Steve Hilton went after Xavier Becerra’s record on taxes, immigration, housing and AI during California’s gubernatorial debate. Becerra repeatedly tried to connect Hilton to Donald Trump, but some of the sharpest exchanges came when Hilton forced the conversation back to California.
I watched the California governor’s debate between Steve Hilton and Xavier Becerra, and let me tell you something.
This is exactly why debates matter.
Forget the commercials. Forget the consultants. Forget the perfectly edited campaign videos. Put these people on a stage, ask them questions and make them defend what they actually believe.
That’s what happened Wednesday night when Hilton and Becerra stood across from each other on CNN.
And the contrast was obvious.
Becerra repeatedly tried to connect Hilton to President Donald Trump. Hilton repeatedly tried to connect Becerra to the government record he has spent decades building.
New York Post columnist Joel Pollak described the debate much more aggressively, arguing that Hilton “ran circles around” Becerra and that Becerra seemed unable to adequately answer questions about his record. That’s Pollak’s assessment, but several exchanges explain why he reached it.
“Like Voting Democrat”
One of the best exchanges of the night came when Becerra tried to use the old definition-of-insanity line against Hilton.
You know the line.
Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Hilton immediately fired back:
“Like voting Democrat.”
Come on, man.
Whatever you think about either candidate, that’s a debate moment.
And Hilton’s broader argument was simple: Democrats have controlled California’s state government for years, so voters unhappy with affordability, housing, taxes or the business climate should ask whether continuing the same governing approach will produce a different result.
Becerra’s response was that Hilton’s tax agenda amounts to Trump-style economics that would disproportionately benefit wealthy Californians and potentially reduce funding available for schools, health care and housing.
That’s a legitimate policy disagreement.
But Hilton kept forcing Becerra to defend the status quo instead of simply attacking Washington.
Hilton Kept Asking About The Record
Pollak highlighted another exchange over housing.
Becerra said he wanted to cut red tape and make it easier to build. Hilton challenged him to identify an example from his long career in government where he had actually done that. Pollak’s assessment was that Becerra failed to provide one.
Then came artificial intelligence.
According to the Post, Hilton challenged Becerra over his relationship with major AI companies and asked about campaign money connected to OpenAI and Anthropic. Becerra responded by pointing toward tech companies he had previously sued rather than directly engaging Hilton’s framing of the question.
Again, this is what debates are supposed to do.
Don’t just tell me you’re going to cut red tape.
Show me when you’ve done it.
Don’t just tell me you’re going to stand up to powerful companies.
Show me your record.
That was Hilton’s strategy throughout the night.
Then Immigration Got Personal
The immigration exchange was probably the most heated.
Becerra, the son of Mexican immigrants, argued for immigration reform while attacking federal enforcement policies. He then told Hilton, who immigrated from Britain, that Hilton appeared to welcome immigrants who looked like himself while wanting to deport immigrants who looked like Becerra.
Hilton immediately called the remark “disgraceful” and argued that Californians wanted solutions instead of personal political attacks. The exchange then moved back toward immigration enforcement and Becerra’s tenure as secretary of Health and Human Services.
Hilton accused Becerra of failures involving unaccompanied migrant children and sponsor vetting during his time at HHS. Becerra dismissed the allegations as recycled Trump talking points.
Some of Hilton’s specific numbers and characterizations are disputed and should not simply be accepted because they were delivered forcefully in a debate. But federal watchdogs have documented serious shortcomings in the government’s sponsor-screening and follow-up process for unaccompanied children.
So there was a substantive issue underneath all the yelling.
And Hilton wanted Becerra to answer for his record.
Even Susan Rice Made An Appearance
Then Hilton pulled out something I wasn’t expecting.
He brought up former Biden administration official Susan Rice’s reported private criticism of Becerra, including her calling him an “idiot” and using an even more colorful insult.
Hilton asked why somebody who worked alongside Becerra in the Biden administration would describe him that way.
Becerra responded:
“Since when do I have to respond to politicians?”
He said he was running for the votes of Californians, not politicians in Washington.
That’s certainly one way to answer it.
But Hilton’s point was clear. He wasn’t quoting a Republican criticizing Becerra. He was bringing up criticism reportedly made by somebody who served in the same Democratic administration.
Trump, Trump, Trump
Eventually Hilton called out what had become Becerra’s recurring strategy.
“All you ever say is Trump, Trump, Trump.”
Becerra responded that Trump was relevant because Hilton actively sought and received his endorsement. That’s fair political context. Hilton argued that constantly returning to Trump avoided the problems Californians were actually asking their next governor to solve.
And that was really the divide on the stage.
Becerra argued that Hilton would import Trump-style policies into California and that his proposals would threaten programs working families depend on.
Hilton argued that California’s current governing model is already failing too many working families and that Becerra represents more of it.
Even CNN’s post-debate panel reflected some of that tension. Contributor Lulu Garcia-Navarro said Becerra had not made the case for Democrats’ accomplishments particularly strongly, while also saying Hilton’s change argument wasn’t especially convincing to her. Another panelist said Becerra’s answer on improving education seemed equivocal.
So you don’t have to take my reaction or Joel Pollak’s reaction as gospel.
Watch the exchanges yourself.
California Got A Clear Choice
Hilton ended the debate talking about what he called California’s “rebel spirit.”
He argued that Californians can build, grow, invent and create almost anything, but that the state’s bureaucracy and cost of living are crushing that spirit. His closing argument was that voters should try something fundamentally different.
Becerra’s argument is different. He says his experience matters, that government investment protects working families and that Hilton’s approach would move California toward policies associated with Trump.
That’s the choice the debate put in front of Californians.
But the moments that stood out to me were the moments when Hilton stopped talking in broad campaign language and made Becerra defend specifics.
What have you done about housing?
What happened under your watch at HHS?
What are you going to do differently about California’s cost of living?
That’s what I want to hear in a debate.
Not another campaign slogan.
Not another canned answer.
Put your record on the table and defend it.
Wednesday night, Steve Hilton came ready to do exactly that.
I live in Ohio, so I don't have a horse in this race, but as the old saying says, "So goes California, so goes America."
For Becerra to try and defend the current policies in California and to promise more of the same just goes to show you that Californians have become so inured to the government being incompetent and corrupt and they take it as business as usual in Sacramento.
Is Hilton the right answer? I don't know, but something has to be done and Becerra ain't the guy to do it. Decades of mismanagement and outright corruption have ruined the state. It is a shame that the "World's Sixth Largest Economy" is run by crooks, thieves, incompetents, and morons. In almost any other state, there would be pitchforks and torches and hot tar would probably be involved at some point.
May the elections be honest in California. ONLY eligible voters vote, one vote each.