Becerra and Hilton Clash in Only General-Election Debate, With Trump at the Center
BURBANK — Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton spent an hour Wednesday night arguing less about the fine print of California government than about who is to blame for the state’s condition: President Donald Trump, or 16 years of one-party Democratic rule in Sacramento.
The CNN debate, moderated by Jake Tapper and Dana Bash at the network’s Burbank studio, is expected to be the candidates’ only face-to-face meeting before the Nov. 3 election to succeed term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom. Mail ballots are due to begin arriving in homes within days.
Early commentary on the race was split. CNN and CalMatters described Becerra as a cautious front-runner who mentioned Trump more than a dozen times, and Hilton as an underdog who thanked the network for “bringing Xavier out of hiding” and accused Becerra of offering “more of the same, backed by the same corrupt machine in Sacramento.” A New York Post column by Joel Pollak graded Hilton an A and Becerra an F, arguing the Democrat answered California questions by debating the president. That is an opinion score, not a voter survey.
The horse-race numbers going in were not close. A UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll of 4,512 likely voters, conducted Sept. 15–20 and released Sept. 24, had Becerra at 58 percent and Hilton at 33 percent, with 9 percent undecided — a 25-point lead, wider than the 55–37 split the same poll found in August. A Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) survey from early September had the race at 60–38. An August poll released by Hilton’s campaign showed a tighter 49–41 margin. Becerra also held a fundraising edge, raising $12.1 million from July 1 through Sept. 19, about $3 million more than Hilton in the same window. Hilton outraised Becerra and most Democrats in 2025, taking in about $4.1 million in the second half of the year to Becerra’s $2.6 million, trailing only self-funder Tom Steyer. After the June primary, the flow reversed: Becerra raised $12.1 million from July 1 through Sept. 19, about $3 million more than Hilton, and held $7.6 million cash on hand to Hilton’s $2.7 million. Hilton remained stronger among small-dollar donors.
Taxes and the cost of living
Affordability opened the night, and PPIC found that 65 percent of likely voters rate it as very important.
Hilton’s plan would eliminate state income tax on the first $150,000 of earnings and apply a flat 8 percent rate above that. He has also called for scrapping the gas tax, and he closed by promising to cut household costs by $11,047 through deregulation, canceling high-speed rail, and shrinking bureaucracy. He singled out the 9.3 percent marginal rate that hits earners around $70,000.
Becerra called the math unsound and the design a version of Trump-era tax policy that, he said, would “damage our state even further” and favor the wealthy. “You’re going to end up with Trump results if you follow Steve Hilton’s plan,” he said.
On a proposed one-time 5 percent wealth tax on billionaire assets, both men were opposed. Becerra said the wealthy do not pay their fair share but called a one-time levy not the way to do tax policy. Hilton said California cannot afford to drive more taxpayers out of the state, then pivoted to tax cuts for workers.
Housing
Hilton declined a unit target. He proposed capping government fees on a new home at $50,000 (a reduction of about $150,000 in fees), ending what he called forced high-density housing in suburbs, and building 10 new “California dream” cities through a county bidding process.
Becerra pledged to at least double the rate of homebuilding: cut red tape, expand down-payment assistance, stop Wall Street investors from outbidding families, and enforce existing state housing law. He cited his lawsuit, as attorney general, against Huntington Beach. Hilton replied that suing a city adds red tape, not less, and that “the people who put the red tape in place” are not the ones who will remove it.
Artificial intelligence
Both said AI needs rules. Hilton’s first priority was keeping the jobs in California. He called for an immediate pause on AI in classrooms, said he would hold companies to their own commitments, and left the door open to California-led legislation if self-policing fails. He did not fully embrace Trump’s preference for industry self-regulation.
Becerra called self-policing a “pinky promise” and said listeners could “hear Donald Trump” in Hilton’s answer. He pointed to lawsuits he filed against Meta, Amazon, and Google, and said data centers should be approved only with community-benefit agreements so they do not drain power and water without local jobs. Hilton asked how much Becerra’s campaign had taken from OpenAI and Anthropic and called him a career politician who has never created a private-sector job. Becerra said government service had helped create millions of jobs and that he answers to California voters, not Washington figures.
Immigration
Hilton said he would follow Senate Bill 54 as written, cooperate with federal authorities on dangerous criminals, and try to lower the political temperature. He denied supporting mass deportation.
Becerra accused him of praising immigration raids and of a double standard — enforce Trump’s laws, not California’s — and said Hilton would welcome immigrants who look like him while deporting people who “look like me.” Hilton called the remark disgraceful.
Hilton then pressed Becerra on his tenure as U.S. Health and Human Services secretary, citing a Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times investigation and a figure of 479,000 unaccompanied migrant children, thousands of whom he said ended up with traffickers after vetting was weakened by Becerra. Hilton demanded that Becerra apologize. Becerra dismissed the charge as recycled Trump talking points, blamed the prior Trump administration for dismantling vetting and separating families, and said he was proud of his record.
Homelessness, fire money, and energy
Becerra said he would clear encampments, enforce the law, treat mental illness and addiction, and hold cities and counties accountable. Hilton called it implausible from a candidate who, he said, had given Newsom an “A” on homelessness after years of Democratic control.
Becerra answered by accusing Trump of withholding about $30 billion in federal fire relief for Pacific Palisades and Altadena to pressure California on voting laws. Hilton said the money residents were promised had been pledged by Newsom’s administration, not Washington, and that Altadena residents felt Sacramento had let them down.
On climate, Hilton said he would scrap current policies for what he called sensible emissions cuts, use California oil he argues is cleaner than imports, and manage forests to limit mega-fires. Becerra said that amounted to letting polluters write energy policy and to coastal drilling, and argued gas prices could fall without Trump’s Iran policy.
Healthcare, vaccines, and schools
Hilton offered a “working-class healthcare guarantee” of lower premiums and deductibles paid for by cutting waste and fraud, and said proposed federal changes are work requirements, not cuts, with funding still rising. Becerra warned that federal reductions will close rural hospitals and clinics and said he would not allow work rules to strip coverage unjustly.
On vaccines, Hilton said lighter mandates produce better compliance and criticized mask and COVID-vaccine guidance for toddlers. He said he could not unilaterally repeal state law. Becerra said measles had nearly been eliminated, blamed resurgence on vaccine denial, and said HHS followed medical experts rather than imposing a federal mandate. Hilton accused him of groupthink. Becerra accused Hilton of wanting politicians, not doctors, to set care, including on abortion.
On schools, Becerra called for transitional kindergarten, tutoring, no social promotion, higher teacher pay, and keeping public dollars in public schools. Hilton called for universal third-grade literacy, phonics, and accountability for schools and teachers, arguing high spending has produced poor results. Becerra called that an attack on teachers.
Hollywood and the ballot
Both cited a loss of roughly 50,000 middle-class film and television jobs. Becerra backed credits only when the state gets more than a dollar back per dollar of credit, and noted he helped pass a federal film incentive in Congress. Hilton blamed long Democratic control and red tape.
Asked about President Trump’s claim that California runs a crooked election system with fake votes, Hilton did not adopt that language. He said he was confident in the primary process but criticized what he called Democratic complacency, citing comments by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass that a governor’s race was unnecessary because a Democrat would win anyway. Hilton said he supports Proposition 39, which would require voter identification. Becerra framed the measure as a Trump-backed effort to suppress voting and urged a no vote. Hilton replied that most Californians consider voter ID reasonable and that Becerra takes voters for granted. He then listed what he called a 16-year record of one-party rule: the nation’s highest cost of living and homelessness, gasoline inflated by about $2 a gallon in state taxes and rules he said are pushing refineries out, weak literacy, and jobs leaving the state. Becerra, he said, offers nothing new, will not take responsibility for policies he backed, and keeps pivoting to national politics while Californians pay the bill.
Closings
Hilton praised what he called California’s rebel spirit, said bureaucracy had crushed it, and returned to the $11,047 household-cost-cutting pledge. Becerra invoked the California dream, his parents’ path from $12 in their pockets, and the line that governing does not come with training wheels.
The Berkeley and PPIC surveys remain the best public measure of the race. Whether Wednesday’s hour moves the 9 percent who were undecided in the IGS poll will not be known until the next independent survey, after ballots are already in the mail.
For more information: Xavier Becerra, xavierbecerra2026.com; Steve Hilton, stevehiltonforgovernor.com. Hilton’s household-savings calculator is at savewithsteve.vote.
Candidate | Site | What it is |
Xavier Becerra | Official campaign website | |
Steve Hilton | Official campaign website | |
Steve Hilton | Campaign savings calculator (“Save With Steve”) |
