Debates & campaign moments

The debate calendar

The 2026 primary produced four televised debates and two notable forums between late April and mid-May, with mail voting already underway for the June 2 election. The cycle opened with a Nexstar/KRON4 studio debate in San Francisco on April 22, the first held after Eric Swalwell suspended his campaign on April 13. A CBS debate at Pomona College followed on April 28, a nationally televised CNN debate on May 5 (most coverage carries a May 6 dateline), and the final debate, co-hosted by CBS News California and the San Francisco Examiner, on May 14. An Ezra Klein-moderated housing forum in Oakland on May 8, a KQED Katie Porter town hall on May 4, and two SEIU labor forums in January rounded out the calendar. No debate was scheduled after May 14.

The first two debates

The April 22 KRON4 debate, moderated by Nikki Laurenzo and Frank Buckley, drew Republicans Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco alongside Democrats including Porter and Tom Steyer. KRON4 framed it as “substantive” relative to what followed, with no single breakout. The station”s post-debate poll showed Hilton at 16, Steyer at 15 and Xavier Becerra at 13, capturing Becerra”s early rise after Swalwell”s exit.

The eight-candidate CBS debate at Pomona College on April 28 was a far looser affair, run by five moderators, in which candidates frequently interrupted one another. Porter”s line that it was “worse than my teenagers at dinner” became its defining quote. Porter pressed Steyer over wealth tied to fossil-fuel investments, asking “How about profiteers pay?”; Matt Mahan challenged Becerra”s record as HHS secretary; and Becerra argued with a moderator over whether he could legally call a state of emergency to freeze home-insurance rates. CalMatters reported that “Democrats targeted Steyer and Becerra and everyone sought a breakout moment, but no one broke out of the pack,” establishing the two front-runners as the field”s shared targets.

The CNN debate and the Oath Keepers exchange

The May 5 CNN debate, moderated by Kaitlan Collins and Elex Michaelson, produced the cycle”s most-replayed moment. Pressed by Antonio Villaraigosa over his past membership in the Oath Keepers, Bianco escalated rather than backed away, saying “I”m very proud of it” and telling Villaraigosa to “be proud of defending” his oath. Becerra called the answer “chilling,” and Villaraigosa said he did not believe “an Oath Keeper is qualified to be governor.” Villaraigosa, polling in the low single digits, is widely credited with drawing out the exchange.

Other moments landed as well. Becerra jabbed at Hilton”s Trump endorsement with “Donald Trump”s his daddy” and called Trump “the real menace that we have in California.” Hilton attacked Steyer (“If you think that it can”t get worse in California, I”ve got two words for you: Tom Steyer”) and Mahan accused Hilton of “lying to people” over a $3-a-gallon gas promise. Hilton declined to confirm whether Trump lost the 2020 election. The SF Standard called it “the night the knives came out,” writing that “Xavier Becerra took the hardest hits” while “Bianco served the red meat and got airtime.” CalMatters columnist Dan Walters saw “nothing that appeared to be a game-changer,” with the race “too close to call.”

The final debate

The May 14 CBS News California / San Francisco Examiner debate, moderated by Ryan Yamamoto, Tom Wait and Schuyler Hudak Prionas, came as Becerra had pulled even with Hilton at the top of the field. CalMatters described Becerra being “ganged up on by six gubernatorial rivals,” to which he replied, “This is what happens when you take the lead in the polls. They all come at you.” After Villaraigosa interrupted him during a homelessness answer, Becerra told him “cálmate” (“calm down”) — a line opponents used to call Villaraigosa combative and his defenders called condescending. Porter revived her congressional whiteboard to demand “What is Mr. Becerra”s revenue plan?” Villaraigosa and Mahan jointly accused Becerra of “failing” on immigration over the unaccompanied-children record, and Steyer called him a “criminal” over a federal investigation involving a former associate. Walters concluded the debate did not visibly reorder the race.

The housing forum and signature lines

The May 8 Ezra Klein housing forum, limited to Democrats, surfaced a split over whether labor standards or construction speed should drive housing production: Becerra emphasized that homes should not be built “by making it impossible for the carpenter to afford to buy it,” while Porter warned that prevailing-wage rules slow projects. Across the cycle, candidates leaned on durable brand lines — Hilton”s “Califordable” and “Make California Golden Again,” Bianco”s “From Sheriff to Governor,” and Mahan”s “Not MAGA and not more of the same.”

Did the debates move the race

Analysts generally concluded that the debates tracked the race more than they moved it. The dominant shift of the cycle was Swalwell”s April 13 exit, which redistributed support and helped lift Becerra from roughly 4% in early April to the high teens and low 20s by mid-May. Emerson”s May 9-10 poll showed Becerra 19, Hilton 17 and Steyer 17, and the California Democratic Party”s May 14-16 survey put Hilton at 22, Becerra at 21, Steyer at 15 and Bianco at 10. The clearest debate-driven effect was Bianco”s Oath Keepers answer, which several analysts treated as a lasting general-election liability rather than a primary mover.