurmond and Mahan mentioned they help a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.
Politicians politicking
Antonio Villaraigosa, left, talks to Betty Yee throughout the California gubernatorial candidate debate Tuesday in San Francisco.
(Laure Andrillon / Related Press)
Amid the talk’s dodging, weaving, yammering and spicy back-and-forth, there have been a number of moments when the candidates rose above the din.
Villaraigosa, the previous two-term mayor of Los Angeles and a former speaker of the California Meeting, insisted that the moderators name him “Antonio” as a substitute of Mayor Villaraigosa.
“It’s my identify, all people. I’m only a common man,” he mentioned, prompting fun.
Mahan, then again, tried mightily to painting himself as being above the soiled enterprise of politics.
“The reality is that our politics has been oversimplified,” he mentioned. “It’s develop into this blood sport between populists on each side, and also you deserve actual solutions, not the simple solutions.”
Yee, who has been operating on her background as controller and a member of the California Board of Equalization, forged herself because the monetary savior the state wants in attempting financial occasions of funds deficits and federal cuts.
“We have now not been accountable or clear with our greenbacks for a very long time,” she mentioned. “Why are we proper now and [in successive] years spending greater than we’re bringing in? That is the place we’re. So accountability must be a tone set from the highest.”
The wealthy man and the brand new man
Steyer, who paints himself as a repentant billionaire dedicated to freely giving his riches to make California a greater place for all, didn’t immediately reply a query about his place on a controversial proposed poll measure for a brand new tax on billionaires to fund healthcare. However he mentioned he supported growing taxes on the rich and boasted of getting the political backing of bus drivers, nurses and cafeteria staff as a result of he was the wealthy man keen to “tackle the billionaires for working households.”
Mahan, the most recent main candidate to enter the race, wasn’t impressed.
“Tom, I’ve obtained about 3 billion causes to not belief your reply on that,” he mentioned, an obvious reference to Steyer’s web value.
Though he helps closing tax loopholes for the rich, Mahan mentioned he opposes the billionaire tax as a result of “it’s going to ship good, high-paying jobs out of our state, and hard-working households, in the long term, will all pay extra taxes for it.”
Cash additionally spoke Tuesday
Though the battle over marketing campaign fundraising didn’t overtly come up throughout Tuesday’s debate other than Mahan’s remark about Steyer, it nonetheless was getting numerous consideration. Marketing campaign fundraising disclosures grew to become public Monday and Tuesday.
Unsurprisingly, Steyer led the pack with $28.9 million in contributions in 2025, practically all of it donations that the billionaire spent on his marketing campaign. Different prime fundraisers have been Porter, who raised $6.1 million; Hilton, who collected $5.7 million; Becerra, who banked $5.2 million; Bianco, who acquired $3.7 million in contributions; Swalwell’s $3.1 million since getting into the race late final 12 months; and Villaraigosa’s $3.2 million, in accordance with paperwork filed with the California secretary of state’s workplace.
Mahan, who lately entered the race, wasn’t required to file a marketing campaign fundraising disclosure, although he’s anticipated to have notable help from rich Silicon Valley tech honchos. Former state Controller Betty Yee and state faculties chief Tony Thurmond have been among the many candidates who raised the least, which spurs questions on their viability in a state of greater than 23 million registered voters with a number of the costliest media markets within the nation.
Yee defended her candidacy by pointing to her expertise.
“All of the polls present that this race is large open. , I feel voters have had sufficient. I’ve been across the state. I’ve spoken to hundreds of them,” she mentioned. “Sufficient of the lies, the damaged marketing campaign guarantees, billionaires attempting to run the world. , look, I’m the grownup within the room. No gimmicks, no nonsense, straight shooter, the lady who will get issues carried out. And we definitely can’t afford a frontrunner who thinks grandstanding is definitely governing.”
Mehta reported from Los Angeles and Nixon reported from San Francisco. Knowledge and graphics journalists Gabrielle LaMarr LeMee and Hailey Wang contributed to this report.
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