Democrats Eat Each Other Alive in California Governor Debate

It was astonishing to watch. At the California gubernatorial debate, you had leftists, radical leftists, and crazy leftists all trying to outdo one another in showing how true-blue to the cause they are.

Five Democrats and two Republicans faced off in one of the last debates before the June 2 primary, where the top two finishers will move on to compete in the Nov. 3 general election.

Democrats in the field, including former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, former Rep. Katie Porter, businessman Tom Steyer, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa tried their best to tear each other down. Most of the fire was directed at Becerra, who leads in some polls.

Those polls are all over the map. The latest poll released on Monday, a California Democratic Party poll, has Becerra tied with Republican Steve Hilton at 18%, with the other Republican, Chad Bianco, is in third with 14%. As expected, the exit of disgraced former Rep. Eric Swalwell has broken the GOP stranglehold on the two top spots and allowed Becerra and billionaire Tom Steyer to compete for one of the two general election slots.

With the race in a confusing flux, the best way to stand out from the rest of the crowded field was to trash one's fellow Democrats. The blue-on-blue warfare was glorious from the Republicans' perspective.

Daily Wire:

The most consistent throughline of the evening was the cost of living, particularly gas prices, which hovered above $6 per gallon statewide. Hilton argued that regulatory policy and environmental mandates were artificially inflating costs, at one point accusing Steyer of supporting policies that burden working Californians to benefit “rich friends” invested in climate initiatives. Steyer fired back, calling Hilton an “apologist for fossil fuels” and arguing that global markets, not state policy, drive fuel costs.
That exchange set the tone for much of the night: blunt, personal, and often spilling beyond the moderators’ control.
At another point, Becerra claimed that Trump is responsible for raising the cost of living in California, singling out the war in Iran and rising gas prices. Villaraigosa shot back, reminding Becerra that Californians have dealt with the highest gas prices in the country “for a very long time.”

Xavier Becerra gets OWNED by his own party:

BECERRA: “Let’s focus on who’s raising the cost of living in California…that’s Donald Trump.”

VILLARAIGOSA: “That’s not true, we’ve had the highest gas prices over $2 than the rest of the nation for a very long time…” pic.twitter.com/dM7khLVi4J
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) May 6, 2026

There was very little agreement among the Democrats, except when they were asked about restoring healthcare benefits for illegal aliens.

MODERATOR: "This year, undocumented adults can no longer enroll in Medi-Cal, would you reinstate this if you become governor?"

Every single Democrat: Yes pic.twitter.com/7MzXNzrkBU
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) May 7, 2026

Tom Steyer sought to outdo the most radical Democrats when calling for not only the abolishment of ICE, but also prosecuting the Trump administration. Apparently, enforcing immigration law is a criminal offense.

Tom Steyer calls to abolish ICE and prosecute the Trump administration for enforcing immigration laws.

STEYER: "ICE is a criminal organization." pic.twitter.com/QfAAfdT8ze
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) May 7, 2026

San Jose Mayor Tom Mahar thrilled the Democrats in the crowd by claiming that sanctuary policies keep America safe.

California Democrat Matt Mahan peddles the Democrat lie that sanctuary policies keep Americans safer. https://t.co/bsKzd7DeOG pic.twitter.com/CXUoKk5jPD
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) May 7, 2026

As head of Biden's HHS, Becerra lost up to 300,000 illegal immigrant children. Some were sold into slavery, many were given to unvetted sponsors. Becerra denies he lost any children while head of HHS.

California Democrat Xavier Becerra CONTINUES to deny that he lost migrant kids under Biden. pic.twitter.com/wBRBXMZOW3
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) May 7, 2026

Xavier Becerra gets called out by fellow California Democrat Antonio Villaraigosa for lying about the kids he lost under Biden:

“Are you proud that you pushed out 85,000 migrant children...you said those are MAGA talking points...tell that to the children who died." pic.twitter.com/51qFvxgvu5
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) May 7, 2026

Beneath the exchanges, a more structural reality remained clear: the race is still wide open. Polling has shown no dominant candidate, and Tuesday’s debate did little to consolidate the field. Instead, it reinforced the sense of fragmentation — ideologically, stylistically, and strategically — as candidates search for a path into the top two spots that will advance to the general election.
At times, the debate approached disorder, though moderators kept it from devolving into the kind of chaos seen in earlier debates in the race. Still, frequent interruptions, overlapping answers, and pointed one-liners gave the event a combative rhythm that reflected the melodrama of California politics.

Mail-in voting has already begun (another argument for ending the practice of allowing early voting before the debates are concluded). I believe Steve Hilton has a good shot at one of the final two slots, with either Becerra or Steyer taking the other finalist spot.

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