SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A planned California gubernatorial debate was scrapped by the University of Southern California following discrimination allegations from minority candidates who were left out of the event.
The Tuesday debate, co-hosted by USC and KABC-TV, was set to feature six white candidates: Republicans Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco, along with Democrats Tom Steyer, Katie Porter, Eric Swalwell and Matt Mahan. However, four prominent Democratic candidates of color — Antonio Villaraigosa, Xavier Becerra, Betty Yee and Tony Thurmond — failed to qualify under the established participation requirements.
The competitive gubernatorial race remains wide open with no clear leader emerging before the June 2 primary election.
USC initially stood by its selection process, stating that an independent public policy professor created the qualification standards using polling data and fundraising metrics. The university rejected claims of discriminatory practices in a Friday statement.
However, the institution changed its position Monday evening, citing disagreement between co-hosts over how to resolve the situation.
“The data-driven candidate viability formula is based on extensive research and enjoys broad academic support,” USC stated. “At the same time, we recognize that concerns about the selection criteria for tomorrow’s gubernatorial debate have created a significant distraction from the issues that matter to voters.”
The situation intensified Monday when legislative leaders, including Black and Latino caucus chairs, demanded that organizers include the excluded established candidates.
“If USC does not do the right thing, we call on California voters to boycott this debate,” they stated. “If the university will not give voters a fair shot at evaluating everyone running for governor, voters should find other ways to learn about the candidates.”
Former Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who is Latino, praised the university’s decision to cancel the event.
“USC made the right call, even if it came late and under pressure,” he stated.
