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California governor candidates struggle for standout moments at feisty debate
The Hill ^ | April 28, 2026 | Julia Mueller

Posted on 04/28/2026 10:59:46 PM PDT by McGruff

California gubernatorial candidates struggled to break through on the debate stage Tuesday, as Democrats look to capitalize on former Rep. Eric Swalwell’s (D-Calif.) dramatic exit from the crowded field.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, billionaire Tom Steyer, former Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) and five other rivals, including Trump-backed Republican Steve Hilton, fought for standout moments in the 90-minute program at Pomona College in the unique, nonpartisan contest.

Faced with questions about affordability, housing and other crises facing the Golden State, the candidates clashed in crosstalk, interruptions and squabbles with moderators just a week after a more muted showdown. Becerra jabbed that Trump is “Hilton’s daddy,” while Porter said her colleagues’ back-and-forth was “worse than my teenagers at dinner.”

“Wow, that was a bit of a mess,” said Pomona College student Ryan Kossarian as he stood to ask a question at the debate, hosted by CBS News at the university in Claremont, Calif.

(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...


TOPICS: Government; Politics/Elections; US: California
KEYWORDS: california; fakefactcheckers; juliamueller; leftistsource; thehill; theshill

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Sounds entertaining.
1 posted on 04/28/2026 10:59:46 PM PDT by McGruff
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To: McGruff

The moderators thought it was all about them. It was the most atrocious debate I have ever seen. Moderators would spend three minutes espousing their own views or brilliance and then cut off candidate responses at 30 seconds, unless of course it was their favorite candidate. The worst clusterf**k I have seen in some time. CBS and Pomona College ought to be very ashamed of this horrendous and biased disaster.


2 posted on 04/28/2026 11:06:19 PM PDT by SFConservative
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Comment #3 Removed by Moderator

To: McGruff

Chad Bianco (R) fell to 4th place at ~10–14%. Too bad. If he could have stayed in second in the primary it would have been 2 Republicans in the final vote. Of course the RATs could not tolerate that so they tossed out Swalwell.


4 posted on 04/28/2026 11:11:55 PM PDT by Nateman (Democrats did not strive for fraud friendly voting merely to continue honest elections.)
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To: Texas_Jarhead

The liberal locusts fleeing paradise for other states they have not ruined yet.


5 posted on 04/28/2026 11:14:06 PM PDT by Nateman (Democrats did not strive for fraud friendly voting merely to continue honest elections.)
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To: McGruff
CBS mods kept putting their filthy biased thumbs on the scale - working against Republicans and for their masters in the democrat party,

Creepy Gullible Lowlife Moderators...


6 posted on 04/29/2026 12:56:28 AM PDT by GOPJ (In the Clinton years the SPLC worked with the FBI to create the 'Vast Right Wing Conspiracy' lie. )
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To: GOPJ

“Creepy Gullible Lowlife Moderators...”

The “journalist” moderators are not gullible, everything they did was with malice and forethought.


7 posted on 04/29/2026 2:57:15 AM PDT by wildcard_redneck ( Neocons in love with the Ukraine War hate how long the Iran War is taking..........)
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To: wildcard_redneck

Great correction... thanks

They’re only gullible in buying democrat lies but from that point on - they’re knowingly evil.


8 posted on 04/29/2026 4:53:32 AM PDT by GOPJ (In the Clinton years the SPLC worked with the FBI to create the 'Vast Right Wing Conspiracy' lie. )
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