Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton battled it out on CNN Sept. 30 ahead of the Nov. 3 election for California governor.
The debate was held in CNN’s studio in Burbank, making this their first—and seemingly only—face-to-face debate.
Hilton currently trails behind Becerra by 25 points according to a poll by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies with 9% of voters undecided.
The two men were among a primary field of 61 candidates running for governor, but emerged victorious, advancing out of the June 2 primary.
They won against a crowded field of candidates including former Congresswoman Katie Porter, billionaire businessman Tom Steyer, former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.
In California, Hilton and Becerra are contending with skyrocketing gas prices, the high cost of living and the AI boom, among other issues.
Here are some of the key moments from the debate:
The cost of living in California
Moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash opened the debate by asking Becerra whether Hilton’s proposal to eliminate state income taxes on the first $150,000 earned and the 63 cent per gallon gas tax would be the swiftest way to revive California’s economy.
“Absolutely, he’s wrong,” Becerra responded. “What he would do is he would damage our state even further, making it harder for working families.”
He claimed Hilton’s plan actually goes beyond just the $150,000 limit, giving California’s richest a 40% tax cut.
“Right now, we have a situation where if you start making tax breaks for the wealthiest, you damage our working families, like my parents,” Becerra said.
Hilton disagreed with Becerra by saying his plan would “get more money in people’s pockets” by making the government take less from Californians.
Hilton claims Becerra has been in-hiding
Hilton opened the debate by claiming Becerra hasn’t been seen in public for the last four months since the June primary election.
“I just want to say thank you to CNN for bringing Xavier out of hiding,” Hilton said.
Hilton said later in the debate that Becerra is not trying to earn votes because he’s taking him, and the Republican Party, for granted.
“We just had Karen Bass, the mayor of LA, saying we don’t need an election for governor because the Democrat is going to win, and that is the attitude we get from these people who’ve been in charge of our state for 16 years,” Hilton said. “They think that they can just do whatever they want.”
Candidates find common ground on billionaire tax
Both candidates are in agreement on Prop 40, a one-time 5% tax on the wealth of California’s billionaires, warning the measure will do more harm than good.
“I’m the only one on the stage who’s done tax policy. I’m the only one who’s enacted tax cuts,” Becerra said. “And what you don’t do is you don’t have a policy where it’s a one-time tax and it isn’t predictable and sustainable. We need to have a policy that everyone sees is fair.”
Hilton said the proposition will only drive billionaires, and their money, out of the state.
“We can’t drive more tax revenue out of our state because we need that money here, and this initiative would do that,” Hilton said. “But the priority has to be working people.”
Hilton wants to build “ten new cities”
Hilton said his strategy to reduce the cost of housing is by lowering state government fees on homes.
“A recent survey found that the average new home in California is subject to $200,000 in government fees and regulations,” Hilton said. “I’m announcing tonight that I will cap that at $50,000. That is $150,000 off the price of a new home.”
Hilton also wants to prioritize building more housing, even cities. “The final part is to build, as we used to do in this state—the magnificent California dream, 10 new cities, that’s my plan.”
Becerra also said his strategy is to build new housing and that he wants to cut the “red tape.” He called out New York investors saying “we have to make sure we don’t let Wall Street investors buy homes over those people who are working hard in California.”
Hilton questions Becerra’s integrity on AI
Becerra accused Hilton of playing up his support for A.I. regulation.
“He’s not interested in regulating AI,” Becerra said. “You have to protect our workers who are looking at the prospect of losing their jobs to AI.”
Hilton verbally swung back at Becerra, saying he’s supported by tech giants.
“How can we possibly trust you on this when you are funded by big tech and AI?” Hilton asked.
“The reason you can trust me is because I have sued Meta, I have sued Amazon, I have sued Google,” Becerra said. “The difference between us, Steve, is I have a record of having done that. You just say the talk, but you’ve never done it.”
Becerra slams Hilton on immigration and deportations
“Here’s the problem I have with your policies: you seem to welcome immigrants who look like you, but deport immigrants who look like me,” Becerra said.
Becerra, whose parents are Mexican-immigrants, criticized Hilton on his immigration policy, pointing out Hilton’s own immigrant status having moved to Silicon Valley in 2012 from the U.K. “We need to have a governor who will protect everyone who works hard,” Becerra said.
Hilton, who received an endorsement from President Trump in the spring, said he would follow the law and cooperate with federal immigration authorities. He did not clarify if this meant he would assist the Trump administration in mass deportations.
“My parents were immigrants from Hungary to England, and so I want to make sure that we protect our legal immigrant communities and we enforce the law,” Hilton said. “Everybody agrees that we need secure borders and that we’ve got to make sure that people who are in this country illegally, who’ve committed dangerous crimes, should be removed, but that’s not happening in California.”
Becerra and Hilton point blame in closing remarks
In his final statement, Becerra called on Californians to continue fighting for the American dream, emphasizing that California can only thrive with an experienced leader willing to stand up against a “tyrant like Donald Trump.”
While Becerra blamed Trump for California’s problems, Hilton used his closing statement to blame the “bloated” and “bureaucratic” government he argues Becerra is a part of.
“We’ve got this rebel spirit that we do things differently,” Hilton said. “People build. We can grow anything, build anything, make anything, invent anything. It’s time to try something different.”