Top Democrats in the California State Assembly have urged the University of Southern California (USC) to cancel an upcoming debate. This follows criticism over its eligibility framework, which allowed five white candidates but excluded four minority candidates based on their lack of voting or fundraising activity, as stated by the university.
The criteria developed by a USC professor led to a lineup of six candidates—Chad Bianco and Steve Hilton (Republicans) plus Tom Steyer, Matt Mahan, Katie Porter, and Eric Swalwell (Democrats). All of them are white. The framework apparently disqualified Democratic minority candidates such as Xavier Becerra, Antonio Villaraigosa, Betty Yee, and Tony Thurman due to unfavorable polling and fundraising results.
Once it became public knowledge who was included and who wasn’t, the excluded candidates voiced their anger. They described the candidate selection system as racially biased. Becerra went so far as to draw parallels to the discriminatory signs his father encountered in the past that read, “No Dogs, No Negroes, No Mexicans Allowed.”
Beyond the candidates, notable figures like California Senate President Pro Tempore Monique Limón and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas joined the criticism. They penned a letter describing the selection process as “biased” and deemed the complaints from Becerra and others as “legitimate.” In their letter, they called for a boycott of the debate if USC did not rectify the situation, emphasizing the importance of fair representation for California voters. They urged USC President Kim to expand the debate lineup and trust voters to make their own choices.
In an announcement made less than a day before the debate was set to occur, USC revealed that Los Angeles television station KABC, which was set to broadcast the event, had failed to reach an agreement to include additional candidates. Consequently, the debate was canceled.
Responses to the situation varied, with some Republicans suggesting that the pressure from Democratic leaders reflected a serious concern. Hilton, a Republican candidate for governor, remarked on the influence of Congress in this matter, asserting that concerns were not limited to the candidates alone.
In another note, a local California publication reported that some of the candidates had hinted that Mahan would still be included in the canceled debate despite lacking significant performance data. An anonymous source close to USC’s donor network was mentioned in complaints to USC about the selection process, which specifically referred to Mahan.
Interestingly, a poll conducted by state Democratic Party Chairman Rusty Hicks showed support for Becerra, but other candidates surpassed him in performance. Republicans Hilton and Bianco were found leading, while Democrats like Porter, Swalwell, and Steyer were tied at 10 percent, with many still undecided.
Neither Rivas nor Limón provided comments for this piece prior to publication.
