Another Debate Among those Wanna-Be’s for California Governor
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The California gubernatorial debate of April 27th was a mees. There was too many moderators (6), too many candidates (8), not enough time for meaningful responses (45 seconds), and too many unruly moments. Complicating matters was the addition of two more candidates, Tony Thurmond the State School Superintendent and Antonio Villaraigosa, former mayor of Los Angeles, to the already large number of them seeking to make the cutoff for November.
Thurmond became the first Black candidate to be included on the debate stage as was Villaraigosa making his first appearance. These two candidates are still polling at 3% and 4%, respectively. The only one who has made giant strides since the first debate is Xavier Becerra. He is now standing at 13.6% of those polled. He has gotten 0.03% ahead of the right-wing former member of the Oath Keepers and now Republican Sheriff of Riverside County, Chad Bianco. Tom Steyer has also moved up into 2nd place behind Steve Hilton, the other Republican in the race besides Bianco. If Becerra continues to climb and reach the number two slot in poll numbers he may well go into the gubernatorial race in November. But for now, the fears among many was that the 2 Republicans, leading for months in the polls, would be the nominees facing each other in November given California’s election rules.
There are at least two more debates scheduled before the Voter Registration deadline of May 18th and the Primary election day on June 2nd. Therein lies the big problems for the candidates and the voters. Problem 1. is that undecided voters and those that register before May 18th may not know who to vote for at this time. However, California allows for mail-in voting. Problem 2. is that the ballots will begin to be mailed on May 4th. Some voters may have already voted before the next 2-hr. debate set by CNN for May 5th at 6 pm. So far, no names of candidates to be invited have been released. The will be yet another debate held by NBC4 and Telemundo on May 6th at 7 pm.
As of the polls today, March 29, 2025, Hilton and Steyer are at 17.8% and 14.9%, respectively. The other 3 double digit candidates are Becerra at 13.6%, Chad Bianco at 13.3%, Katie Porter, the only woman in the race among the top contenders, at 10%. She is a former member of Congress. Those still polling in the single digits, Villaraigosa and Thurmond, have no realistic chances of moving up into the top 2 slots. The next debate put on by CNN should limit the candidates on stage to the top 5 and allow more time for candidates responses to the questions.
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