For the sixth and final time before votes are counted, California’s crowded governor’s primary field met on a San Francisco stage Thursday for a 90-minute debate that did little to resolve a race in which no candidate has yet broken through. Three Los Angeles Times columnists who watched the forum — Gustavo Arellano, Mark Z. Barabak and Anita Chabria — concluded that Thursday’s session produced more reheated themes and rhetorical sparring than any decisive moment likely to change the outcome.
The debate, co-moderated by San Francisco Examiner editor-in-chief Schuyler Hudak Prionas, was frequently marked by candidates talking over one another and circling familiar talking points rather than offering new, unifying visions. Arellano called the evening “more of the same,” saying the contest has become “choosing the least worst option” and criticizing many candidates for trading on nostalgia — invoking past accomplishments instead of a forward-looking agenda. He noted that none of the contenders has polled above “20-some percent,” evidence, he argued, of a field with no clear zeitgeist-capturing leader.
Several candidates leaned on previous public roles: former Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa closed with the slogan “Dream with me,” a refrain he used during his mayoral tenure 13 years ago; Xavier Becerra repeatedly cited his record as California attorney general, including that he pursued more than 100 lawsuits against former President Donald Trump; and Rep. Katie Porter revived her hallmark on-camera props, pulling out a white notebook in an aggressive challenge to Becerra. Arellano and Barabak both suggested those refrains underscored a campaign more anchored to the past than to new solutions for Californians frustrated by high costs and outmigration.
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Barabak said the evening again put Becerra at the center of attacks — a predictable result given his perch in the polls — with rivals pressing him on his record in government, his ties to industry and a separate controversy involving former aides who admitted to embezzling funds from a dormant campaign account. Becerra, Barabak wrote, struck a sharper tone than in some earlier appearances and emphasized that prosecutors had described him as a victim, not a co-conspirator. Still, Barabak warned that television theatrics will likely matter far less than how voters cast ballots in the weeks ahead, noting Democrats’ concern that last-minute consolidation around a top Democrat could determine whether the party secures a spot in November’s general election.
Chabria characterized the debate as an “old-school” affair — mostly polite, low-energy and unlikely to change many minds. She gave a rare positive appraisal to Porter, calling it her best performance to date for clarity and policy detail, but deemed it probably “too little, too late.” Tom Steyer, she said, made forceful points on moving away from fossil fuels but also offered convoluted answers that may not win undecided voters. Chabria reserved pointed criticism for Republican commentator Steve Hilton after he answered that, if elected, he would allow California abortion providers to be extradited to other states such as Louisiana to face criminal charges for mailing abortion medications — an answer she said should disqualify him in a staunchly pro-choice state.
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With this the final debate before ballots are cast, columnists said the contest now moves fully into its closing phase, where polling trends and voter decisions over the coming weeks will be decisive. Thursday’s forum reinforced that, for now, the race remains unsettled: familiar lines and personal histories dominated the stage, and none of the contenders delivered a breakthrough that definitively altered the trajectory of the primary.
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