LOS ANGELES—A California gubernatorial primary debate will be held Los Angeles next month, offering voters a high-profile forum to hear directly from candidates in one of the nation’s most closely watched races.
The two-hour debate on May 5 is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. and will air live on CNN, CNN International, and CNN en Español, with streaming available for subscribers, according to the network. Anchors Elex Michaelson and Kaitlan Collins will moderate.
The event comes as the race is entering its final stretch ahead of the primary election, with a wide field of candidates seeking to lead the nation’s most populous state.
The Republicans in the race are podcaster and former television host Steve Hilton, who received an endorsement on April 6 from President Donald Trump, and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.
Democratic candidates are former U.S. Health and Human Services secretary and California attorney general Xavier Becerra, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, former congresswoman Katie Porter, billionaire financier Tom Steyer, Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Dublin, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, former Los Angeles mayor and Assembly speaker Antonio Villaraigosa, and former state Controller Betty Yee.
CNN said invitations to participate in the debate will be based on several criteria, including meeting requirements set by the California secretary of state, raising or contributing at least $1 million to their campaign and demonstrating at least 3 percent support in qualifying polls.
The eligibility window will close April 27 at 6 p.m., and polls used to determine participation must be released between Feb. 1 and that date and meet CNN’s standards.
The debate follows the cancellation of a previously scheduled gubernatorial debate at USC after criticism over its selection criteria. Organizers scrapped that event last month amid complaints that the formula used to determine participants was biased and excluded several major candidates, including Becerra, Thurmond, Villaraigosa, and Yee.
