Takeaways from CNN’s California governor debate

Grace Widyatmadja/CNN

Xavier Becerra, the Democratic favorite in California’s race for governor, sought to tie his Republican opponent Steve Hilton to the policies of President Donald Trump as the two debated Wednesday night on CNN .

“You’re going to end up with Trump results if you follow Steve Hilton’s plan,” the former secretary of Health and Human Services and state attorney general said.

Hilton, the ex-Fox News host and British political operative, sought to avoid being tied too closely to Trump while arguing that Democrats who have full control of the state’s government in Sacramento deserve the blame for making it “impossible for regular, working people to live in this state anymore.”

“All you’re offering is more of the same backed by the same corrupt machine in Sacramento,” he said.

The two squared off in what’s likely to be their only debate ahead of the race to replace term-limited Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in the nation’s most populous state — home to about 12% of all Americans — and one on the frontlines of a number of major issues confronting the country, including the cost of living and housing prices, rampant homelessness, natural disasters and the rise of artificial intelligence being developed largely in California’s Silicon Valley.

Here are takeaways from their debate:

Becerra’s strategy was obvious from the debate’s first minutes: Tie Hilton to Trump at every possible opportunity.

He compared Hilton’s proposed tax cuts — including eliminating state income taxes on the first $150,000 Californians earn, along with a flat 8% tax rate on income above that level — to those enacted by Trump, and claimed Hilton is “proposing Trump tax cuts, believing you’re going to get better results.”

Then, on artificial intelligence, Becerra compared Hilton’s noncommittal answer on whether companies developing it should be governed by state regulations to Trump securing a “pinky promise” from AI giants to self-police at a White House luncheon earlier this week.

“All you ever say is ‘Trump, Trump, Trump,’” Hilton said . “And that’s nothing but an insult to every Californian who is desperate for something to change in this state, and all you’re offering is more of the same.”

Hilton, meanwhile, had to wrestle with a series of Trump policies that are deeply unpopular in California — particularly the president’s immigration enforcement efforts.

He sought to use the issue to distance himself from Trump, saying that his “goal would be to lower the temperature on this whole question.” But Becerra wouldn’t let him move on; he highlighted Hilton’s past praise for Trump’s moves, saying Hilton as governor would enforce “Trump’s laws” rather than the state’s laws.

Becerra and Hilton diverged sharply on the top issue for California voters: the cost of living.

After Hilton pitched sweeping tax cuts for Californians, Becerra argued the cuts would disproportionately benefit the wealthy and “damage our state even further.” He added that Hilton’s “math doesn’t add up.”

On housing, Hilton announced a new proposal to cap government fees for construction at $50,000. Becerra similarly promised to “cut red tape,” but Hilton challenged him on his housing record as state attorney general.

Becerra pointed out that he sued the city of Huntington Beach in 2019 for failing to require the state’s requirements for affordable housing. Hilton nonetheless scoffed.

“The definition of insanity is believing that the people who put the red tape in place are somehow going to cut it,” Hilton said.

Both candidates grappled with the rise of artificial intelligence, an especially pressing issue in the state that’s home to Silicon Valley.

Hilton said his first priorities for AI were to make sure the industry’s jobs remain in California and that the technology itself does not harm children. He reiterated his call for an “immediate pause” on AI in classrooms.

Hilton avoided saying whether he agreed with Trump’s support for “self-policing” by the AI industry, a position the president endorsed Tuesday after a White House meeting with executives. That gave Becerra another opening to tie Hilton to Trump.

“If you listen closely, you can hear Donald Trump in that response by Steve Hilton,” Becerra said. “He’s not interested in regulating AI.”

As for data centers, the candidates gave more measured responses. Becerra said they should be decided on a community-by-community basis.

“If all you’re going to do is rob their energy and electricity and their water,” Becerra said, “that’s not a good deal.”

格蕾丝·维迪亚特马贾/CNN

加州州长竞选中的民主党热门候选人泽维尔·贝塞拉（Xavier Becerra）在周三晚间CNN的辩论中，试图将他的共和党对手史蒂夫·希尔顿（Steve Hilton）与唐纳德·特朗普总统的政策联系起来。

“如果你按照史蒂夫·希尔顿的计划行事，最终会得到特朗普式的结果，”这位前卫生与公众服务部部长兼州检察长说道。

前福克斯新闻主持人、英国政治活动家希尔顿试图避免与特朗普走得太近，同时辩称，完全控制萨克拉门托州政府的民主党人应该为“让普通工薪阶层在这个州无法继续生活下去”而受到指责。

他说：“你们提供的不过是老一套，背后还是萨克拉门托那套腐败的机器在撑腰。”

两人在竞选接替任期届满的民主党州长加文·纽森之前，进行了一场辩论。加州是美国人口最多的州，约占美国总人口的 12%，也是美国面临诸多重大问题的前沿阵地，包括生活成本和房价、猖獗的无家可归现象、自然灾害以及主要在加州硅谷开发的人工智能的兴起。

以下是他们辩论的要点：

从辩论开始的几分钟起，贝塞拉的策略就很明显：抓住一切可能的机会将希尔顿与特朗普联系起来。

他将希尔顿提出的减税方案（包括取消加州居民前 15 万美元收入的州所得税，以及对超过该金额的收入实行 8% 的统一税率）与特朗普实施的减税方案进行了比较，并声称希尔顿“提出特朗普的减税方案，认为这样会得到更好的结果”。

然后，在谈到人工智能时，贝塞拉将希尔顿对开发人工智能的公司是否应该受州政府监管的模棱两可的回答，与特朗普本周早些时候在白宫午餐会上从人工智能巨头那里获得的“拉钩承诺”进行自我监管进行了比较。

希尔顿说：“你嘴里只会说‘特朗普，特朗普，特朗普’。这对每一个渴望加州有所改变的加州人来说都是一种侮辱，而你却只会让情况继续恶化。”

与此同时，希尔顿不得不应对一系列在加州极不受欢迎的特朗普政策——尤其是总统的移民执法举措。

他试图利用这个问题与特朗普划清界限，称他的“目标是降低整个问题的紧张气氛”。但贝塞拉不让他就此罢休；他强调希尔顿过去曾赞扬特朗普的举措，并表示希尔顿如果当选州长，将会执行“特朗普的法律”，而不是州法律。

贝塞拉和希尔顿在加州选民最关心的问题——生活成本——上存在着巨大分歧。

希尔顿提出为加州居民大幅减税后，贝塞拉反驳说，这些减税措施将使富人受益过多，并“进一步损害我们州的利益”。他还补充说，希尔顿的“算盘算不通”。

在住房问题上，希尔顿宣布了一项新提案，将政府对建筑工程的收费上限设定为5万美元。贝塞拉也同样承诺“减少繁文缛节”，但希尔顿质疑他担任州检察长期间的住房政策记录。

贝塞拉指出，他曾在2019年起诉亨廷顿比奇市，指控该市未能遵守州政府关于经济适用房的要求。然而，希尔顿对此嗤之以鼻。

希尔顿说：“疯狂的定义就是相信那些设置繁文缛节的人会想办法打破这些规章制度。”

两位候选人都谈到了人工智能的崛起，这对于硅谷所在的州来说是一个尤其紧迫的问题。

希尔顿表示，他首要关注的是确保人工智能行业的就业机会留在加州，并确保这项技术本身不会对儿童造成伤害。他再次呼吁立即暂停在课堂上使用人工智能。

希尔顿回避了是否同意特朗普支持人工智能行业“自我监管”的立场，而特朗普总统在周二与人工智能行业高管在白宫会面后，公开支持了这一立场。这给了贝塞拉另一个机会，将希尔顿与特朗普联系起来。

贝塞拉说：“如果你仔细听，就能从史蒂夫·希尔顿的回应中听出唐纳德·特朗普的影子。他对监管人工智能不感兴趣。”

至于数据中心的问题，候选人的回答则较为谨慎。贝塞拉表示，数据中心的选址应该根据各个社区的具体情况而定。

贝塞拉说：“如果你只是掠夺他们的能源、电力和水，那可就不是什么好交易了。”