Becerra and Hilton clash over Trump ties and affordability in California governor debate

Former Health Secretary Xavier Becerra and former Fox News host Steve Hilton met Wednesday night on CNN for their likely only debate before the November election to succeed term-limited Governor Gavin Newsom. Becerra, the Democratic frontrunner, centered his strategy on tying Hilton to President Donald Trump's policies. He compared Hilton's proposed tax cuts — eliminating state income tax on the first $150,000 of earnings and a flat 8% rate above that — to Trump's federal cuts, warning they would yield "Trump results."

Hilton, a British political operative, pushed back against the Trump association, arguing that Democrats' total control of Sacramento has made it "impossible for regular, working people to live in this state anymore." He labeled the state government a "corrupt machine" and proposed capping fees on new housing construction and incorporating 10 new cities through a county bidding process.

“You're going to end up with Trump results if you follow Steve Hilton's plan.”

On housing, Becerra pledged to cut red tape, expand down payment assistance, protect buyers from investor competition, and enforce state mandates on local governments. Regarding artificial intelligence regulation, Becerra cited his record suing Meta, Amazon, and Google as Attorney General, vowing to impose limits on data centers. Hilton criticized Becerra for accepting campaign donations from tech companies.

The debate targeted the 47.4% of primary voters who backed other candidates. California, home to roughly 12% of the U.S. population, faces acute crises in housing affordability, homelessness, natural disasters, and AI governance.