California governor candidates clash over affordability, taxes and immigration in debate

California voters saw the clearest divide yet in the governor’s race when seven candidates turned a televised debate in the Los Angeles area into a fight over affordability, taxes and who should pay more. On the question that felt most concrete to households facing higher rents, grocery bills and insurance costs, Tom Steyer stood out as the only candidate who said he would sign the proposed billionaire tax.

The stakes are unusually high because Gov. Gavin Newsom is term-limited and 61 candidates are running in California’s June 2 top-two primary. Ballots began going out May 4, secure drop-off locations opened May 5, and the deadline to register is May 18, putting the contest in front of voters even as the field remains crowded and unsettled. Ballotpedia counts 24 Democrats, 12 Republicans, one Libertarian, one Peace and Freedom candidate and 23 no-party-preference candidates.

The debate, moderated by Elex Michaelson and Kaitlan Collins, was aired May 5 at 6 p.m. PT and centered on affordability, sanctuary policies, immigration, homelessness, experience and personal insults. The problem for voters was not a shortage of conflict. It was the shortage of plans that matched California’s cost-of-living crisis. Steyer’s answer on the 2026 Billionaire Tax Act was the rare moment when a candidate offered a direct position on how to raise revenue from the state’s wealthiest residents. The measure would impose a one-time tax on wealthy Californians if voters approve it, and its supporters needed 875,000 signatures by April to clear the path for certification by June.

That left the rest of the stage looking more rhetorical than governing. Xavier Becerra, Matt Mahan, Katie Porter, Antonio Villaraigosa, Chad Bianco and Steve Hilton all had moments to attack one another or lean into familiar applause lines, but the sharpest policy contrast came on taxes and who should shoulder the burden of California’s affordability problems. The billionaire tax also exposed a Democratic split: some candidates were willing to put new revenue on the table, while others treated the idea as a political cudgel rather than a budget solution.

Recent polling suggests the race is still fluid. One survey showed Steve Hilton and Xavier Becerra tied at 18 percent among likely voters, while another found a Republican ahead with about one-fifth of voters undecided. That uncertainty gives added weight to the debate’s most useful test: which candidate could move beyond slogans and explain how California gets cheaper to live in. On that measure, Steyer made the most credible case, even as the larger question of how to solve the state’s affordability crunch remains unanswered.