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Today’s Substack Live was a fast-moving rundown of last night’s California gubernatorial debate, the state of the 2026 race, and two major ballot measures that just moved toward the November ballot.
I started with the debate, which may have been important politically even if it was not especially dramatic. The field is still unsettled, voters are still tuning in, and the real question is whether anyone on that stage actually changed the trajectory of the race. I walked through the Republicans, the Democrats, the format, the missed opportunities, and the moments that mattered.
Then I turned to two ballot measures headed to voters: one that puts taxpayers on the offensive in a serious way, and another that could saddle California with billions more in debt while doing very little to fix the housing crisis.
We also got into the broader problem underneath all of this: Sacramento keeps creating problems, then asks voters for more money to “solve” the problems the government helped create.
Want To Watch A Particular Part?
00:00 — Welcome And Opening Setup
01:22 — Why The Governor’s Race Still Feels Unsettled
05:54 — First Takeaway From The Debate
07:13 — Why The Debate Format Fell Short
08:46 — The One Thing Top Two Got Right
11:22 — Hilton And Bianco On The Same Stage
17:03 — The Democratic Status Quo Problem
17:51 — The Gavin Newsom “Grade” Moment
19:45 — Xavier Becerra’s Debate Performance
20:46 — Katie Porter’s Missed Opportunity
22:01 — Tom Steyer’s Night
24:44 — Matt Mahan’s Challenge
27:32 — Steve Hilton’s Debate Strategy
28:12 — Chad Bianco’s Debate Lane
28:38 — What The Polling Shows Now
30:44 — Two Big Ballot Measures Move Forward
31:05 — Save Prop. 13 And The Taxpayer Fight
36:00 — The $25 Billion Housing Bond
38:43 — Why The Housing Plan Could Backfire
41:36 — The Bigger Debt Problem
44:20 — Wrap-Up
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You can also listen to this post — along with my California Our morning content is free for all subscribers and guests! You can also listen to this post — along with my California Post column — on our podcast feed, So, Does It Matter? SPOKEN. It’s available on your favorite podcasting app. You can listen directly here.
Oh, here’s this episode of Substack Live on YouTube!
