Hilton has agreed to many debates, but this is the only one Becerra agreed-to. “I have accepted every single one of these debates. This guy, Xavier Becerra, has not accepted any of them. That is completely outrageous. We have to have a debate in this governor’s race. So come on, Xavier,” as quoted in the LA Times, He challenged the man Joe Biden famously called by the wrong name, ‘Bacaria’, to “man up and show up.”
The debate on CNN at 6:00pm will be moderated by Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, and that has caused some controversy. KABC Radio’s John Phillips makes a strong case that CNN’s LA-based, universally respected anchor Elex Michaelson should be moderating due to his deep knowledge of the issues impacting Californians. And this is a debate for California voters, not one that should focus on broad national issues. (Proposed drinking game: Every time ‘Trump’ is invoked.)
It is worth noting that Tapper drew wide criticism when his book came out, for not adequately covering Biden’s clear and precipitous decline. ““But knowing what I know now, I barely scratched the surface. Very few people outside the conservative media world were doing so,” he admitted to NPR in May 2025.
Hilton has demonstrated a knack for debating and Becerra has largely been in the campaign version ot the witness protection program. Hilton has this one opportunity, as ballots go out statewide this week, to smoke ‘Bacaria’ out.
Current polling:
–UC Berkeley IGS Poll (Sept 24): Becerra 58% vs. Hilton 33% (a 25-point lead for Becerra, widening from his 18-point lead in August).
–Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) Poll (Sept 4-10): Becerra 60% vs. Hilton 38%.
–Hilton Campaign Internal Poll: Becerra 49.2% vs. Hilton 41.2% (an 8-point margin).
Kalshi betting market:
Xavier Becerra: 95.8% probability of winning (trading at 95.8¢)
Steve Hilton: 3.7% probability of winning (trading at 3.7¢)
AI helped compile this story
