Six Candidates Debate California Governor Race in San Francisco After Eric Swalwell Exit

California’s gubernatorial race entered a new phase Wednesday night with a televised debate in San Francisco that featured six candidates after the collapse of former congressman Eric Swalwell’s campaign.

“A critical debate in the race to be California's next governor was held on Wednesday night”

ABC7 Los Angeles

The debate was hosted by Nexstar and took place less than two weeks after the race was “rocked by allegations of sexual misconduct against former Rep.Eric Swalwell(D-Calif.),” according to The Hill.

ABC7 Los Angeles

CNN described the matchup as “Four Democrats and two Republicans vying to become California’s next governor” and said the candidates “exchanged occasional barbs,” with Democrats largely targeting President Donald Trump and Republicans criticizing Democratic leadership.

The Hill said the contenders met the 5% polling threshold and that “no candidate has emerged as a clear front-runner,” even with the field reshaped by Swalwell’s exit.

The Guardian similarly framed the event as “the first debate since the already topsy-turvy race was plunged into upheaval” by Swalwell’s sudden collapse, and noted that nearly a quarter of voters remained undecided ahead of the 2 June primary.

ABC7 Los Angeles reported that “The top six candidates faced off on a wide range of issues, including health care, housing and the economy,” and said the debate was “the first televised debate since early front-runner and former Rep. Eric Swalwell dropped out less than two weeks ago amid sexual assault allegations.”

Across outlets, the same basic lineup appeared: Democrats Tom Steyer, Xavier Becerra, Katie Porter, and Matt Mahan; Republicans Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco, with President Donald Trump endorsing Hilton.

The debate’s policy center of gravity was affordability, with multiple outlets describing how candidates traded arguments over the state gas tax and broader cost-of-living pressures.

The Washington Examiner said moderators asked about the state gas tax “right off the bat,” and it quoted Tom Steyer blaming “our president, Donald Trump” for “an insane war in Iran and driven up the cost of gasoline for everybody in California.”

CNN

The same outlet reported that Chad Bianco offered the opposite diagnosis, saying “It is Democrat policies for the last 20, 30 years that are driving the cost of not only gasoline, but the cost of living in California up.”

The Hill described the debate as featuring jabs as candidates tried to win over “the many voters who remain undecided in the race,” and it highlighted that the contenders took positions on issues including homelessness and taxes.

ABC7 Los Angeles said the debate included questions “ranging from the housing crisis to gas and mileage tax,” and it quoted Matt Mahan arguing that Democrats were offering “We need someone with experience” while Becerra emphasized “We need someone with experience. Someone who doesn't need on-the-job training.”

The Guardian added that the evening covered “the high cost of living and housing affordability, to homelessness,” and it reported that Democrats largely agreed on policy while Republicans blamed “16 years of ‘failed’ Democratic governance.”

On homelessness grading, The Hill said candidates gave Newsom different scores, with “Democrats agree to back whoever advances” and with Republicans handing him an F while Democrats gave him no worse than a B.

CNN similarly reported that Republicans attacked Newsom while Democrats defended his record on homelessness, and it quoted Hilton saying, “We cannot keep going in this direction with Democrats constantly going for their insatiable appetite for more and more taxes for their bottomless money pit.”

Swalwell’s departure shaped the debate’s opening questions and the tone of several exchanges, even when moderators did not dwell on the allegations for long.

“Four Democrats and two Republicans vying to become California’s next governor exchanged occasional barbs in a debate Wednesday night”

CNN

The Hill said the debate came “less than two weeks after the race was rocked by allegations of sexual misconduct against former Rep.Eric Swalwell(D-Calif.), who had been leading the Democratic field until he dropped out of the race.”

CNN reported that Swalwell “has denied what he has described as ‘flat false’ allegations,” and it added that “In resigning his House seat, Swalwell apologized for ‘mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past.’”

The Guardian described the event as the “first debate since” Swalwell’s collapse and said the race was “plunged into upheaval” by “sexual assault and misconduct allegations.”

The Washington Examiner said the debate “only briefly touched on the sexual assault and rape allegations surrounding Swalwell,” and it reported that moderators from NewsNation asked only Becerra about the allegations because he was “chairman of the House Democratic caucus when Swalwell was first elected to the chamber.”

In that exchange, Becerra told the audience, “You hear rumors all the time about all sorts of things. Rumors are not facts. And the Democratic caucus is not a place that adjudicates those things. If someone had come forward, we could then have investigations.”

The Hill quoted Becerra’s similar framing, saying, “Rumors are not facts and the caucus, the Democratic caucus, is not a place that adjudicates those things. It’s law enforcement that does.”

Becerra also credited “courageous survivors” and said, “Today Eric Swalwell is facing accountability,” according to the Washington Examiner.

The sharpest policy clash described by multiple outlets centered on language enforcement for commercial drivers and the question of racial profiling.

The Washington Examiner said one of the most heated moments came when Porter and Bianco “went toe-to-toe” over “English-language enforcement for commercial drivers in the state,” and it quoted Bianco arguing that “liberal politicians had to stop saying non-English speaking drivers are getting pulled over due to racial profiling.”

Fox News

In that same exchange, Porter responded, “You either violated the law, or you didn’t,” Bianco said, and then Porter replied, “I am stunned that Mr. Bianco would say to black and brown Californians and immigrants who are being terrorized and racially profiled that you have to ‘get over’ racism,” Porter said.

Porter’s line was echoed in ABC7 Los Angeles, which quoted Bianco saying, “Let's stop with this whole racism thing and racial profiling and all of this garbage,” and it reported Bianco adding, “We have to get over this.”

ABC7 also quoted Porter’s counter, “I'm stunned that Mr. Bianco would say to Black and Brown Californians and immigrants who are being terrorized and racially profiled that you have to 'get over racism,'” and it described the debate as featuring “fiesty run-ins but few fireworks.”

The New York Post similarly described the issue of racial profiling as producing “the closest thing to a real clash,” referencing a “controversial video showing a California Highway Patrol officer giving a roadside English proficiency test to a truck driver.”

In that Post account, Bianco insisted, “You either violated the law or you didn’t,” and Porter answered, “It’s not something that you get over. It’s something that you fight.”

The debate’s immediate consequence, as described by several outlets, was to sharpen the choices for a still-undecided electorate heading into a June 2 primary where the top two finishers advance regardless of party.

The Guardian said “nearly a quarter of voters” were undecided ahead of the “2 June primary,” and it noted that the debate happened with “less than two weeks before ballots begin arriving in voters’ mailboxes.”

Los Angeles Times

CNN reported that “All candidates will be listed on the same ballot on June 2, and the top two finishers regardless of party will advance to a head-to-head matchup this fall,” and it added that county officials begin sending ballots on “May 4.”

The Hill similarly said the primary was approaching rapidly and emphasized that no candidate had emerged as a clear front-runner, while it described how Democrats committed to supporting whichever Democrat advances to the general election.

The Hill quoted Tom Steyer saying, “if there’s a Republican in the race, that Republican will be supported by and also supporting Donald Trump,” and it quoted Becerra saying California needs “the ‘best person’” who will fight for the state on issues including housing and health care.

The Hill also described how Hilton dismissed the possibility of two Republicans advancing, while Bianco’s stance left uncertainty about the final pairing.

The San Jose Inside account added that the debate was part of “a trio of statewide debates among California gubernatorial candidates” with another debate scheduled on “April 28” and a third on “May 5,” “three days after mail ballots are distributed.”

Finally, the Washington Examiner and The Hill both emphasized that the debate did not settle the race, with the Examiner saying “no candidate came out of the debate as the clear front-runner,” and The Hill describing the contest as a race where voters remain undecided and Democrats worry about being shut out of the general election.