CLAREMONT, Calif.—California’s affordability surfaced as the top issue in a lively televised debate April 28—just weeks ahead of the state’s top-two jungle primary election—as eight candidates jockeyed for position.

CBS television stations in partnership with Asian Pacific American Public Affairs hosted the 90-minute debate, which was broadcast live across the state from Bridges Auditorium at Pomona College, about 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.

Candidates were asked how they would restore the “California Dream” and deal with high gas prices, gas taxes, homelessness, housing shortages, out-of-reach home prices, soaring health care costs, and some homeowners’ loss of insurance coverage over wildfire risks and state environmental policies.

Two Republicans—political commentator Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco—squared off against six Democrats, including billionaire philanthropist Tom Steyer, former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter, former Health and Human Services Secretary and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

The ‘California Dream’

A CBS poll released April 27 found that 64 percent of registered California voters surveyed said they are not confident the California Dream is still attainable, while 29 percent said they’re “somewhat confident” and 7 percent said they’re “very confident.”

About 51 percent of voters under 50 and 77 percent of voters over 50 said they were not confident.

The poll also found that more Californians call the cost of living in California “unmanageable” than they did five years ago.

Candidates at the debate were asked: “What is the first thing that you would do as governor to increase affordability and restore the California Dream?”

Hilton told the audience he would propose a budget that reduces gas to $3 a gallon and cuts electric bills. He would also eliminate state income tax on the first $100,000 that Californians earn, as well as help young people to buy homes they can afford.

When asked how a Republican governor could get anything accomplished with a Democrat super-majority in the state Legislature, Bianco replied that the Democrats would have to respond to the majority of Californians putting a Republican in the governor’s office, not the other way around.

“So it’s not how I’m going to respond to them, it’s how are they going to respond to me to make sure that we fix California,” he said. “California is broken because of what has been happening in Sacramento because of an absolute, failed Democrat progressive agenda that is destroying California. ... The regulations and the taxes have to go.”

Becerra said he wouldn’t suspend California’s 61-cent-a-gallon gas tax, because it’s needed to pay for roads and bridges.

“Those who say they’re going to cut the gas tax have to also say what they’re going to replace it with. Otherwise, we’re going to have potholes in every road, and we’re going to have bridges that can collapse,” he said.

Porter and Villaraigosa also said they would not suspend the gas tax, while Mahan said he would suspend the gas tax but work to reform the system.

Steyer said he would push for a windfall profits tax on oil companies.

Education and Jobs

Ryan Kossarian, a politics student at Pomona College, asked candidates how they would tackle the rising costs of education and bring jobs back to the state.

“California tells students that education is the path to opportunity. California itself was once the land of opportunity, yet students are graduating with a tremendous amount of debt in the state with no hope. There are no jobs, and people are leaving,” Kossarian said in framing the question.

Villaraigosa said tuition at Stanford University and the University of Southern California have reached $85,000 and are no longer affordable for most students.

“It’s just not,” he said. “That’s unacceptable.”

Thurmond advocated for free college in California initially funded by a billionaire’s tax.

“I call it ‘Pay It Forward,’” he said. “You go to school for free for four years, and when you graduate, you get a job, you start to pay back what was provided for you for the next year for students who come after you.”

The proposed program would “help to reduce the debt that California students experience so they can put that money towards buying a home or launching a business,” Thurmond said.

Housing Shortage

Gov. Gavin Newsom promised to build 3 million new homes, but according to CBS, he fell short with only 500,000 built. Candidates were asked what they would do differently to meet those housing goals.

Thurmond promised to provide down payment assistance grants to those who want to own a home.

“As governor, the first thing I‘ll do is provide down-payment assistance grants to those who want to own a home,” he said. “And, we will build 2 million housing units using a surplus property that school districts have in every single county in this state. We’ll build 2.3 million units by the year 2030. ... We can create a more affordable California.”

Steyer said the solution to California’s housing shortage means reducing permit costs and the time it takes to get them.

“The solution here is not a silver bullet; it’s what I call I silver buckshot,” he said. “The idea that we’re going to do the same thing better is insanity. We need to make structural change in every one of the places that Californians can’t afford to live.”

Villaraigosa said young people have lost hope in the American Dream, which used to include home ownership. He proposed a $25 billion initiative “at no cost to the taxpayer” to provide first-time buyer assistance and to fast-track and streamline the housing permit process.

Health Care

Becerra blamed part of the affordability crisis on President Donald Trump and his administration for massive cuts to federal funding of California health care programs such as Medi-Cal, which includes providing health care to illegal immigrants.

Trump has “kicked 3 million people off health care,” Becerra said.

In another comment aimed at Trump and Hilton, Becerra said “the first thing we have to do is stop Steve Hilton’s daddy who has endorsed him.”

When CBS anchor Pat Harvey gave Hilton a chance for rebuttal, he replied: “My dad was the goalie for the Hungarian national hockey team, and I don’t think he weighed in on this issue at all.

“The amount of money that’s coming from the federal government into California’s health system is actually increasing,” Hilton said.

The reason the health care costs are so high is there’s not enough competition in the health insurance market because of made-in-California rules that prevent insurance companies from “actually competing” to bring down premiums, Hilton said.

“We’ve had the same people in charge for 16 years now, and because it’s such a disaster and such a high cost of living for everyone ... they can’t do anything except blame Trump,” Hilton said.

Steyer said health care “is a right for every Californian” and that he supports a single-payer health care system.

Porter also supports universal health care because, she said, it delivers the most care at the lowest cost, while private insurance companies spend too much money on administrative costs, “pushing paper” and “denying claims.”

Currently, 25 percent of the hospitals in California are projected to close, Porter said.

Thurmond pushed for higher taxes on billionaires to provide revenue to keep hospitals open and fund “a real single-payer health care system.”

He criticized Republican opponents for supporting Trump, “who doesn’t care” that people lost their health insurance.

“I don’t see how that’s been good leadership,” he said.

Bianco accused Democratic candidates of using Trump as a scapegoat for their own failed policies.

“I feel like I’m in The Twilight Zone here,” Bianco said. “We have a group of 20-year-old kids—20-ish—and we’re just sitting here lying to them about broken Democrat policies in California for the last 20 years ... and blame a president who’s been president for a year? This is absolutely ridiculous.”

Bianco said California politicians should be less worried about what the federal government is doing and more worried about how they are running the state.

“California is the fourth largest economy in the entire world,” he said. “What do we care about a cut to medical payments?”

If Californians elect a governor who cares about the state and stops the “hundreds of billions of dollars” lost to waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer money, “it’s not going to matter whether President Trump or ‘President Whoever’ takes something away,” he said.

Bianco criticized the notion of government-run health care proposed by Democrats.

“Absolutely not,” he said. “If you want socialism, go somewhere else because single-payer people come to America for the best medical coverage and care in the entire world.”

Becerra said he’s the only candidate who can “get back the money Donald Trump took from us.”

Meanwhile, Porter lowered her shoulders to the podium and shook her head, saying “this is worse than my teenagers at dinner,” drawing laughter from the crowd.

“They’re all wrong,” Mahan said. “Trump’s tax cuts are cruel. We see vulnerable people who are losing coverage.”

On the other hand, he said, the state doesn’t know how to pay for a single-payer health care system and that countries with such systems “are struggling with long lines and cuts to care.”

Other Issues

Although opinions varied on the causes of homelessness and how to solve the problem, all candidates agreed previous efforts—including $24 billion spent on the issue—have essentially been ineffective, and that a different approach to mental health and drug-and-alcohol treatment is needed.

As of January 2024, the state’s homeless count was estimated at 187,000 according to the Public Policy Institute of California. Of the nation’s 771,500 homeless, 24 percent were in California.

When asked about oil refineries shutting down in response to California policies, and about California’s boutique blends of gasoline, Democratic candidates blamed gouging from oil companies and the war in Iran while pushing green energy and electric vehicles, while Republican candidates said California should be drilling and producing more domestic oil.

With some homeowners not able to buy home insurance in California, Democratic candidates blamed climate change for higher wildfire risks while Republicans pointed at state policies, including reluctance to reduce dry brush and other fuel sources and driving insurance companies out of the state with talk of rate freezes.

Primary Polls

The top two vote-getters in California’s June 2 jungle primary will advance to the Nov. 3 general election regardless of party affiliation, which could mean two Republicans or two Democrats on the ballot for governor.

The latest Real Clear Politics polling average puts Hilton in the lead with 17.3 percent of the vote, Steyer at 14.8 percent, Bianco at 13 percent, and Porter at 10.3 percent. The rest of the candidates show less than 10 percent.

However, these polls still list former Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Democrat, who dropped out the race amid sexual assault allegations, and Betty Yee, who quit the race due to lack of voter support.

Other polls and political pundits suggest Becerra may be carrying votes that would have gone to Swalwell.

The Cook Political Report has the race pegged as solid blue, with the primary just weeks away.

Candidate Selections

Moderators for the debate included CBS anchors Pat Harvey, Los Angeles; Tony Lopez, Sacramento; and Ryan Yamamoto, San Francisco Bay Area; as well as CBS News California Investigates correspondent Julie Watts; and Sara Sadhwani, assistant professor of politics at Pomona College. Anchor Suzie Suh of CBS Los Angeles served as host.

Candidates with active campaigns who are listed on the ballot and had at least 1 percent of voter support in both Emerson College and Los Angeles Times/UC Berkeley polls were invited to participate in the debate, according to CBS.