California’s only scheduled gubernatorial debate turned combative Wednesday night on CNN, as Republican challenger Steve Hilton and Democratic front-runner Xavier Becerra traded sharp attacks over taxes, regulation and Becerra’s record as attorney general — with a legal fight involving Orange County’s Huntington Beach becoming one of the night’s pointed exchanges.
Hilton opened aggressively, thanking CNN “for bringing Xavier Becerra out of hiding” before accusing him of inaction during his tenure as the state’s top law enforcement official. “When you were there as Attorney General, you did nothing,” Hilton said. “You did nothing.”
The debate quickly turned to tax policy. Hilton said he would eliminate taxes on the first $150,000 of income and scrap the state gas tax, arguing the cuts would benefit both working Californians and wealthier residents who he said create jobs. Becerra rejected the plan as a version of “Trump tax cuts,” warning it would hand “the wealthiest Californians a 40% tax break.” Becerra also said he did not want Wall Street to have an easier time buying homes than California’s teachers.
One of the sharper moments came when Becerra argued against repeating policies he believes have failed. Hilton shot back: “Yes, like voting Democrat.”
Asked directly to name something he had done to cut government red tape, Becerra pointed to his lawsuit against the city of Huntington Beach, in Orange County. Hilton dismissed the answer outright. “That’s more red tape,” he said.
The candidates also split on artificial intelligence, with Hilton calling for a pause on AI use in California classrooms while Becerra pointed to his lawsuits against Google and Meta. “And I will continue to do so as governor,” Becerra said.
Becerra warned that electing Hilton would deliver “Trump results” to California. President Donald Trump has endorsed Hilton and backed his campaign.
Hilton also invoked a reported Washington-era insult of Becerra attributed to former Biden adviser Susan Rice, a jab his campaign has built into a website nickname for Becerra. Separately, the California Post reported Tuesday that former Biden administration colleagues had questioned Becerra’s fitness for the governorship, with one alleging he had disparaged migrant children as “little Juanitos and Juanitas.” That former colleague told the outlet, “I do not think he is qualified to be the governor. I don’t think he’s qualified to be the boss of anything.”
Hilton entered the debate trailing in recent polling. A UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll in September had Becerra at 58% to Hilton’s 33%, while the Public Policy Institute of California put the race at 60% to 38%. With no second debate scheduled, Wednesday’s matchup was the candidates’ only planned face-to-face encounter before voters decide.
