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JONATHAN TURLEY: USC abandons governor debate after Dems whine about White candidates

Published

2 months ago

March 28, 2026

The University of Southern California (USC) is under fire after canceling the California gubernatorial debate with less than 24 hours’ notice. The reason? None of the polling candidates are people of color. It was a crushingly revealing moment in a state where universities have long defied voters who demanded an end to affirmative action in admissions.

USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future and ABC/KABC Los Angeles were scheduled to co-host the debate at Bovard Auditorium on Tuesday evening. Then it was canceled on Monday.

Former Biden Health and Human Services Secretary and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra had sent a letter to President Beong-Soo Kim, alleging “election rigging” and objecting “you disqualified all of the candidates of color from participating.”

For many, USC succeeded in beclowning itself by first defending USC Professor Christian Grose’s “data-driven” selection process and then abruptly canceling the debate lineup selected through that process. If that seems incomprehensible, welcome to American higher education.

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The cancellation is only the latest unexpected turn in the election, where the two top vote-getters will face each other in a runoff election.

California Democrats are in a panic as two Republicans currently top the polling: Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and commentator Steve Hilton.

At the same time, the leading Democrats include controversial candidates such as former Rep. Katie Porter and Rep. Eric Swalwell. Porter is best known nationally for spewing profanity and abuse at staff members. Last year, Swalwell was outvoted by Rep. Raul Grijalva, who died in March 2025. However, they are still doing markedly better than Becerra with voters.

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USC insisted that it “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.”

That “data-driven system” produced a lineup of Bianco and Hilton as well as Democrats billionaire Tom Steyer, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, Porter and Swalwell.

Advocates then went into full rage, calling the process racist and rigged. Becerra declared:

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“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.”

However, the methodology considered both polling percentage and fundraising with the polling given greater weight.

Becerra has been shown at 3%, notably within the statistical margin of error for most polls. In other words, he could be closer to zero. (He is shown as tied with Mahan, who Becerra appears to be referencing in his letter as lacking higher polling).

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USC then yielded after trying to expand the number of participants to appease objectors. In a statement, USC stated:

“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 [debate co-sponsor] 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.”

Becerra took a victory lap: “We fought. We won! … Thank you to everyone who stood up, raised hell and demanded justice. Never give up when you’re fighting for fairness!”

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At least Becerra’s position is comprehensible. He has long defended affirmative action in California. Indeed, despite statewide votes against the practice, California universities continue to be accused of applying racial criteria in admissions. Becerra is effectively demanding such action for himself as a “candidate of color.”

USC was left stumbling in search of a place to hide. USC scholars defended the process that USC affectively scuttled:

“All of us expect and welcome critical engagement from inside and outside the academy. What Professor Grose has faced, however, is not substantive or methodological debate. Attacks and insinuations from members of the political classes include completely baseless allegations of election-rigging, inconsistency, bias and data manipulation. These are harmful character assassinations, not substantive debate. They are of a piece with other attempts to strong-arm or malign scholars that have become all too common in America.

Whatever their intent, the effect of these attacks is to diminish academic freedom and chill scholarly willingness to add their voices to the public square. It is imperative that universities defend their faculties’ integrity when it is unfairly attacked.”

That is a powerful statement if one does not then consider that the university caved, cancelled the debate, and meekly said that it will “look for other opportunities to educate voters on the candidates and issues.” The “strong-arming” succeeded.

What is particularly disappointing is that I just spoke at USC and was impressed with the members of the USC community seeking to restore a diversity of viewpoints. The event was sponsored by The Center for the Political Future, which was the sponsor of the debate. It was also organized by the USC Open Dialogue Project and the USC chapter of the Heterodox Academy. Both have written in defense of this process.

Professor Morris Levy with Heterodox wrote: “[USC’s] message is unmistakable: USC was allowing ‘concerns’ and a public ‘distraction’ to override its own institutional conviction that the selection formula was data-driven and backed by research.”

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So Heterodox, The Center for the Political Future, and ABC7 issued statements indicating that they were prepared to go forward and also defended the process of selection. That left only USC.

In this controversy, USC succeeded in finding the least defensible ground to make its stand. It denounced the cancel campaign but then effectively yielded to it.

The alternative is to stand by your race-blind, data-driven process and hold the debate for all invited candidates willing to attend.

Where USC was criticized recently for its fake punt in the game with Northwestern, it actually punted in this play and left the field.

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Republican Shocks California With Stunning Election Night Comeback

Published

24 seconds ago

June 3, 2026

Addison Blake

Republican Shocks California With Stunning Election Night Comeback

California voters headed to the polls Tuesday to begin the process of selecting a successor to Gov. Gavin Newsom, and one result immediately grabbed the attention of political observers across the country: Republican Steve Hilton’s surprisingly strong performance in the state’s gubernatorial primary.

Although millions of ballots remain outstanding and California’s lengthy vote-counting process means final results may not be known for days or even weeks, early returns indicate Hilton and former Biden administration official Xavier Becerra are on track to advance to a highly anticipated November showdown.

California’s June 2 primary operated under the state’s top-two election system, which places all candidates on a single ballot regardless of party affiliation. The two candidates receiving the most votes advance to the general election, creating a dynamic that often produces unpredictable outcomes.

Democrats entered the race with a significant numerical advantage but faced a challenge of their own making: a crowded field that threatened to divide support among multiple high-profile candidates. That concern appeared to materialize as results rolled in Tuesday night.

As of Wednesday morning, Hilton held the lead with approximately 28 percent of the vote, outperforming expectations and positioning himself as the early frontrunner. Becerra followed in second place with roughly 25 percent, while billionaire environmental activist Tom Steyer trailed in third at just under 20 percent despite investing heavily in his campaign.

The results left several well-known Democratic contenders on the outside looking in. Former Rep. Katie Porter, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa all failed to generate enough support to remain competitive, effectively ending their bids for the governor’s office.

Hilton’s strong showing is likely to energize Republicans who have struggled for statewide success in California for years. While Democrats still maintain a substantial registration advantage, the fragmented primary field created an opening that Hilton successfully capitalized on.

With ballots continuing to be counted, the exact margins remain subject to change. However, barring a dramatic shift in the outstanding vote, the race to replace Newsom appears increasingly likely to feature a head-to-head contest between Hilton and Becerra this fall.

The outcome sets the stage for what could become one of the nation’s most closely watched gubernatorial races, as voters in the country’s most populous state prepare to choose their next governor amid growing debates over the economy, public safety, homelessness, and the future direction of California.

Hilton’s strong performance quickly emerged as one of the night’s biggest surprises. The former Fox News host and onetime adviser to former British Prime Minister David Cameron entered the race as a political outsider, but his campaign gained momentum by tapping into voter frustration over California’s most persistent problems. Endorsed by President Donald Trump, Hilton focused heavily on issues such as homelessness, soaring housing costs, public safety concerns, burdensome regulations, and the state’s rising cost of living. Early results suggest that message struck a chord with voters increasingly dissatisfied with the status quo.

Becerra’s advancement to the projected runoff was significant in its own right. The former California attorney general and former Health and Human Services secretary under President Joe Biden mounted a late surge after months of uncertainty about whether any Democrat could emerge from the crowded field as the clear favorite. While he never fully united the party’s various factions, Becerra ultimately secured enough support to claim a spot in November’s general election. If successful, he would become California’s first Latino governor.

The results also highlighted growing divisions within California’s Democratic coalition. Establishment Democrats largely coalesced around Becerra, while many progressive voters gravitated toward billionaire activist Tom Steyer and other candidates. The fractured Democratic vote likely contributed to Hilton’s first-place finish and provided Republicans with a significant morale boost heading into the fall campaign.

National political observers are watching the race closely because of California’s outsized influence. Home to nearly 40 million residents and boasting a state economy worth more than $4 trillion, California often serves as a political bellwether and policy laboratory for the rest of the country. The state’s next governor will inherit a daunting list of challenges, including housing affordability, homelessness, wildfire preparedness, water management, and an increasingly unstable insurance market. Those concerns dominated voter conversations throughout the primary campaign and are expected to remain central issues in the general election.

Despite the early projections, election officials continue to count millions of ballots. California law allows valid mail ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted after polls close, meaning final vote totals could continue shifting over the coming days. Nevertheless, current returns strongly indicate that Hilton and Becerra are positioned to advance to a November showdown.

Beyond the governor’s race, Californians also voted in a number of congressional and statewide contests that could have national implications. Several competitive House districts are expected to become major battlegrounds as both parties fight for control of Congress.

For now, however, the spotlight remains firmly on Hilton. By outperforming expectations and finishing atop the primary field, he demonstrated that Republicans may possess more political strength in California than many analysts assumed. Democrats remain the favorites in a state that has voted reliably blue for decades, but Tuesday night’s results suggest the race to replace Gavin Newsom could be far more competitive than initially anticipated.