Billions in taxes, tax cuts and other takeaways from California’s gubernatorial primary debate

SAN FRANCISCO – Gov. Gavin Newsom, who had been barred from running for re-election, was on fire Tuesday during the first debate in California’s 2026 gubernatorial race.

Six Democrats and one Republican on stage in Newsom’s hometown, San Francisco, took aim at the governor’s record on homelessness, efforts to ban sales of new gas-powered cars and opposition to an anti-crime ballot measure that passed Californians two years ago.

Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who ran unsuccessfully against Newsom for governor in 2018, pointed to the state’s spending on homelessness as an example of the lack of it.

“We spent $24 billion from the state, and billions more from states and cities across the country, and homelessness continued,” she said. “We can’t be afraid to look at ourselves in the mirror.”

The televised debate revealed the split between moderate and progressive Democrats hoping to replace Newsom, and the efforts of Steve Hilton, the lone Republican who participated, to rally the swing vote.

Hilton, a former Fox New commentator and British political strategist, has called on his top GOP rival, Sheriff County Sheriff Chad Bianco, to drop out of the race.

“My Republican colleague Chad Bianco is not here tonight to confront these Democrats or his record in 2020, during the Black Lives Matter riots,” Hilton said at the event, sponsored by the nonprofit Black Action Alliance, which was founded to give black voters a greater voice in the Bay Area.

Bianco “knelt down when he was told by BLM, now he says he was praying,” Hilton said. “Chad Bianco has more baggage than LAX.”

Bianco was invited to the debate but said he could not attend due to scheduling conflicts. His campaign did not respond to requests for comment on the attack on Hilton.

At times, heated debate has come in the middle of a chieftaincy race that has lacked the spirit or person on either side of the aisle to please Californians. Public opinion polls show that most voters are undecided.

Seven of the twelve leading candidates to replace Newsom participated in a rally at the Ruth Williams Opera House in front of a live audience of about 200 people. Representative Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin) was scheduled to participate but canceled, citing the need to return to Washington, DC, for congressional votes. Former Rep. Katie Porter (D-Irvine) also did not attend the debate.

The two-hour debate, at times interrupted by audio coverage, was hosted by two local Fox News anchors and moderated by KTVU political reporters Greg Lee and André Senior, and KTTV’s Marla Tellez.

Five steps taken from the debate:

Making California affordable again

When asked how they plan to deal with the high cost of living in the state — gas prices, rent, utility bills and other everyday financial challenges — most candidates preface their answers by talking about growing up in struggling families, often with immigrant parents who worked blue-collar jobs.

Former US Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said he would stabilize rental housing and freeze mortgage and home insurance costs “until we figure out why they’re going up.” California Supt. of Public Instruction, Tony Thurmond, said he would raise taxes on billionaires and create tax credits to help families afford the high cost of living.

Villaraigosa and Hilton say they will lower gas prices by easing regulations on California’s oil refineries.

Hilton blamed the state’s high cost of living on Democratic policies. “They have been in charge for 16 years,” he said. “Who else can be blamed?”

Billionaire hedge fund founder turned climate activist Tom Steyer has said he favors rent control. Steyer and former state comptroller Betty Yee said they would prioritize zoning and allow changes to build more housing, especially near public transportation. Both Steyer, a progressive, and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, a moderate, have talked about using new technologies like prefabricated housing to create affordable housing.

Protecting immigrants

After the chaos of the Trump administration’s immigration raids that began in Los Angeles in June and spread across the country – most recently resulting in the killing of two people by federal agents in Minneapolis – Democrats on the stage unanimously expressed support for immigrants living in California. Some have pledged that, if elected, they will use the governor’s office to push hard against President Trump’s immigration policies.

“We have to say no to ICE, and we have to stand up to Trump wherever he rears his ugly head,” Villaraigosa said.

Steyer, whose hedge fund has invested in a company that runs immigration detention centers along the US-Mexico border, and Thurmond both say they support dismantling Immigration and Customs Enforcement, while Thurmond and Mahan say they support a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

Politicians are politicians

Amidst the debate blocking, weaving, shouting and bitter back and forth, there were a few moments when the candidates rose above the chaos.

Villaraigosa, a two-term mayor of Los Angeles and former speaker of the California Assembly, insisted that the president call him “Antonio” instead of Mayor Villaraigosa.

“That’s my name, everybody.

Mahan, on the other hand, tried hard to portray himself as more than a dirty political business.

“The truth is that our politics has been made very easy,” he said. “It has become this blood game between populists on both sides, and it deserves real answers, not easy answers.”

Yee, who served in his background as an administrator and member of the California Board of Equalization, has positioned himself as the financial savior the state needs in trying economic times of budget deficits and state cuts.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve been accountable or transparent about our dollars,” he said. “Why are we here now again [in successive] years we spend more than we bring in? This is where we are. Accountability should therefore be a top priority. “

The rich guy and the new guy

Steyer, who paints himself as a reformed billionaire dedicated to donating his fortune to make California a better place for all, did not directly answer a question about his position on a controversial measure proposed for a new billionaire tax to fund health care. But he said he supported tax increases on the wealthy and boasted political support for bus drivers, nurses and restaurant workers because he was a wealthy man willing to “take billions from working families.”

Mahan, the latest major candidate to enter the race, was unimpressed.

“Tom, I have about 3 million reasons not to trust your answer on that,” he said, referring to Steyer’s money.

While he supports closing tax loopholes for the wealthy, Mahan said he opposes the billionaire tax because “it will send good, high-paying jobs out of our state, and hard-working families, in the long run, will all pay more in taxes.”

Money also spoke on Tuesday

Although the campaign’s fundraising battle did not come up during Tuesday’s debate outside of Mahan’s comments about Steyer, it remains a hot topic. Campaign fundraising disclosures were made public on Monday and Tuesday.

Unsurprisingly, Steyer led the pack with $28.9 million in donations in 2025, almost all of which the billionaire spent on his campaign. Other top fundraisers were Porter, who raised $6.1 million; Hilton, who raised $5.7 million; Becerra, who contributed $5.2 million; Bianco, who received $3.7 million in donations; Swalwell has earned $3.1 million since entering the race late last year; and $3.2 million for Villaraigosa, according to documents filed with the California secretary of state.

Mahan, a newcomer to the race, has not been required to disclose campaign fundraising, although he is expected to have significant support from wealthy Silicon Valley tech honchos. Former Gov. Betty Yee and public schools chief Tony Thurmond were among the candidates who raised the least, raising questions about their effectiveness in the context of more than 23 million registered voters and the country’s most expensive news market.

Yee defended his election by pointing to his experience.

“All the votes show that this race is open. You know, I think there are enough voters. I’ve been going around the country. I’ve talked to thousands of them,” he said. “Enough with the lies, the broken campaign promises, the millionaires trying to rule the world. You know, look, I’m the old man in the room. No tricks, no nonsense, straight shooter, woman who gets things done. And we can’t afford a leader who thinks royalty really rules.”

Mehta reported from Los Angeles and Nixon reported from San Francisco. Data and photojournalists Gabrielle LaMarr LeMee and Hailey Wang contributed to this report.