Becerra and Hilton square off over housing crisis, AI and immigration in CNN debate

The California I grew up in had its pluses and minuses, just like the state I’m living in now.

But consider this:

Fewer than half of California third graders are reading at grade level, and moderators asked candidates what they would do to improve results for students.

Becerra said the state’s large education system is not “well coordinated” and requires “too much overcompliance.” He applauded transitional kindergarten, a new pre-K grade created under Newsom, and warned that Hilton would send “public taxpayer dollars to private for-profit schools. Not on my watch.”

Hilton again took the opportunity to bash years of Democratic governance in California.

“It’s a catastrophe for our young people. We cannot go on like this,” Hilton said. He also accused Becerra of being “sponsored by the teacher unions that have been such a big part of the problem in California.”

Xavier Becerra has made a campaign out of saying nothing. Steve Hilton will seemingly say anything to anyone as long as there’s a microphone.

Neither dynamic is promising for voters tuning into Wednesday night’s televised debate on CNN with the two candidates vying to replace Gavin Newsom as California’s new governor.

But don’t worry, Golden State voters — Times columnists Gustavo Arellano, Mark Z. Barabak and Anita Chabria watched every minute, every second, really, to bring you the zingers, gaffes and hopefully maybe even some insights.

Becerra, who led the massive U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under former President Biden, was attacked over his oversight of how the agency cared for the influx of unaccompanied immigrant children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“You dismantled the vetting that should have made sure that they were with a safe, protective family or sponsor. You sent thousands of young children directly into the clutches of child sex and labor traffickers,” Hilton said.

Becerra disputed Hilton’s description of what occurred during the migrant crisis and expressed support for border control, but he lashed out at Hilton for his views on immigration.

“California welcomed you into California, and you welcomed ICE mercenaries into our state in return,” Becerra said. “How do you square that? You know, you’re an immigrant. I have fought all my life to make life better for immigrants, to represent them well, to defend them, to let them grow and build like my parents. But here’s the problem I have with your policies: You seem to welcome immigrants who look like you, but deport immigrants who look like me.”

Hilton called Becerra’s remark “disgraceful.”

Becerra was attacked by Democratic rivals in the gubernatorial primary earlier this year in the aftermath of a Pulitzer Prize-winning series in The New York Times cited by Hilton, including one that said thousands of the roughly 250,000 migrant children who entered the United States between 2021 and 2023 worked in slaughterhouses, factories and other dangerous jobs that violated child labor laws.

The investigation also alleged that tens of thousands of the children Becerra’s agency released couldn’t be found because he relaxed screening of relatives and sponsors.

Becerra has repeatedly said that despite a lack of congressional funding for licensed-care facilities dismantled by the Trump administration, his staff worked hard to vet the people who the children would be placed with.

Hilton was asked whether he thinks that California has a “crooked election system,” as President Trump alleged this week.

Hilton replied by expressing support in the state’s election system, a position that he’s previously taken.

He also expressed support for Proposition 39, a ballot measure that would require ID when voting in person or would require that voters put a special pin on their envelope.

Like other Democratic leaders in California, Becerra opposes Proposition 39, arguing that it would make it harder for people to vote. He claimed Wednesday that “Prop. 39 is an initiative that is backed Donald Trump.”

While Trump has criticized California’s election and supports voter ID policies, he hasn’t specifically weighed in on Proposition 39.

Nationally, 200,000 people became homeless while Becerra was leading the federal Department of Health and Human Services, moderators said — and they asked why he would be the right candidate to improve the problem in California.

“As governor, I will demand accountability of our local governments,” Becerra said, adding that he would also make sure “encampments are clear” and invest in mental health and substance abuse services for people living on the streets.

Hilton criticized Becerra for giving Gov. Gavin Newsom an A grade on the issue earlier this year. He said Becerra would lead to more of the same on one of California’s most visible and intractable problems.

“This is what’s so insulting, actually, about this attitude we get from the Democrats,” Hilton said. “We need a plan to change homelessness.”

Hilton consolidated support among California Republicans after President Trump endorsed him ahead of the June primary, a fact Becerra repeatedly raised during the debate.

Becerra on a number of occasions raised Trump’s endorsement of Hilton, as well as his prior expressed support of the president’s policies on issues such as immigration.

“All you ever say is Trump, Trump, Trump, and that’s nothing but an insult to every Californian who is desperate for something to change in this state, and all you’re offering is more of the same,” Hilton said in response.

Becerra countered that Hilton embraced Trump during the primary.

“Your words, ‘Trump, Trump, Trump,’ because he is your supporter,” Becerra said. “You chased his endorsement.”

Registered California Democratic voters outnumber Republicans nearly two-to-one, and the president is deeply unpopular among the state’s voters. But Trump’s approval ratings have dropped among the state’s Republicans, so his endorsement, which was a boon in the primary, could be an albatross in the Nov. 3 general election.

Becerra’s campaign rolled out a website Wednesday evening highlighting Hilton’s history of positive comments about the president and his policies, including about immigration, data centers and tariffs.

Hilton said in an interview Monday that while he was “honored” by Trump’s endorsement, he is his own man. And he argued that while the president’s support has fallen among California voters in recent polls, his has risen.

Asked whether he considered himself part of Trump’s Make America Great Again movement, Hilton said he eschewed such labels and is running a nonpartisan campaign focused on kitchen table issues facing all Californians.

“I’m very much focused on practical things to help make people’s lives better,” he said.

“We’ve had way too much ideology, both in policy and politics, and I think my response to the moment right now in California is people are sick of all of that,” Hilton said. “They just want life to be a little easier, less expensive, less of a hassle, and so I’m very focused on that.”

A question about how many more homes the candidates would aim to build as governor highlighted the complexity of the issue in California.

“He hasn’t explained how he would actually reduce the cost of housing,” Hilton said of Becerra. “What’s the track record that you’ve shown in standing up to the Legislature in Sacramento?”

Becerra responded that he sued the city of Huntington Beach for not meeting state laws to build more housing.

“We won because Huntington Beach was denying permits, and we have to build. And no locality should have the right to try to stop all of our people in California from having the housing we need,” he said.

Hilton also mentioned a plan to develop 10 new cities around the state. If counties or cities provide the plans, the state would front load infrastructure costs and build a new public university to anchor new population centers, according to the candidate’s 10-page proposal.

With artificial intelligence dominating the news, CNN’s Dana Bash asked Steve Hilton if those companies should be able to “self-police.”

“We’ll have to see,” Hilton said.

Hilton also expressed concerns about California losing AI jobs to other states, including Texas and Arizona.

Xavier Becerra seized upon that answer, replying, “If you listen closely, you can hear Donald Trump in that response.”

Becerra was referring to President Trump’s meeting this week with AI technology leaders, which was criticized for its failure to get ironclad protections.

“The president got a pinky promise,” said Becerra, repeating the phrase repeatedly.

Both Hilton and Becerra have previously supported regulations for data centers and artificial intelligence companies, a sign of growing bipartisan pushback seen across the country.

Becerra also said that he is open to adding data centers — another hot button issue — if the community wants it.

“If someone wants to come in and build a data center that creates more jobs in the community, adds more energy to our grid, and it actually protects and adds more water capacity, then let’s talk. But it has to be good for the community.”

Xavier Becerra came out swinging against rival Steve Hilton during Wednesday evening’s CNN debate.

Becerra, a long-time Democratic official who last served as a member of former President Biden’s cabinet, blasted Hilton’s economic proposals on issues such as taxes.

“What he would do is he would damage our state even further, make it harder for working families,” Becerra said.

Hilton responded that California’s existing policies have resulted in the high cost of living.

Xavier Becerra started off by attacking Steve Hilton’s plan to end income taxes for Californians’ first $150,000 earned, saying it will also be a big tax cut for the state’s wealthiest and would end up hurting schools.

“The math doesn’t add up to what he’s talking about. He’s going to have to take it out of somewhere. It will come out of our schools,” Becerra said.

Hilton said his proposal is designed to help the people who need it most.

“The quickest way to get more money in people’s pockets is for the government to take less out. That’s what I’m going to be doing,” the Republican said.

Steve Hilton kicked off the debate by seizing upon Xavier Becerra’s lack of public campaign activity.

“First of all, I just want to say thank you to CNN for bringing Xavier out of hiding. He’s not been seen in public since the primary four months ago.”

That’s a bit of an exaggeration, but Becerra hasn’t made himself very available to the media or the public since he won the primary in June.

With gas prices topping $6 a gallon and an unpopular war continuing in Iran, President Trump’s approval has slipped with California Republicans — a falloff that could diminish the party’s chances in the state’s few competitive congressional races.

A new poll by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, co-sponsored by The Times, found that 76% of Republican voters in the state approve of the president’s performance, down from 83% last year.

Well, there’s at least one prominent Californian who won’t be watching tonight’s CNN gubernatorial debate between Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton: the man they’re seeking to replace.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday said he had other plans. He’s doing an interview for a documentary on Marshawn Lynch, the former Seattle Seahawks and Oakland Raiders running back known for terrifying other teams when he activated his “Beast Mode.”

In 2025, Newsom starred in a weekly sports and culture podcast called “Politickin’” with Lynch and sports agent Doug Hendrickson. Lynch, an Oakland native who played for the California Golden Bears before joining the NFL, has dabbled in business, acting and commentating since retiring from the sport.

Newsom on Wednesday didn’t offer any details about the interview other than it was scheduled at the same time as the debate and will be about Lynch’s “life and times.”

After serving two terms as governor and spending the past month reviewing hundreds of bills passed by the California Legislature this session — as well as his ongoing flirtations with a possible 2028 presidential run — Newsom on Wednesday seemed happy to take a breather from politics for an evening.

When talking with reporters at the state capital and ruminating about his years in Sacramento, the Democratic governor said he wasn’t at all torn up about missing tonight’s Becerra-Hilton political sparring match.

“Enthusiastically, I will not be. I want to make sure you get that enthusiastic part,” Newsom said with a giant grin.

The sole debate scheduled between Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton in the race to replace termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom kicks off at 6 p.m.

The two candidates are expected to spar over their starkly divergent views on the most pressing issues facing the state, such as affordability, housing, homelessness, the state’s finances and California’s hostile relationship with President Trump.

While there will not be a studio audience, the debate will air on CNN, CNN International, CNN en Español, CNN.com and related TV and mobile apps for subscribers.

The clash will take place at CNN’s Burbank studio and be moderated by anchors Dana Bash and Jake Tapper.

The hour-long debate takes place shortly before county election officials mail ballots to California’s 23.2 million registered voters.

The moderators of Wednesday’s gubernatorial debate between Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton spoke about their focus on the California contest and offered a few hints about what they planned to ask the candidates.

CNN anchors Dana Bash and Jake Tapper will moderate the nationally televised debate — which, at this point, is the only scheduled face-off between Becerra and Hilton before the Nov. 3 election. The debate will take place at CNN’s studio in Burbank.

Bash said that one of the reasons the cable network decided to host the debate is because of the impact that California policies have on the nation.

“California is one of the most important states in the country for many, many reasons — the fourth-largest economy [in the world] and because you have tech companies at the forefront of our world right now that are largely based here,” she said.

Tapper pointed to the influence the state’s leaders have historically had on the nation’s politics.

“I always pay attention to what’s going on in California, and not just because you’re 12% of the US population,” he said. “The leader of California has typically been a pretty dominant political force, and national trends often begin here. Beyond that, we’re interested to see how these very different candidates are going to frame the issues, especially against the backdrop of new polling that shows a majority of likely voters say the state is headed in the wrong direction.”

While California produced two Republican presidents — Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan — the state has grown more liberal over the past few decades.

The state’s current governor, Democrat Gavin Newsom, is one of the nation’s most outspoken critics of President Trump and he, along with the Democratic-led state legislature, have taken aggressive measures to combat Trump’s policies, including a crackdown on immigrants and false claims of voter fraud.

Registered Democratic voters now outnumber Republicans nearly two-to-one. GOP politicians last won statewide elections in 2006, one of whom was Hollywood star Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The moderators were coy about the questions they would ask candidates during the one-hour debate, though affordability will clearly be a primary focus. The clash, which begins at 6 p.m., will air on CNN, CNN International, CNN en Español, CNN.com and related TV and mobile apps for subscribers. It takes place days before county election officials mail ballots to California’s 23.2 million registered voters.

“We want to make sure it has an element of surprise for the candidates and viewers and voters, most importantly,” Bash said.

Tapper added, “We’re going to focus on issues we believe California voters care a great deal about — though with national relevance as well.”

If elected governor in November, Republican Steve Hilton said he would eliminate the state Department of Motor Vehicles and slash registration fees for car owners — expressing confidence that the Democratic-controlled Legislature would embrace the plan.

“My starting expectation would be, they would be with me on things to reduce the cost of living, so let’s work together,” he told The Times.

SACRAMENTO — As Californians prepare to elect a new governor in November, the concern they want to be his top priority is reducing the state’s entrenched high cost of living, according to a poll by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies and co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times.

Not too far behind that is strong voter support for fighting the policies of the Trump administration. That may be among the many reasons 58% of likely voters surveyed support Democrat Xavier Becerra in the governor’s race compared to the 33% who back Republican Steve Hilton, whom the president endorsed.

After a primary campaign filled with twists, turns and scandal, the election to determine California’s next governor has narrowed to two candidates: Xavier Becerra, a Democrat and veteran of California politics, and Steve Hilton, a Republican immigrant and ally of President Trump.

The two have similar origin stories as the sons of working-class immigrants — both even worked construction jobs to earn money as teenagers — but they have vastly different visions for California’s future. If elected, Becerra promises to solidify many of the state’s liberal policies and its opposition to Trump; Hilton pledges to reverse course by cutting taxes, ending regulations and shrinking state government.