Candidates for California Governor Target Becerra in Testy Debate |
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Candidates vying to succeed California’s term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom squared off Tuesday in a CNN-hosted debate, with former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra drawing the most pointed jabs from rivals on both sides of the aisle.
In the most dynamic debate yet, five Democrats and two Republicans jockeyed for airtime while taking shots at each other constantly as they tried to gain traction on the issues of affordability, health care, immigration, and housing in the final weeks of a messy and still wide-open primary.
Becerra, who has recently climbed in polls following the exit of former Rep. Eric Swalwell amid multiple sexual misconduct allegations, faced pointed questions about his stance on single-payer health care and the oversight of his former chief of staff. Sean McCluskie, former longtime chief of staff to Becerra, has pleaded guilty to a federal conspiracy and for bank and wire fraud in a scheme allegedly involving stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from Becerra’s dormant campaign committee.
“I think everyone’s invoking my name,” Becerra said late in the debate. “It’s nice to hear my name quite a bit or at least pronounced as it should be.”
A month out from the June 2 primary, the California governor’s race remains wide open as ballots started arriving in mailboxes over the past few days. Becerra and billionaire Tom Steyer have each failed to pull decisively ahead, and a string of debates has done little to thin the crowded field, which GOP candidate Steve Hilton still leads as Democratic voters remain splintered.
On Tuesday, however, one thing became clear: Becerra is now the candidate everyone else is running against.
Billionaire Tom Steyer, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, and former Rep. Katie Porter challenged Becerra on whether he genuinely supports single-payer health care. Porter pressed Becerra to give a direct yes-or-no answer on single-payer, arguing that simply covering all Californians with some form of health insurance isn’t comparable.
“Covering all Californians with something is not single-payer,” Porter asserted. “It’s not even federal Medicare For All.”
When asked directly whether he supports single-payer, Becerra pushed back on reports that he had walked back his position: “I haven’t changed. And so those reports were inaccurate. I continue to be for Medicare for All.”
He also deflected........