Xavier Becerra, a Democrat, and Steve Hilton, a Republican, sparred over President Trump, taxes and immigration in their only scheduled meeting.

© CNN

The candidates running to replace Gavin Newsom sparred over taxes, immigration and regulating AI

Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton, the candidates running to be California’s next governor, clashed on Wednesday over taxes, immigration and regulating artificial intelligence in a testy debate held days before voters begin receiving their ballots in the heavily Democratic state.

Hilton, the former Fox News host endorsed by Donald Trump, used the hourlong matchup, hosted by CNN, to argue that Becerra, a former congressman who served as the US health and human services secretary during the Biden administration, was not actively campaigning and instead taking voters for granted.

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© Photograph: Carlos Barría/Reuters

© Photograph: Carlos Barría/Reuters

© Photograph: Carlos Barría/Reuters

Unaffiliated voters leaned heavily toward Xavier Becerra, a Democrat, in a recent poll, pushing him to his largest lead of this election cycle.

© Mark Abramson for The New York Times

© Gabriela Bhaskar/The New York Times

Steve Hilton’s long-shot campaign for governor is courting Golden state voters with unapologetically populist message

Steve Hilton stands almost no chance of becoming California’s next governor, but that isn’t stopping him from campaigning as though he was just one step away from pulling off the impossible.

The former Downing Street political adviser and Fox News host refuses to be daunted by the rancid political environment for Republican candidates this year, or by opinion polls that tell him he is lagging 20 percentage points or more behind his Democratic rival, Xavier Becerra.

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© Composite: The Guardian/Getty Images

© Composite: The Guardian/Getty Images

© Composite: The Guardian/Getty Images

Xavier Becerra, a Democrat who served in the Biden administration, will debate Steve Hilton, a Republican former talk show host, in what’s likely to be their only face-off before the election.

© Gabriela Bhaskar/The New York Times