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    "original_url": "https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/10\/01\/us\/politics\/california-governor-debate-takeaways.html?emc=edit_na_20261001&nl=breaking-news&segment_id=227375",
    "parsed_content": "See more updates: Election Dispatches: Oct. 1, 2026, 1:47 p.m. ET21m agoAdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTSupported bySKIP ADVERTISEMENT5 Takeaways From the Debate for California GovernorXavier Becerra, a Democrat, and Steve Hilton, a Republican, sparred over President Trump, taxes and immigration in their only scheduled meeting.Listen \u00b7 8:06 min Share full articleXavier Becerra, left, and Steve Hilton during the California governor debate in Burbank, Calif., on Wednesday.Credit...CNNBy Laurel Rosenhall and Soumya KarlamanglaOct. 1, 2026Updated 12:50 a.m. ETSee more of our coverage in your search results.Encuentra m\u00e1s de nuestra cobertura en los resultados de b\u00fasqueda. Add The New York Times on GoogleAgrega The New York Times en Google Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Trump weren\u2019t at the debate for California governor on Wednesday night, but they were repeatedly invoked by the two actual candidates as proxies for the choice that voters will make in November.Xavier Becerra, the Democratic front-runner, often tried to cast his Republican opponent, Steve Hilton, as a stand-in for Mr. Trump during the hourlong event on CNN. Mr. Hilton, a former Fox talk show host, told voters that Mr. Becerra represented more of the same that they were getting from Mr. Newsom and Democratic lawmakers.Unlike the chaotic open primary debates this spring, which featured stages crowded with candidates for governor who could barely get a word in edgewise, the face-off on Wednesday in CNN\u2019s studio in Burbank, Calif., was a head-to-head clash that offered a clear contrast in philosophies.It was the only scheduled fall debate between Mr. Becerra and Mr. Hilton, and the moderators Dana Bash and Jake Tapper rattled through about a dozen topics, from education to health care. In California, a heavily Democratic state, Mr. Becerra has enjoyed a sizable lead in every major poll this cycle, and it was up to Mr. Hilton to convince voters to move in his direction on Wednesday.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTHere are five takeaways from the debate.\u2018Trump, Trump, Trump.\u2019No matter the topic, Mr. Becerra had an attack line at the ready that boiled down to linking Mr. Hilton with President Trump. It was a logical strategy, given that the president had endorsed Mr. Hilton and is deeply unpopular in California.In the first 20 minutes of the debate, Mr. Becerra answered questions about taxes, artificial intelligence and immigration enforcement by saying Mr. Hilton\u2019s positions were aligned with Mr. Trump.Finally, it seemed that Mr. Hilton had had enough.\u201cAll you ever say is \u2018Trump, Trump, Trump,\u2019\u201d Mr. Hilton said. \u201cThat\u2019s nothing but an insult to every Californian who is desperate for something to change in this state.\u201dMr. Becerra seemed to revel in the opportunity to reiterate his point.\u201cYour words, \u2018Trump, Trump, Trump,\u2019 because he is your supporter,\u201d Mr. Becerra said. \u201cYou chased his endorsement.\u201dMr. Newsom, who cannot run again because of term limits, has found Mr. Trump a valuable foil throughout his eight years in office, even fending off a recall in 2021 by casting his opponent as a Trump acolyte. Mr. Becerra is using the same playbook and likely will find Mr. Trump just as useful politically over the next two years if he is elected governor this fall.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTHilton as the change candidate.Mr. Hilton began with a dig, thanking CNN for hosting the debate and \u201cfor bringing Xavier out of hiding.\u201d He kept up the attacks, repeatedly criticizing Mr. Newsom and other Democrats in the state and blaming the party for California\u2019s problems, including homelessness and a high cost of living.Mr. Hilton positioned himself as an antidote to years of Democratic rule in California. He said that after 16 years of Democratic governorship, California\u2019s problems had not been solved. He added that Mr. Becerra assumed that he would win in November simply because of the \u201cD\u201d next to his name.\u201cThey think that they can just do whatever they want, get whatever bad results, the highest taxes in the country for the worst results,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s why he hasn\u2019t been campaigning in this election. They take you for granted.\u201d\u201cAnd I just want to ask every Californian: Aren\u2019t you tired of that?\u201d he added. \u201cIt\u2019s time to try something different instead of the same thing over and over again.\u201dGet updates when new midterm election polls are added to our poll trackers. When new polling data drops we\u2019ll send an update straight to your inbox. Get it sent to your inbox.A.I. is top of mind.The moderators asked the candidates about another contentious topic: artificial intelligence.The day before the debate, President Trump invited tech leaders to the White House in response to growing concerns about a potential existential threat posed by the technology. But instead of mandating formal regulation, Mr. Trump had the tech leaders sign an agreement to police themselves.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTMr. Hilton said he would watch the A.I. companies carefully to see if they kept their promises to adopt safety policies. He said he would not shy away from regulations if necessary and that he already supported a ban on A.I. in classrooms.\u201cHere in this state, we lead this industry, and I think we need to lead the regulation of this industry as well,\u201d Mr. Hilton said.Mr. Becerra and Mr. Hilton then traded barbs, with Mr. Becerra challenging Mr. Hilton\u2019s willingness to regulate the companies and criticizing what he called Mr. Trump\u2019s \u201cpinky promise\u201d with them. Neither mentioned Mr. Hilton had moved to the United States for his wife\u2019s career in Silicon Valley. She has held high-level positions at Google and other tech companies and now works for an A.I. start-up.Tensions flare on immigration.One comment from Mr. Becerra seemed to particularly strike a particular nerve with Mr. Hilton, an immigrant from Britain.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTAs the candidates were debating immigration, Mr. Hilton said that California had been flouting its own laws on cooperating with federal authorities in cases involving dangerous criminals. He said that political posturing had gotten in the way of compliance and that his goal was to lower the temperature on the issue by depoliticizing it.\u201cI\u2019m an immigrant,\u201d he said. \u201cMy parents were immigrants, from Hungary to England, so I want to make sure that we protect our legal immigrant communities and we enforce the law.\u201dIn response, Mr. Becerra accused Mr. Hilton of only wanting some immigrants to be allowed to stay in the state.\u201cHere\u2019s the problem I have with your policies: You seem to welcome immigrants who look like you, but deport immigrants who look like me,\u201d said Mr. Becerra, whose parents immigrated from Mexico.Mr. Hilton seemed taken aback and said Mr. Becerra\u2019s comment was an example of how California leaders have politicized immigration.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT\u201cYour party isn\u2019t enforcing California law as it is now,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd what a disgraceful remark that was. I don\u2019t think people want to hear that kind of remark in a debate like this.\u201dBecerra lacks Newsom\u2019s sizzle.As the debate unfolded on television, Mr. Newsom announced that he had signed his final bill as governor \u2014 while standing at the tippy-top of the Golden Gate Bridge.Even for a flashy politician known for his indulgent photo ops, this one was next level. Literally. The bill signing, 746 feet above the Pacific Ocean, with sweeping vistas of the San Francisco skyline, was emblematic of Mr. Newsom\u2019s attention-grabbing, risk-taking approach to politics.Mr. Becerra, if elected, would likely be a very different kind of leader. His vibe is low-key. His m.o. has been to play it safe. He\u2019s a Stanford-trained lawyer, and his style throughout Wednesday night\u2019s debate was measured and deliberative.Mr. Becerra brags about shopping at Costco. Mr. Newsom declared on his taxes that he had given away $45,000 worth of Armani suits.Debate moderators did not ask the candidates if they would emulate Mr. Newsom by hosting a podcast with right-wing influencers, spilling their family tea in a memoir or staging a photo op at the top of a bridge. They really didn\u2019t have to.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT",
    "published_at": "2026-10-01T04:27:55+00:00",
    "author_name": "Laurel Rosenhall, Soumya Karlamangla",
    "site_name": "The New York Times",
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    "ai_headline": "5 Takeaways From the Debate for California Governor",
    "ai_simplified_title": "California Governor Candidates Debate Trump, Taxes, Immigration",
    "ai_excerpt": "Xavier Becerra, a Democrat, and Steve Hilton, a Republican, debated President Trump, taxes, and immigration in their only scheduled meeting. The debate highlighted clear philosophical differences between the candidates.",
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