DEBATE RECAP: Becerra’s Day of Dodging Continues

On healthcare, lowering costs, driving revenue, building housing, AI regulation, Becerra failed to provide any ounce of substance

SAN FRANCISCO — After weeks of avoiding questions and double talk, Xavier Becerra was as evasive as ever on the debate stage tonight. He failed to give California voters any confidence that they can trust him to take on big corporations and bring down prices, while Tom Steyer laid out a clear plan to take on corporate interests who drive up costs for California families.

“Look at my record,” Becerra encouraged, but he struggled to articulate concrete plans and understanding on the issues most important to California families:

• Becerra stumbled through answers on housing, repeatedly unable to say how he'd pay to build more affordable homes.
• He didn’t distance himself from Chevron and Big Oil. 
• Becerra didn’t clear up his flip flop on single payer — a position he couldn’t clarify despite being asked 7 times in last week’s CNN debate.
• His AI answer sounded like slop written by ChatGPT.
• When asked repeatedly about finding sources of revenue, Becerra said, “we’ll
  find the money” (also, not a plan). 

Steyer called out Becerra for caving to healthcare industry lobbyists and flip-flopping on supporting a single-payer healthcare system: 

“When it comes to single-payer, you went to the largest lobbying group against single payer health care in the state of California. The next day, the head of that group said you very clearly indicated you were against single payer. Then they endorsed you and they gave you the maximum amount of money,” said Steyer. “Are they lying?”

Predictably, Becerra failed to answer. 

In contrast, Steyer showed strength and clarity in his plans to tackle the affordability crisis by closing a corporate tax loophole benefitting billionaires and wealthy commercial property owners. He offered details on how to improve education through investing in teachers. He laid out his plan to build 1,000,000 new homes in four years, and how he’d hold Big Oil accountable, break up PG&E, and make polluters pay. 

Corporate special interests are funnelling over $27 million to defeat Steyer – the most that’s ever been spent against a candidate for governor. 

“Follow the money. They are spending tens of millions of dollars against me to try and stop me, because they know that I'm the threat to their prosperity. And they're not spending a penny against anyone else on this stage. They're backing everyone else on this stage,” said Steyer in his closing statement. “Xavier is taking money from oil companies and from people who are desperate not to have single payer. I'm running to bring change, and I'm running to make people's lives better.” 

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