The University of Southern California (USC) abruptly called off its scheduled gubernatorial debate after complaints that no candidates of color were included.
In a move that sparked criticism, the school canceled the Tuesday, March 24 event less than 24 hours before it was to take place after pressure from excluded candidates led by former Biden administration official Xavier Becerra suggested that the selection process was rigged and urged a boycott of the event which was to be hosted by ABC/KABC-TV Los Angeles and the USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future.
The six strongest candidates vying for the top spots in the upcoming primary to replace current Gov. Gavin Newsom are all white, with those excluded polling in the single digits.
(Video Credit: KPIX)
The top Democratic candidates were billionaire Tom Steyer, Rep. Eric Swalwell, former Rep. Katie Porter, and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan. Former Fox News Host Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco represented the GOP.
Mahan’s inclusion despite low polling – he has received millions from Silicon Valley – didn’t sit well with the candidates of color who didn’t make the cut.
Becerra, who served as U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary called the selection methodology into question by playing the race card.
“USC goes to great lengths to justify its exclusionary candidate formula. But you can’t escape the detestable outcome: you disqualified all of the candidates of color from participating while you invited a white candidate who has NEVER polled higher than some of the candidates of color, including me,” he wrote in a letter to the school.
“We are a minority-majority state, and the idea that the four candidates of color are not going to be on the stage to bring those perspectives, to really speak to those communities, is really not doing right by the voters,” said former state controller Betty Yee, one of the excluded candidates.
USC defended the integrity of the selection process.
“USC vigorously defends the independence, objectivity, and integrity of USC Professor Christian Grose, whose data-driven candidate viability formula is based on extensive research and enjoys broad academic support,” the school said in a statement on Monday.
“At the same time, we recognize that concerns about the selection criteria for tomorrow’s gubernatorial debate have created a significant distraction from the issues that matter to voters. Unfortunately, USC and KABC have not been able to reach an agreement on expanding the number of candidates at tomorrow’s debate. As a result, USC has made the difficult decision to cancel tomorrow’s debate and will look for other opportunities to educate voters on the candidates and issues,” the statement read.
Becerra spiked the ball over the event’s cancellation in a post to X.
We fought. We won! We stood up against an unfair candidate debate set-up that prematurely chose winners and losers. Tonight USC made the right decision to cancel their March 24 gubernatorial forum…so hopefully next time it’s done right.
Thank you to everyone who stood up,… https://t.co/8drdYNM1Sb
— Xavier Becerra (@XavierBecerra) March 24, 2026
“We fought. We won! We stood up against an unfair candidate debate set-up that prematurely chose winners and losers. Tonight USC made the right decision to cancel their March 24 gubernatorial forum…so hopefully next time it’s done right,” the former HHS boss wrote.
Hilton slammed the cancellation as a “ridiculous fiasco” and called for the Trump administration to cut off federal aid to the university.
“What a pathetic humiliation,” the top Republican candidate said in a statement, according to the Los Angeles Times. “USC receives over a billion dollars in federal funding, and I have written to Education Secretary Linda McMahon calling for an immediate suspension of all federal payments to USC pending a full investigation into this anti-free-speech shambles. Whoever is responsible at USC should be fired.”
It is unclear when or if the debate will be rescheduled with the non-white candidates included.
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