California’s governor’s race has fresh polls, sharper platforms, and somehow... even more fog.
This is California Governor's Race. Today, we’re sorting through a debate that left voters wanting more, new movement in the polls, and the lines candidates are drawing on housing, schools, and Hollywood incentives.
Clear skies are absolutely not part of the package.
Right. So let’s start with the debate, because if anyone expected clarity... not so much.
From Lake County Record-Bee:
If voters tuned in to learn something about how the would-be governors would actually govern, they were given thin gruel at best. The candidates occasionally sneaked in references to what they had done prior to running for governor, but they said little about what they would do as governor, and then only when the panelists specifically sought that information.
That’s exactly the frustration with these cattle-call debates. You get plenty of blame, a few résumé drops, and then voters are still sitting there thinking: okay, but what would you actually do first?
And that fog matters more when the polls are this tight.
From Sfist:
A new CBS News/YouGov poll has found billionaire Tom Steyer leading among Democrats, only one point behind Republican Steve Hilton. The poll, conducted between April 23 and 27, also indicated that Xavier Becerra, who has been steadily rising, is likely to be among the top two vote-getters once votes are cast.
The top-two primary is doing top-two primary things: turning a crowded race into a spreadsheet. Hilton may still have the Republican lane, but Steyer and Becerra are now wrestling over who gets the cleanest shot at November.
Meanwhile, the issue nobody can really dodge is housing.
From Los Angeles Times:
The high cost of housing in California and the related homelessness crisis are some of the most pressing issues facing the state. Candidates for governor have proposed various measures to address these issues, including increasing housing affordability, reducing homelessness, and addressing mental health and drug addiction issues.
That’s the race in miniature. Everybody says, yes, build more. Then the fight starts over where, how fast, and how hard Sacramento should push cities. And homelessness makes it impossible to keep this abstract — voters want compassion, but they also want to see something change.
Schools are a quieter lane in this race, but not an empty one.
From EdSource:
Education is not a central issue in California’s crowded governor’s race, but the candidates addressing it offer sharply different visions, from expanding school funding and free college, to stricter teacher accountability and restrictions on transgender students in sports.
Translation: education may not be driving the campaign every day, but when it comes up, the split is pretty clean. Democrats are talking funding and access. Republicans are talking accountability, control, and culture-war lines.
And then there’s Hollywood — because yes, that’s now part of the governor’s race too.
From Variety:
Steve Hilton, the Trump-endorsed candidate for California governor, joined in calls on Thursday for an unlimited state subsidy for film and TV production. Joined by Gloria Romero, who is running for lieutenant governor, Hilton unveiled his proposal outside the shuttered Cinerama Dome, which has become a symbol of Hollywood decline.
Unlimited always sounds great right up until the invoice arrives. California’s film jobs problem is real, but an uncapped subsidy means taxpayers are basically being asked to outbid every state and country chasing production.
Links to every story we covered today are in the show notes, so if one caught your ear, you can follow it there and read more.
That’s California Governor’s Race for today. This is a Lantern Podcast.