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California Governor primary debate.....7 candidates Dems & Repub.....on CNN now. (Original Post) a kennedy 19 hrs ago OP
Kick. IcyPeas 18 hrs ago #1
Me too, do NOT care for him...... a kennedy 18 hrs ago #2
This Hilton guy doesn't sound like he was born in the USA. beaglelover 18 hrs ago #3
Trump endorsed too. I guess "some" immigrants are okay. 😉 IcyPeas 18 hrs ago #6
This message was self-deleted by its author a kennedy 18 hrs ago #7
Pretty sure he is South African. Silver Gaia 18 hrs ago #8
British- American. Fox news contributor too. IcyPeas 18 hrs ago #9
Thank you. Silver Gaia 18 hrs ago #10
Hilton came here from U.K. 12years ago. He said. oasis 17 hrs ago #19
LOL nbsmom 17 hrs ago #26
Hilton is a former advisor to David Cameron and worked with Nigel Farage on Brexit. nbsmom 17 hrs ago #29
Agree about mind reeling... Silver Gaia 13 hrs ago #44
This is unbearable. Just awful. EVERY CANDIDATE starts every topic with "ONLY I" Maru Kitteh 18 hrs ago #4
Annoying I know..... a kennedy 18 hrs ago #5
Good. Sheriff Bianco stole 650,000 ballots. Becerra suing him. IcyPeas 17 hrs ago #11
Just Tuned In DET 17 hrs ago #12
But I am a Californian, and I agree. Silver Gaia 17 hrs ago #14
And that other guy... Mahan? Mayor of San Jose? IcyPeas 17 hrs ago #21
Even better -- he's propped up by money from Peter Thiel and Sergey Brin nbsmom 17 hrs ago #27
Never Heard of Him Before DET 17 hrs ago #31
Becerra is coming off as calm, cool, and collected. Silver Gaia 17 hrs ago #13
Yes. He has the best bio/background too. IcyPeas 17 hrs ago #16
And weak. awesomerwb1 17 hrs ago #17
Nope obamanut2012 15 hrs ago #39
Yes awesomerwb1 14 hrs ago #42
Becerra is holding his own fending off attacks. oasis 17 hrs ago #20
I can't stand Hilton LogDog75 17 hrs ago #15
He worked for Fox news. They all must undergo training to be loud and obnoxious IcyPeas 17 hrs ago #18
Villaraigosa and Porter dissing Becerra 🙄 IcyPeas 17 hrs ago #22
And the m.agats having a love fest awesomerwb1 17 hrs ago #23
They're ganging up on Becerra now! Silver Gaia 17 hrs ago #24
About what, please? Cha 16 hrs ago #33
Chad Bianco said "It's about time we put a felon in the whitehouse" IcyPeas 17 hrs ago #25
In Texas, sheriffs and constables are allowed to campaign and endorse while in uniform! And use their title! LeftInTX 17 hrs ago #28
What I'm getting is that Silver Gaia 17 hrs ago #30
No, Steyer or Becerra vs Hilton obamanut2012 15 hrs ago #41
I thought Hilton sucked. I did not like him at all. Silver Gaia 14 hrs ago #43
Had to share this nbsmom 16 hrs ago #32
As a mere observer in this race, I don't know who I'd vote for... Mark.b2 16 hrs ago #34
Agree. I am disappointed she didn't run. Silver Gaia 15 hrs ago #37
I thought Steyer seemed strongest. SleeplessinSoCal 16 hrs ago #35
Even a weak Democrat will win in the general. The problem right now JI7 16 hrs ago #36
Agree. Silver Gaia 12 hrs ago #45
Steyer? Really? Silver Gaia 15 hrs ago #38
I dont want to see Hilton in the top two. Silver Gaia 15 hrs ago #40
I don't suppose you remember how Steyer was buying endorsements during his run for President in 2020 nbsmom 1 hr ago #47
According to RealClear Polling LogDog75 2 hrs ago #46
SurveyUSA is not a legitimate pollster nbsmom 1 hr ago #48

IcyPeas

(25,718 posts)
1. Kick.
Tue May 5, 2026, 09:11 PM
18 hrs ago

Watching.

Sometimes I just dislike someone for no apparent reason...
.
.
.
.
.
.
(Steyer)


Response to IcyPeas (Reply #6)

nbsmom

(660 posts)
26. LOL
Tue May 5, 2026, 10:54 PM
17 hrs ago

He's an ex-Brexit advisor. Don't you love how he's so quick to suggest "drill baby drill" and "let's build single-family homes with California forests"?

nbsmom

(660 posts)
29. Hilton is a former advisor to David Cameron and worked with Nigel Farage on Brexit.
Tue May 5, 2026, 10:59 PM
17 hrs ago

The mind reels at the thought that he's been normalized by these random "polls."

Maru Kitteh

(31,929 posts)
4. This is unbearable. Just awful. EVERY CANDIDATE starts every topic with "ONLY I"
Tue May 5, 2026, 09:27 PM
18 hrs ago

“I’m the ONLY candidate . . . blah blah blah ….. … .. . lather, rinse, repeat.

DET

(2,576 posts)
12. Just Tuned In
Tue May 5, 2026, 10:10 PM
17 hrs ago

Katie Porter seems kind of condescending towards Becerra. I can’t believe Hilton and the sheriff are even up there. Becerra seems to be holding his own; sounds reasonable and down to earth. I like him (not that it matters since I don’t live in California).

nbsmom

(660 posts)
27. Even better -- he's propped up by money from Peter Thiel and Sergey Brin
Tue May 5, 2026, 10:55 PM
17 hrs ago

Mahan might as well have an "R" after his name. He's also taking credit for stuff his predecessor did, since he's only been mayor for about 5 minutes.

DET

(2,576 posts)
31. Never Heard of Him Before
Tue May 5, 2026, 11:01 PM
17 hrs ago

Mahan seems to have a solid background, but his debating skills seem a little weak (IMHO).

awesomerwb1

(5,135 posts)
42. Yes
Wed May 6, 2026, 01:38 AM
14 hrs ago

Hilton even stole Becerra's time when Becerra was the one who was asked the question (about Becerra's chief of staff pleading guilty). Becerra said nothing which kind of sucked. That said, I hope he does win. That Hilton guy is a charlatan.

LogDog75

(1,351 posts)
15. I can't stand Hilton
Tue May 5, 2026, 10:14 PM
17 hrs ago

He's got what the British call a "posh" accent meaning upper crust. Also, he continues to smirk as and after he talks kind of like Tucker Carlson does.

Silver Gaia

(5,408 posts)
24. They're ganging up on Becerra now!
Tue May 5, 2026, 10:33 PM
17 hrs ago

He still seems calm.

I think we are behind everyone else, though.

LeftInTX

(34,783 posts)
28. In Texas, sheriffs and constables are allowed to campaign and endorse while in uniform! And use their title!
Tue May 5, 2026, 10:58 PM
17 hrs ago

It's wierd....But I've got a mailer right in front of me!

Silver Gaia

(5,408 posts)
43. I thought Hilton sucked. I did not like him at all.
Wed May 6, 2026, 02:05 AM
14 hrs ago

So, that's what I saw, what we wll saw at my house, regardless of polls. That is obviously different. And extremely scary.

Mark.b2

(807 posts)
34. As a mere observer in this race, I don't know who I'd vote for...
Tue May 5, 2026, 11:20 PM
16 hrs ago

None stands out above the others.

Too bad Harris decided not to jump in. It would be hers to lose.

SleeplessinSoCal

(10,436 posts)
35. I thought Steyer seemed strongest.
Tue May 5, 2026, 11:54 PM
16 hrs ago

And estimating that Hilton will make top two, a strong voiced counter will be essential, IMHO.

Plus he's an outsider. That might be the best counter considering the hole CA Dems appear to be in. Porter came off better than I expected. She was my rep. I campaigned for her. But then dropping out to run for Senate turned me off.

JI7

(93,836 posts)
36. Even a weak Democrat will win in the general. The problem right now
Wed May 6, 2026, 12:05 AM
16 hrs ago

is that Republicans might be the top 2 so we end up with an with both Republicans.

As long as one Democrat can make ut in the top 2 we will win.

But Steyer having a strong voice will help more after the election and the shit we have to deal with from Trump and other Republicans.

Silver Gaia

(5,408 posts)
38. Steyer? Really?
Wed May 6, 2026, 12:27 AM
15 hrs ago

I liked him BEFORE this debate, but he turned off all 3 voters in this house tonight.

Silver Gaia

(5,408 posts)
40. I dont want to see Hilton in the top two.
Wed May 6, 2026, 12:29 AM
15 hrs ago

He was awful. I haven't seen him polling that high overall.

nbsmom

(660 posts)
47. I don't suppose you remember how Steyer was buying endorsements during his run for President in 2020
Wed May 6, 2026, 02:12 PM
1 hr ago

I missed the Indivisible Zoom call on Monday, but apparently it was full of misinformation and dogpiling on Porter and Becerra. Coming so soon after Our Revolution's endorsement, it feels like some money has changed hands. That is beyond depressing because that means both of those supposedly progressive organizations have lost all credibility going forward.

The polling leading up to Swalwell's exit is extraordinarily suspicious, given that it normalizes the prospect of at least one Republican candidate (and possibly two), instead of examining why an ex-Brexit advisor like Steve Hilton would want to run for governor, or what makes Chad Bianco, with his abysmal clearance rate (Riverside County ranks at 57th of 57 counties), qualified to run the world's 4th-largest economy. So instead of the Democratic candidates wiping the floor with the two execrable examples of Team Red candidates, they're fighting over who gets the "one spot" on the ticket in November.

The toplines of the CBS /YouGov polls shared last week showed that there is still a ceiling for both Republican candidates: the "would not consider" numbers for both Hilton and Bianco still sit at 48%, and they're only going to go down when people realize that Hilton cannot even admit that Biden won in 2020, and Bianco is a racist who doesn't believe in the 14th amendment.

Swalwell is NOT a "good billionaire." He's flailing right now because he is realizing he'll have spent more than Meg Whitman did in 2010 (when she lost to Jerry Brown), and he won't have the cakewalk Adam Schiff had in 2024. And maybe you have also noticed how Mahan sounds a little like JD Vance (to be expected, since he's also propped up by Peter Thiel money).

The only two candidates who are capable of getting anything done in Sacramento in the near term are the two attorneys, Becerra and Porter. And as much as I really respect Porter, Becerra is the stronger choice, both because he has taken on the special interest, he's actually won statewide, and he knows how to get stuff done in Sacramento.

LogDog75

(1,351 posts)
46. According to RealClear Polling
Wed May 6, 2026, 01:41 PM
2 hrs ago

As of May 3rd, KGTV-TV/SurveyUSA poll shows the following candidate percentages.

Hilton 20
Steyer 18
Bianco 12
Becerra 10
Porter 8
Mahan 7
Vilaraigosa 5
Thurmond 2
https://www.realclearpolling.com/latest-polls/governor

The total for the candidates above is 82% meaning there is 18% of the votes belonging to minor candidates or the undecided. IMO, if any Democratic candidate isn't above 10% by May 15th, they should drop out and endorse a Democratic candidate that has more than 10% of the vote. Using the above as an example, that would mean between Porter, Mahan, Villaraigosa, and Thurmond would drop out and the total percentage, 22%, would go to either Steyer or Becerra. If those votes split 50/50 Steyer would be at 29% and Becerra would be at 21% and that would eliminate Hilton and Bianco.

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