{"id":888,"date":"2026-05-08T07:32:51","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T07:32:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/08\/becerra-takes-heat-in-second-california-governor-debate-heres-what-to-know-3\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T07:32:51","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T07:32:51","slug":"becerra-takes-heat-in-second-california-governor-debate-heres-what-to-know-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/08\/becerra-takes-heat-in-second-california-governor-debate-heres-what-to-know-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Becerra takes heat in second California governor debate. Here\u2019s what to know"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Democrat Xavier Becerra faced a barrage of attacks from rivals for the second night in a row Wednesday as seven candidates debated ahead of California\u2019s June 2 primary. Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton are leading the crowded field, according to a California Democratic Party polling released earlier this week.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/08\/reaching-bubble-territory-californias-capitol-watchdog-advises-fiscal-prudence-3\/\">\u2018Reaching bubble territory\u2019: California\u2019s Capitol watchdog advises fiscal prudence<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Just two candidates, regardless of party, will advance to the November general election.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>FULL STORY: \u2018We protected kids\u2019: Becerra on defensive \u2014 again \u2014 in California governor debate<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/08\/ahead-of-2028-olympics-ca-signs-194-million-contract-on-911-network-deployment-2\/\">Ahead of 2028 Olympics, CA signs $194 million contract on 911 network deployment<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Here are five key takeaways:<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Becerra\u2019s record in Biden\u2019s cabinet:<\/b> Democratic rivals Antonio Villaraigosa, Matt Mahan and Tom Steyer hammered Becerra over his record as U.S. Health and Human Services secretary, citing New York Times reporting that the agency could not reach 85,000 migrant children it was supposed to be tracking under his watch. Becerra responded: \u201cWe protected kids. We did not let them be abused. Those were the employers.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><b>California\u2019s sanctuary law:<\/b> Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco called for scrapping California\u2019s sanctuary law, while Becerra and Steyer said they would prosecute ICE agents who acted unlawfully. Former Rep. Katie Porter said the law prevented \u201ccrazy cowboys taking the law into their own hands.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><b>Oil production:<\/b> With the war in Iran testing California\u2019s oil supplies, Hilton, Bianco, Becerra, Mahan and Villaraigosa said they were supportive of increasing oil production in Kern County. Steyer and Porter opposed it.<\/li>\n<li>Wealth tax: Supporters of a one-time, 5% tax on billionaires say they\u2019ve collected enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot. Only Steyer said he would vote yes if it reached the November ballot.<\/li>\n<li><b>High-speed rail:<\/b> Candidates were asked whether they supported spending an additional $30 billion to finish a high speed rail connection between Bakersfield and Merced. Steyer, Becerra and Villaraigosa backed it. Bianco and Hilton firmly opposed it. Porter conditioned support on faster, cheaper construction, while Mahan said he would only support it with other regulatory reforms.<\/li>\n<li><b>Future debates?<\/b> Wednesday\u2019s debate, hosted by Los Angeles NBC and Telemundo affiliates, was the last scheduled forum with all seven leading candidates, though another event in San Francisco is currently being considered.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><em>This report was produced with the assistance of a proprietary tool powered by artificial intelligence based on our own originally reported, written and published content. Before publishing, journalists reviewed this content in compliance with McClatchy Media\u2019s AI policy.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/08\/california-assembly-leaders-describe-line-in-the-sand-on-safety-net-cuts-3\/\">California Assembly leaders describe \u2018line in the sand\u2019 on safety net cuts<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Xavier Becerra faced attacks from rivals in a seven-candidate California governor debate ahead of the June 2 primary, with clashes over a proposed wealth tax ballot initiative, oil and high-speed rail.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":823,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-capitol-alert"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Becerra takes heat in second California governor debate. 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