For the first time since Eric Swalwell’s departure from California’s gubernatorial race, the leading gubernatorial candidates took the debate floor on Wednesday, April 22, where the cost of living and housing became focal points.
The two Republican candidates — former Fox News host Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco — throughout Nexstar’s “Debate Night in California: The Race for Governor” argued that the state’s one-party rule and government overreach have resulted in the myriad of issues facing the state, including cost of living, housing, and homelessness.
Democratic candidates Tom Steyer, Xavier Becerra, Matt Mahan, and Katie Porter were more divided about the root causes of California’s issues, often offering different remedies.
Here are five key takeaways from the debate Californians should know.
Where candidates stand on gas tax
With the cost of living at the forefront of voters’ minds, moderators opened the debate floor by asking whether they would cut California’s gas tax. The tax helps fund the upkeep of roadways and public transportation. As of July 1, 2025, California’s state gasoline excise tax increased to 61.2 cents per gallon.
Becerra, an attorney who most recently served as the 25th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, strongly opposed eliminating the state’s gas tax, arguing that Californians need the funds to support the roadway infrastructure they use daily. Instead, Becerra pointed to the war in Iran as a reason for the high gas prices.
“Let’s make sure Donald Trump is not starting reckless wars to keep the prices of gasoline down by up to $2 a gallon,” Becerra said.
Steyer, a climate activist, mirrored Becerra’s sentiments, saying, “The reason gasoline is so expensive is that our president, Donald Trump, has started an insane war in Iran and driven up the cost of gasoline for everybody.”
Mahan, on the other hand, called for suspending the gas tax and reforming it “so it’s no longer the most regressive tax in California.”
“I’ll reform the gas tax so it’s no longer the poorest, hardest working people in our state who are paying an unfair share to maintain our infrastructure,” said Mahan, the mayor of San Jose.
Porter, a former U.S. Congresswoman, offered a different approach: “moving away from a gas tax and replacing that with general fund taxes” to help the state look beyond fossil fuels.
Bianco, the only candidate who has called for the complete elimination of the gas tax, argued he would fund infrastructure maintenance by cutting government waste and fraud.
“Don’t say gas tax is funding our roads, because we have the worst roads in the entire country,” Bianco said.
Hilton, who has called for cutting the gas tax in half and eliminating carbon climate polices, said he would look to producing oil in California to cut gas prices.
Homeless and housing
Homelessness and housing seemed to be points of contention during the debate.
Porter argued that the state’s homelessness issue is “a direct correlate of our housing problems.” As governor, Porter said she would focus on homeless prevention.
“It is so much more cost-effective and so much more humane to prevent families from becoming homeless in the first place,” Porter said.
Becerra had a similar take, arguing that the state should help people in financial strain before they become homeless.
For Bianco, however, the issue of homelessness “has nothing to do with homes.”
“This is a drug and alcohol induced psychosis, mental illness … These people are suffering from drug and alcohol abuse and mental illness … This has nothing to do with the home until we actually start caring about these people,” Bianco said, adding that he would take away funds from nonprofits and NGOs for homeless and put a portion of those toward drug and alcohol treatment centers and mental health treatment centers.
Hilton urged that the law must be enforced, saying, “It is illegal to live and camp on the streets.”
Hilton also called for providing homeless people with drug and mental health treatment, “instead of the barbaric situation we have right now in California as a result of these Democratic policies, where the main place where we are treating people with mental health problems is jail.”
To address the issue of high housing costs in California, Becerra argued that the state needs more homes and that it should give builders incentives to build. Becerra also pointed to down payment assistance programs.
Mahan pointed to his work in San Jose, where he helped expedite permitting processes to accelerate home construction.
Social media divides candidates
The topic of social media and children seemed to strike a chord with candidates, one that wasn’t always rooted in ideological lines.
When asked whether children under 16 should be banned from using social media, Steyer and Becerra fully supported the idea.
“Young people have significant mental health issues as a result of social media, and we have counted on the companies to police themselves, and that has definitely failed,” Steyer said.
For Hilton, a social media ban was not far enough.
“Kids do not need smartphones, and we shouldn’t allow it,” Hilton said.
Meanwhile, Bianco and Porter argued that the matter should be left to the children’s parents.
Mahan took a more middle-of-the-road approach, arguing that social media use for children should require some form of parental consent.
“I think it’s destructive to give kids products that their brains aren’t fully developed and able to use safety, and so I would put those restrictions in place,” Mahan said.
Steyer’s billionaire status is a recurring topic
Throughout the debate, mention of Steyer’s billionaire status continued to surface.
“We don’t need a billionaire who made his money in private prison and oil and gas that he’s now supposedly against,” Mahan said.
Porter later echoed the same thought, arguing Steyer is a “billionaire who got rich off polluters and ICE prisons, and is now using that money to fund this election,” Porter said.
Steyer, however, tried to defend his status by arguing that billionaire interests are funding other candidates.
“I’m the only billionaire on the ballot … but I’m not the only billionaire in this race,” Steyer said. “The billionaires and corporations are spending big in this race to oppose me and to support the other people on this stage.”
Republican candidates share values but differ on execution
Throughout the debate, both Republican candidates argued that the Golden State is in ruins because of Democratic policies.
“We have had 16 years of one-party rule by these Democrats,” Hilton said. “It’s given us the highest poverty rate, the highest unemployment rate, the highest cost of living in America. It’s obviously desperately time for a change in California.”
The two candidates, however, do differ in their approach to tackling issues.
While Hilton calls for rolling back some regulations and modifying others, Bianco takes a more drastic approach, arguing throughout the debate for the complete elimination of policies set forth by Democrats in the state.
“I have 33 years of dealing with the consequences of (Democrats’) poor decisions and of their poor polices and the Democrat agenda,” Bianco said.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: 5 takeaways from gubernatorial debate Californians should know
Reporting by Daniella Segura, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
