California’s Think-Alike Dems Cancel Gubernatorial Debate Over ‘Lack of Diversity’

The Catholic Faith Is Booming

What Is Going on in Cincinnati?

Are the Jews Responsible for Jesus’ Death?

Obama Judge Halts Trump Effort to End Parole for Hundreds of Thousands

House Passes Legislation to Combat Mexican Government’s Seizure of American-Owned Port

Judge, Longtime Thorn for Trump, Sides With Administration

Appeals Court Hands Trump Big Win on Detaining Illegal Immigrants

The Space Race Is Back: NASA Prepares for Liftoff of Deep Space Exploration Crew

China’s Military Went Silent Around Taiwan for First Time in Years. Why?

Congressman Asks Trump to Press China to Release Prisoners

Decoupling From China on Critical Minerals Must Be a National Security Priority

GOP Rising Star Backs Paxton’s Senate Bid

A GOP Senator’s Fight for Life Continues on Capitol Hill

With Federal Judge Halting White House Ballroom Construction, Will Congress Act?

LIFTOFF: Successful Artemis II Launch Sends Astronauts Into Deep Space

Trump Mail-In Ballot Order Sets Up Battle With States

4 Key Election Law Battles Hitting Court Rooms During 2026 Midterms

Maryland Loves My Ratty Old Rug More Than It Loves Me

SAVE America Act Thrusts Ohio Lawmakers Into the News

 PoliticsSecurityNews

Trump Claims Gold Star Families Told Him to ‘Finish the Job’ in Iran

Citing ‘Echo Chamber’ on Iran, Trump Counterterrorism Chief Resigns

International Commentary

‘It’s a Very Surreal War’

Netanyahu Refutes Death Rumor With Coffee Run

Conservative and Proud: Is the Right Representing Women? 

Girl Boss vs. Trad Wife: Forced to Choose?

Beyond the Oyster Fork: An Etiquette Expert’s Tips for ‘Relationships, Work, and Life’

Is the Iran Operation ‘America First’?

If Donald Trump Did What Obama Did, Media Would Cheer—So Why the Outrage Now?

Victor Davis Hanson: Trump Could Crush Iran, So Why Doesn’t He?

The Democrats Have Descended Into Utter Nihilism

Victor Davis Hanson: The New Democratic Party

California’s Think-Alike Dems Cancel Gubernatorial Debate Over ‘Lack of Diversity’

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on March 15, 2026, in Austin, Texas. (Gary Miller/FilmMagic)

Larry Elder / @larryelder

Larry Elder is a bestselling author and nationally syndicated radio talk-show host. His latest book is "The New Trump Standard."

The University of Southern California canceled its gubernatorial debate 24 hours before it was to start. Why? The six candidates who qualified under polling and fundraising metrics were—gasp!—all white. Democrat candidates of color immediately accused USC of excluding “candidates of color.”

Mind you, their platforms—on housing, crime, homelessness, taxes, etc.—are virtually indistinguishable. Is there a difference between a black, Hispanic, or Asian American candidate who wants to raise taxes on the rich versus a white candidate who wants to do the same thing? Is there a difference between a black, Hispanic, or Asian American candidate who trashes President Donald Trump versus a white candidate who does it?

The Democrats’ obsession with race ignores the overwhelming evidence that race is a non-factor in contemporary America. The left-wing Brookings Institution’s new report, “Interracial Cooperation in the United States,” found that 90% of respondents called race a non-factor in their business decisions and 83% said likewise when it came to choosing friends. But California Democrat gubernatorial candidates believe voters want candidates who look like them.

But when minority politicians stray from the issues deemed important by the Left, watch out below. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., in 2019, said, “We don’t need any more black faces that don’t want to be a black voice. We don’t need any more brown faces that don’t want to be a brown voice.” So much for President Barack Obama’s 2016 Howard University commencement address, where he said, “There’s no one way to be black.”

When I ran in California’s 2021 gubernatorial recall election, Los Angeles Times columnist Erika D. Smith, a black woman, called me “the black face of white supremacy,” presumably for believing racism is no longer a major issue, for opposing race-based policies, for supporting lower taxes and less regulation, and for embracing strong families and personal responsibility. I say “presumably” because she declined my invitation to come on my radio show to explain the slur she used.

As for race being no longer a major issue, this requires qualification. It very much still is for the Left. The Los Angeles Times’ Smith called the election of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass “a big deal” because Bass is black and female, a first for the city. Bass wrote, “Representation matters.” Had I been elected governor, I would have been the first black governor in state history. But for Smith, it was NOT a big deal.

A few years ago, a leaked audio clip captured three Hispanic Los Angeles City Council members and a Hispanic labor leader making vile remarks about the black adopted son of a gay white Los Angeles council member. One called the child “a little monkey” who needed a “beatdown.” They made antisemitic and homophobic comments while plotting ways to redistrict the city to dilute black political power in favor of more political power for Hispanics. This sounded like a KKK meeting.

As usual, these Democrats, as well as the Democrat gubernatorial candidates, say nothing about America’s most consequential domestic issue: the epidemic of children born without a father in the home married to the mother. This breakdown, particularly acute in the black community, drives poverty, school failure, and crime far more powerfully than the racial grievances these politicians complain about.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show roughly 70% of black children are born to unmarried mothers, compared to about 54% for Hispanics, 27% for non-Hispanic whites, and 12% for Asians. Overall, 40% of U.S. births in 2023 were outside of marriage.

Children raised without a married father in the home are far more likely to live in poverty. They face significantly higher risks of dropping out of high school and committing crime. Father absence predicts these outcomes better than race or income alone. Yet Democrats, who control most urban policies, rarely talk about broken or nonexistent family structure.

Democrats have run major urban school districts for generations. On the National Assessment of Educational Progress, black eighth-graders consistently post proficiency rates in the low teens for both math and reading. The Democratic Party opposes school choice while the politicians place their own children in private schools.

But Democrats focus their energy on matters like debates that lack minority candidates, even though they think the same as white candidates. The children caught in the “diversity” crossfire deserve far better.

COPYRIGHT 2026 CREATORS.COM

We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal.

Newsom’s Davos Disaster Exposes His Anti-American Grandstanding

California’s DEI Obsession Derails Democrat Primary Debate

Colorado Democrat’s Head-Scratching Reason for Killing His Own Bill to Decriminalize Prostitution

Read the first chapter of The Woketopus right now for FREE

Today, even with President Trump’s victory, leftist elites have their tentacles in every aspect of our government.

The Daily Signal’s own Tyler O’Neil exposes this leftist cabal in his new book, The Woketopus: The Dark Money Cabal Manipulating the Federal Government.

In this book, O’Neil reveals how the Left’s NGO apparatus pursues its woke agenda, maneuvering like an octopus by circumventing Congress and entrenching its interests in the federal government.

You can read the first chapter of this new book for FREE in this eBook, The Woketopus: Chapter One using the secure link below.

The Tony Kinnett Cast

The Daily Signal Podcast

© 2025 The Daily Signal Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

We use cookies on our website. By using our website, you consent to cookies.  Learn More .  

© The Daily Signal