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So, in crazy news out of California, USC, which was slated to host a gubernatorial debate, canceled it due to a lack of diversity on the debate stage. That's right, because all of the candidates who qualified for the debate were white, the other candidates complained, and the whole thing was called off. The complaining candidates were Xavier Becerra, who used to head HHS for Biden, Tony Thurmond, Betty Yee, and Antonio Villaraigosa.
None of those four were polling more than single digits, while the candidates who were set to debate, Steve Hilton, Chad Bianco, Eric Swalwell, Katie Porter, and Tom Steyer, all had double digits in polling. Even so, the biggest lead is Hilton with 16% to Bianco's 14%. Becerra called it unfair that he and the other low-polling candidates were left off the stage.
"We recognize that concerns about the selection criteria for the debate have created a significant distraction from the issues that matter to voters. Unfortunately, USC and KABC have not been able to reach an agreement on expanding the number of candidates at the debate. As a result, USC has made the difficult decision to cancel the debate and will look for other opportunities to educate voters on the candidates and issues," USC President Beong-Soo Kim said.
Becerra posted in celebration. "We fought. We won! We stood up against an unfair candidate debate set-up that prematurely chose winners and losers," he said. "Tonight USC made the right decision to cancel their March 24 gubernatorial forum…so hopefully next time it’s done right. Thank you to everyone who stood up, raised hell, and demanded justice. Never give up when you’re fighting for fairness!"
The debate was canceled less than 24 hours before it was slated to happen. "The debate would have featured six candidates, all white. The inclusion of a low-polling mayor drew scrutiny in particular," The New York Times wrote. The outlet said there was "backlash over including only white candidates."
Another issue of concern for Democrats is that their low-polling candidates are splitting voters while there are only two GOP candidates on the ballot. The state has a "top-two primary system," meaning that the two top candidates in the primary go on to run in the general election—even if they're both in the same party. Given that Hilton and Bianco are leading the pack, Californians could end up having to choose between two GOP candidates, meaning that the next governor would definitely be a Republican.
The California Democrat machine can hardly even fathom this potentiality. But to prevent that from happening, Democrats would have to coalesce around a few top-performing candidates. Party leaders don't seem prepared to push for that. And Newsom hasn't endorsed anyone. But a bigger problem facing the party is that Californians don't seem at all into the candidates they've fielded.
Libby