Hilton, Becerra spar in California governor general election debate

Candidates oppose billionaire tax, split on voter ID proposal

Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat Xavier Becerra met Wednesday night in their first and possibly only general election debate, an hourlong CNN-hosted matchup that sharpened the contrast between a Republican challenger seeking to end a two-decade GOP drought in California and a Democratic opponent who has framed his candidacy as a bulwark against Trump administration policies.

The debate came days before California begins mailing ballots ahead of the November 3 general election. Recent polls show Becerra holding a significant lead. Fewer than a quarter of California likely voters approve of Trump’s job performance, notably lower than the national average, according to The Guardian. Most Californians say the state is headed in the wrong direction.

Hilton, 57, the former Fox News host endorsed by Trump, used the hour to argue that Becerra, 68, was not actively campaigning and was taking voters for granted. “He wasn’t even supposed to be the candidate,” Hilton said, referring to Becerra’s unexpected rise after the implosion of Eric Swalwell’s primary campaign amid sexual misconduct and assault allegations that Swalwell denied. “I just want to ask every Californian: Aren’t you tired of that?”

Becerra, a former congressman who served as health and human services secretary under President Joe Biden, pitched his experience as an asset and vowed to address what he called the state’s “punishing cost of living crisis” while serving as a bulwark against Trump administration policies. He accused Hilton of owing loyalty to Trump rather than to a state that has rejected the president in each of the last three presidential elections.

“If you listen closely, you can hear Donald Trump in that response,” Becerra said of Hilton’s answer to a question about regulating the development of artificial intelligence.

The two converged on one ballot measure: both said they would oppose the so-called billionaire tax proposal, a November initiative that would levy a one-time 5% tax on any California resident worth more than $1 billion. The measure has drawn support from progressives, including Senator Bernie Sanders, who is scheduled to campaign for it in California this weekend, putting Becerra at odds with the measure’s progressive supporters.

But the candidates split on Proposition 39, a ballot measure that would require voters to show government-issued identification to vote in person. Like other Democratic leaders in the state, Becerra said he opposed it, 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.

“I’ve got confidence in what we saw in the primary and in this process,” Hilton said.

Without distancing himself significantly from the president, whose Make America Great Again supporters he cannot afford to alienate, Hilton sought to draw subtle differences. “My whole aim here would be to lower the temperature,” Hilton said.

The exchange over immigration policy became the debate’s most personal moment. Becerra, the son of Mexican immigrants, accused Hilton, who grew up in England and was an adviser to 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.”

“What a disgraceful remark that was,” Hilton responded.

The debate highlighted how Hilton’s pitch is complicated by his party identification and the president who has backed him, in a state where no Republican has won a gubernatorial race in two decades, even as opposition to Trump administration policies remains a priority for many voters.

Becerra’s path to the general election was circuitous. After languishing in the low single-digits for much of the race, he was catapulted to the front of the pack after Swalwell’s exit and ultimately advanced first in the June primary, finishing ahead of his more progressive rival, 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 under the state’s nonpartisan primary system.

But the president’s backing may prove a liability in the general election as the unresolved war with Iran has pushed up oil prices and U.S. inflation has remained elevated. Since advancing from the primary, Becerra has maintained a low profile, while Hilton has campaigned aggressively across the state.

“Thank you to CNN for bringing Xavier out of hiding,” Hilton said, calling his opponent a “career politician” and a product of the “machine in Sacramento.” Becerra pushed back, arguing the challenges were too serious to entrust to a political newcomer. “There aren’t training wheels in the governor’s office,” Becerra said, repeating a line he deployed in the primary. “You have to know how to do the job, and that’s why I’m asking California voters to vote for me for governor of state of California.”

MSI previously reported that Hilton advanced to face Becerra in the November general election after the June top-two primary, and that Hilton told the BBC his campaign aimed to “save” California from 16 years of Democratic control.