Less than four weeks away from the November 3rd US elections, the California gubernatorial race is undergoing intense changes. To help voters understand the political stances of the two candidates, several media outlets are planning to host debates. However, after participating in the first final debate hosted by CNN, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra canceled the scheduled second debate.
Following the debate on September 30th, CNN commented that Hilton acted boldly while Becerra focused on playing it safe. The two were supposed to participate in a debate hosted by the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday (6th), but Becerra announced his withdrawal on Monday (5th).
Republican candidate Steve Hilton criticized that Becerra, who promised in August to participate in multiple debates, “disappeared again after the defeat in the first debate – completely taking voter support for granted. It’s really sad!”
Commissioned by Hilton’s campaign team, pollster David Wolfson conducted the latest poll on October 1st and 2nd with a sample size of 1,020 voters. The results showed that Becerra’s support was 45.7%, leading Hilton by only 5.6%. 14.1% of voters are still undecided.
Hilton has been actively campaigning in various places, delivering impromptu speeches almost every day and interacting with voters. He has made several eye-catching campaign promises, including lowering gas prices to below $3, abolishing the California DMV, and getting rid of bureaucracy.
Regarding the latest poll, he commented on X on the 5th that the gap between the two has narrowed to the smallest since the primaries, “They claim the governor’s race is over, we are about to prove them wrong. 29 days left until the election. We can definitely win!”
On the other hand, Becerra’s camp questioned Hilton’s governing goals. On X on October 1st, he posted that Hilton aims to weaken California’s environmental measures and resume offshore drilling, “California should lead the fight against climate change, not reverse course, putting our coastline, communities, and future at risk.”
Becerra also announced on X winning the CNN debate: “Our campaign is rooted in community, passion, and the hope to make California stronger. We are getting closer to our goal.”
Due to the high attention on the California gubernatorial race nationwide, multiple related polls have been conducted. The Independent Voter Project’s survey of 2,906 voters from September 23rd to October 2nd revealed that Becerra had 48% support, while Hilton had 38%, a 10% difference between the two.
Polls in September and October included: the Berkeley IGS poll showing Becerra leading by 25%; the SurveyUSA poll with Becerra leading by 22%; the PPCI poll with Becerra ahead by 22%, and so on.
Looking at the party breakdown among California voters, Democrats clearly have the advantage, almost double that of Republicans. Updated data from 2026 indicates that out of the 23.21 million registered voters in California, which make up 85.3% of the eligible adult population, Democrats are at 10.38 million, making up 44.8%; Republicans are at 5.82 million, accounting for 25.1%; independent voters are at 6.26 million, exceeding Republicans; and other voters are at 750,000, or 3.2%.
In the June California gubernatorial primary, over sixty candidates participated, leading to a more fragmented vote result. Eventually, Becerra and Hilton advanced to the finals with support rates of 28% and 24.6%, respectively.