California gubernatorial frontrunners face off in high-stakes debate as early voting gets under way

Seven of the leading contenders in California’s unexpectedly dramatic race for governor will meet on a debate stage Tuesday night, a high-stakes showdown arriving just as voters begin casting ballots in the state’s nonpartisan primary.

The debate, hosted by CNN and kicking off at 6pm PT, comes as the volatile contest to succeed the outgoing Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, begins to take clearer shape weeks after one of the leading candidates, former Democratic congressman Eric Swalwell, suddenly withdrew amid sexual assault and harassment allegations, which he strongly denies. Millions of voters across the state have already received their mail-in ballots before the 2 June primary, leaving precious little time for lower-polling Democrats to break through.

After Swalwell’s exit, Xavier Becerra, the former secretary of health and human services under Joe Biden, has surged to the top of the crowded Democratic field, a remarkable turnaround after months languishing at the bottom of polls.

A recent survey conducted by the California Democratic party showed Becerra tied at 18% with Republican Steve Hilton, the former Fox News host and director of strategy to former UK prime minister David Cameron. They were trailed by Chad Bianco, the Republican sheriff of Riverside county; billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer; former California congresswoman Katie Porter; Matt Mahan, San Jose’s mayor; and former Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

In a sign the contest was starting to settle and Californians were tuning in, the survey found that the number of undecided voters had shrunk considerably, falling from 24% in March to 14%.

Becerra’s unexpected rise has helped ease panic among Democrats that a fractured field might allow two Republicans to slip through to the November general election in the country’s biggest and most influential blue state. Under the state’s so-called “jungle primary”, the top two vote-getters advance regardless of party.

His momentum has been met with a barrage of attacks from his chief Democratic rivals, but he has so far dodged major hits in a pair of relatively polite debates last month.

Becerra and Steyer arrive on the debate stage in Los Angeles touting endorsements from two larger-than-life California icons: the labor activist Dolores Huerta recently announced her support for Becerra, while the former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown lent his Bay Area political clout to Steyer.

On Monday, the powerful SEIU California hedged its bets by endorsing both Steyer and Becerra. The union had previously rescinded its endorsement of Swalwell after the allegations against him.

Becerra’s sudden contention makes him a prime target on Tuesday night, and his rivals are expected to scrutinize his record, including his handling of the issue of immigrant children as Biden’s HHS secretary. And despite casting himself as an early leader in the anti-Trump resistance while serving as California attorney general during the president’s first term, he faces some skepticism from liberals over his more moderate positions and understated approach.

Steyer, meanwhile, has sought to rally progressives behind his campaign, casting himself as a “class traitor” whom other billionaires are trying to defeat. In a pre-debate memo, Steyer’s campaign argued he remained the strongest Democrat in the race and the only candidate willing to take on corporate interests, though questions linger about his wealth and his past investments in coal and private prisons. Steyer has spent more than $130m of his own fortune on his gubernatorial bid, yet has remained relatively stagnant in recent polls.

The jockeying on Tuesday night comes one week after a chaotic forum where the eight candidates frequently interrupted one another and clashed over the major issues from immigration enforcement, wildfire response and the high cost of living in California, the world’s fourth-largest economy. Those themes are again expected to dominate the evening’s discussion, as candidates confront voter concerns over affordability, homelessness, insurance shortages and a projected state budget shortfall.