The University of Southern California cancelled a planned California primary gubernatorial debate because all of the candidates invited were white, multiple media outlets reported.
USC and KABC-TV invited Republicans Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and Steve Hilton as well as Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, former Democratic Rep. Katie Porter, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and left-wing billionaire Tom Steyer to the debate based on a formula that combined poll standings and campaign funds, the New York Times reported. The decision drew complaints from excluded Democratic candidates, including former Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former California State Controller Betty Yee, according to NBC Los Angeles.
“We ask each and every candidate who is in this race to recognize that if we can’t have a fair process for a debate, then we should all not participate,” Becerra, who has recently been polling in the low single digits, said during a virtual news conference held March 20.
“This was supposed to be based on polling and money raised. Some of us have been able to raise more money and are higher in the polls than a candidate who was invited,” Villaraigosa, who has also been polling under 5%, claimed during that same press conference.
State Democratic party leaders have been trying to push some of the Democrats running to drop out, citing polls showing that Bianco and Hilton, a former Fox News contributor, would advance to the November general election by taking the top two slots in the state’s all-party primary, which will be held on June 2.
“All candidates must honestly assess their viable path to win, and I continue to call for them to do so,” California Democratic Party Chairman Rusty Hicks said in a statement released Tuesday that included a poll showing Hilton and Bianco would advance.
If a Democrat advances to the November general election runoff, they would be heavily favored to win in the state, which has not elected a Republican governor since 2006 and has not been carried by a GOP presidential nominee since 1988.
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