Cara Brown McCormick
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Katie Porter said it out loud so nobody else had to. "This is worse than my teenagers at dinner," the former Orange County congresswoman told a Pomona College debate audience in April, gesturing at the seven rivals sharing the stage with her. She wasn't wrong.
An analysis of direct quotes from all 8 major candidates, drawn from the televised debates, dozens of campaign interviews, and paid advertising, found that five of the eight ended California's governor's primary with more negative statements on record than positive ones.
Not a single candidate grew more positive as the race progressed.
Chad Bianco, the Riverside County sheriff and Republican candidate, made negative statements 72% of the time, the highest share in the field. Democrat Antonio Villaraigosa came in at 53% negative, followed by Tom Steyer at 55%, Xavier Becerra at 52%, and Katie Porter at 46%.
Only two candidates, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and state Superintendent Tony Thurmond, ended the race with substantially more positive statements than negative ones.
"Our businesses are leaving. Our workers are leaving. Our kids can't afford to live here. There's nothing good coming from the current Democrat Party," Bianco said, in remarks typical of his overall posture throughout the campaign.
He called Democratic policies "lies" at multiple debates and falsely claimed at the April 28 debate that COVID vaccines distributed under President Biden had "poisoned" millions of Americans, drawing audible groans from the audience.
Steve Hilton, the Republican frontrunner and former Fox News host, began the campaign with a sunny brand built around the word "Califordable." By the final weeks, the optimism had curdled.
"Sixteen years of Democrat progressive governance have been an unmitigated disaster, and a very expensive one," he told Newsweek.
At the final debate on May 14, Hilton turned directly to Democratic frontrunner Xavier Becerra: "I like you personally, Xavier, but you shouldn't be on this stage. You shouldn't be in this race. You should be preparing your criminal defense."
Becerra gave as good as he got. "Donald Trump's his daddy, and he will protect him all the way through," he said of Hilton at the CNN debate. He dismissed Porter's criticism as "very rich to hear from someone who's never had to actually run a government."
When all six rivals attacked him at the final debate, Becerra shrugged: "This is what happens when you take the lead in the polls. They all come at you."
Porter's record was evenly split between sharp policy arguments and sharper personal attacks. She pressed Becerra at the Pomona debate: "You have all these lovely plans, but there are never any numbers, any revenue plan, any details."
She went after Steyer's fossil fuel past with a pointed question, "How about profiteers pay?" She then suggested at the final debate that Becerra could still be implicated in the corruption case against his aides, despite the prosecutor's statement to the contrary.
A leaked video in which she told a staffer "Get out of my f--king shot" circulated widely throughout the campaign.
Villaraigosa carved out a specific lane as the candidate willing to blame his own party. "We can't put everything on Donald Trump. We have the highest homelessness, the highest gas prices. Those happened under Democratic policies," he told MSNBC in May.
He accused Becerra and Kamala Harris of being "intentionally complicit" in a cover-up of President Biden's cognitive decline.
In the televised debates, Steyer was among the more positive voices on stage. But he also ran the most expensive negative advertising campaign in the race.
On May 31, two days before the primary, he released a television ad claiming Becerra "could be indicted next" and "knew and did nothing." Becerra's lawyers called it "textbook defamation" and threatened to sue.
Steyer's lawyers said they would welcome a lawsuit. The ad ran through primary day.
Outside the candidates, a PAC called California Is Not for Sale attacked Steyer’s past investments in fossil fuels and private prisons.
The most positive candidate overall, Thurmond, polled at 1 percent.
All the negativity in the primary campaign raises a question that the Independent Voter Project is now putting directly to Californians: would any of this have been different if more candidates advanced in a nonpartisan system?
The organization, which helped design and pass California's Top Two primary in 2010, is now working to reform the reform. They call it "More Choice Voting" – a proposal to advance four or five candidates to the general election instead of just two.
Shawn Griffiths
They are asking voters whether that structural change would alter the incentives that drove this race into the ground.
In a Top Two system, with two spots available, every candidate faced a zero-sum calculation: perhaps the fastest way to move up was to drag someone else down.
Steyer spent millions trying to disqualify his fellow Democrat, Becerra. Villaraigosa attacked his own party's most prominent figures. Porter questioned whether the frontrunner might be criminally indicted. Becerra called Hilton Trump's proxy. Everyone came for everyone.
Would four or five candidates advancing to November change that? Would candidates feel less compelled to attack each other if survival did not require someone else's elimination?
Would more room at the top create more space for ideas?
Would More Choice Voting make elections less negative? After watching eight candidates spend six months tearing each other apart, it is not a hard case to make that the current system could be improved to bring out more of the best.
TONY THURMOND (58% positive / 25% negative)
Called out Bianco's unprecedented seizure of 650,000 ballots from the Riverside County Registrar of Voters, citing it as evidence of election interference by a sitting sheriff. (CBS Debate, 4/28/26)
"This act doesn't reflect the Democratic Party of 2026. The establishment is essentially telling every candidate of color to drop out." (Statement)
"Aren't we supposed to be the party who embraces democracy? A party of, by and for the people." (Statement)
MATT MAHAN (56% positive / 29% negative)
"What we saw on Skid Row is a multi-decade public policy failure." (ABC7)
"The state deserves better." (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
"They're all wrong." (CBS Debate, 4/28/26)
"Xavier's plan won't work." On Becerra's proposal to freeze home insurance rates. (CBS Debate, 4/28/26)
"Becerra is the embodiment of the status quo in Sacramento." (CBS Debate, 5/14/26)
"We don't need career politicians who've never met a crisis that they couldn't ignore." (CBS Debate, 5/14/26)
On Steyer: "His structural change sounds to me more like socialism. His plans literally would double the size of the state government." (CBS Debate, 5/14/26)
"We do not need the leadership that MAGA candidates on this stage are offering, that's divisive. We don't need the leadership of a billionaire who's now against everything he made his money in, or a career politician who has failed again and again to deliver results. He's trying to remember his lines. Right?" (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
To Hilton: "It's totally unrealistic that you're going to have $3 gas in a year. You're lying." (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
"Tom Steyer is making a lot of false promises up here, things that the legislature already rejected because we don't know how to pay for them." (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
"Where I differ with my Democratic colleagues is they're all talking about how to raise revenue, make government bigger. Secretary Becerra always brags about how big the trillion-dollar budgets were that he managed. I'm interested in making government better. The answer isn't always bigger." (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
"Not MAGA and not more of the same." (CBS Debate, 5/14/26)
On Governor Newsom: "Instead of spending so much energy attacking his opponents, the governor and his team should be addressing the high cost of energy, helping hard-pressed families make ends meet and keeping them and their employers from fleeing our state." (SF Standard)
STEVE HILTON (44% positive / 46% negative)
"I think it's just obvious that these 16 years of Democrat progressive governance have been an unmitigated disaster, and a very expensive one, because we pay the highest taxes for these terrible results." (Newsweek, 5/29/26)
"Democrat one-party rule gave California the highest unemployment in America." (Campaign website)
"The complete disaster of homelessness across the state." (Newsweek, 5/29/26)
"Chad Bianco has got more baggage than LAX." (Fox Debate, 2/3/26)
"I like you personally, Xavier, but you shouldn't be on this stage. You shouldn't be in this race. You should be preparing your criminal defense." (CBS Debate, 5/14/26)
"If we don't get together as a party, we could have Tom Steyer and Xavier Becerra in the general election, and that is a disaster for California. It means no change." (NBC4, 5/30/26)
"Two Democrats advancing to the general would be a disaster for the state from the point of view of democracy." (Newsweek, 5/29/26)
"Matt Mahan talked about housing. His city was just rated the least affordable for housing in the world." (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
"Mr. Mahan, as you noted, he didn't challenge the fact that homelessness has gone up on his watch." (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
"Some of these Democrats on the stage, they talk as if we're in some parallel universe where Democrats haven't been running this state for the last 16 years. You look at Javier, 36 years, he's been a career politician. For Democrats, it's just got to change." (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
"Lawsuits are adding sometimes up to $15,000 a year onto insurance premiums. And these Democrats won't change it because they are funded by the trial lawyers." (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
"All they can say is Trump. That's all they have got." (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
"Under Tom Steyer, the taxes will be higher, gas prices will be higher, everything will be higher with Steyer." (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
To Porter: "She said something very revealing, which is the only way, really, that California's economy has been growing in the last few years is through illegal immigration." (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
KATIE PORTER (44% positive / 46% negative)
"Mr. Becerra, you have all these lovely plans, but there are never any numbers, any revenue plan, any details. What is Mr. Becerra's revenue plan?" (CBS Debate, 4/28/26)
Said Becerra's response on single-payer healthcare was not clear, calling it "disqualifying." (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
Went so far as to say Becerra could still be implicated in the Williamson corruption case, despite a federal prosecutor's statement that no candidate had been named in any charging document. (CBS Debate, 5/14/26)
"How about profiteers pay?" On Steyer's past investments in fossil fuels and private prisons. (CBS Debate, 4/28/26)
"This is worse than my teenagers at dinner." (CBS Debate, 4/28/26)
"If these boys bullying and bickering hasn't been enough to raise questions about their temperament, I would really challenge that." (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
"I can't believe that on a stage with 30 minutes of interrupting and bickering and name-calling and shouting and disrespect, that anyone wants to talk about my temperament." (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
When CBS reporter Julie Watts asked Porter what she would say to the 40% of California voters who voted for Trump, Porter responded: "How would I need them in order to win, ma'am?" then laughed and threatened to walk out of the interview. (CBS News California)
"Get out of my f--king shot." (Leaked video)
"It's convenient to close it after you have profited from it." On Steyer backing a corporate real estate tax loophole he had previously benefited from. (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
"This billionaire's tax is simply not good tax policy. It's a one-time tax. But we don't have one-time revenue needs." (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
"There's a lot of evidence that State Farm has lied, cheated, or stolen here." (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
"Boys, boys, enough with the bickering." (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
"Oh, cowboy." To Bianco after he interrupted her. (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
"Sir, I don't need any lectures from you about being a mother." To Bianco. (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
"Given that you're an immigrant and you added to our population, and we're all having to live with the consequences of that decision." To Hilton. (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
XAVIER BECERRA (37% positive / 52% negative)
"The first thing we have to do is stop Steve Hilton's daddy." (CBS Debate, 4/28/26)
"Donald Trump's his daddy, and he will protect him all the way through." To Hilton. (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
"That's very rich to hear from someone who's never had to actually run a government." To Porter. (CBS Debate, 5/14/26)
"This is what happens when you take the lead in the polls. They all come at you." (CBS Debate, 5/14/26)
Dismissed criticism of his handling of unaccompanied migrant children as "a MAGA talking point." (CBS Debate, 4/28/26)
"This race will come down to those who've earned it versus those who are trying to buy it." A shot at Steyer's self-funding. (Nexstar Debate, 4/22/26)
"Someone should tell Tom that voters have a word for what he's doing: it's lying. And it's not a quality Californians are looking for in their next governor." (Campaign statement, 5/31/26)
"We haven't dropped any options on the table. A lie is a lie." On whether he would sue Steyer. (ABC10)
"The price of gas has gone up $1 to $2 because of Donald Trump and his war in Iran. The price of goods, groceries have gone up in California because of Donald Trump's illegal tariffs." (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
TV ad using scenes of Joshua trees, ocean waves, and redwoods with the voiceover: "You can stop the endless Tom Steyer ads." (Becerra TV ad)
TOM STEYER (38% positive / 55% negative)
"You really can't reform an organization which is absolutely wrong and criminal from top to bottom." On ICE. (Fox Debate, 2/3/26)
"Billionaires all over this race are spending tens of millions of dollars to stop me." (CSMonitor, 5/27/26)
"Big Oil didn't spend millions on Becerra by accident. They're buying flexibility on drilling, and Californians will pay for it at the pump and in the air we breathe." (Steyer campaign spokesperson)
"When it comes to single-payer, you went to the largest lobbying group against single payer health care in the state of California. The next day, the head of that group said you very clearly indicated you were against single payer. Then they endorsed you and they gave you the maximum amount of money. Are they lying?" To Becerra. (CBS Debate, 5/14/26)
Called Mahan "a tool of Big Tech" when the San Jose mayor entered the race.
Campaign spokesperson: "California needs a governor who will stand up to powerful interests, not carry their water." (Statement, early 2026)
"I do think it's rich to hear someone talk about $3 gas who is owned by Donald Trump." To Hilton. (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
"We should be taxing the oil companies because they are getting a windfall profit as a result of the war that the president that they put into office started for no apparent reason." (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
Attack ad on Eric Swalwell's congressional attendance record, the worst of any active member of Congress. Voiceover: "Call me old school, but you typically have to do your job before you earn a promotion." (Steyer campaign ad, early 2026)
Ran a sustained series of ads questioning Becerra's credentials and government record throughout the final weeks of the campaign. (Steyer campaign ads, April through June 2026)
"Risky" TV ad: "Becerra could be indicted next. He knew and did nothing." Referenced guilty pleas of Becerra's former chief of staff and campaign manager. Federal prosecutors said Becerra was a victim in the case. Becerra's attorneys sent a cease-and-desist letter. Steyer's lawyers refused to pull the ad. (Steyer TV ad, 5/31/26)
ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA (35% positive / 53% negative)
"We can't put everything on Donald Trump. We have the highest homelessness, the highest gas prices, the highest cost of living. Those happened under Democratic policies." (MSNBC)
"I'm the stink bomb in the elevator, if you will, in challenging some of this." (MSNBC)
"You know, you're an oath keeper. We all know that." To Bianco. (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
"I've been in enough forums with you where I've heard you say you're for single-payer, and I've heard you say you're against." To Becerra. (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
"People like you are the reason why we keep on spending more than we got." To Becerra. (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
Called Medicare for All "pie in the sky." (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
"At the highest levels of our government, those in power were intentionally complicit or told outright lies in a systematic cover-up to keep Joe Biden's mental decline from the public." (Statement, 5/26)
"What did Kamala Harris and Xavier Becerra know, when did they know it, and most importantly, why didn't either of them speak out?" (Statement, 5/26)
"I've been challenging my party for years, because it's been Democrats that brought us here." (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
"I'll tell you what I think is illegal, a sheriff of Riverside County sequestering thousands of votes in the way that you did. The Supreme Court said that you shouldn't have done it in the first place." To Bianco. (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
"Steve Hilton, I know you're recently arrived to California, but if you've read the Bay Area Institute study, immigrants, if we took them all out including the undocumented, it would be a $274 billion hit to the California economy." (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
Ran an attack ad targeting Porter over the staffer video incident, citing it as evidence of temperament problems. (Villaraigosa campaign ad)
CHAD BIANCO (20% positive / 72% negative)
"Sanctuary state, created by Democrats, created the environment on purpose that we see today." (NBC LA)
"Our businesses are leaving. Our workers are leaving. Our kids can't afford to live here. There's nothing good coming from the current Democrat Party." (KQED)
Falsely claimed COVID vaccines distributed under the Biden administration had "poisoned" millions of Americans. The claim drew audible groans from the debate audience. (CBS Debate, 4/28/26)
"I couldn't think of a single thing the state legislature has done right during my seven years as sheriff." (Sacramento forum)
"We are going to get nothing but the same from them. They brought us here. Every single one of these career politicians brought us to the point where we are here today. They do not deserve another chance." (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
"The insurance companies are not going to come back if another Democrat is elected. The reasons why they left is because of failed Democrat policies that force them to leave." (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
"Sanctuary state is forcing us to be less safe." (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
"Steve and I sat here smiling at each other because we're just watching you all prove to everyone why they can't vote for a Democrat." (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
"I want Mr. Villaraigosa to tell the mother of the 14-year-old in my county that is dead because of an illegal immigrant that had been deported three times because of DUIs that sanctuary state policy keeps us safe." (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
"It's too late, don't you think? How about the three DUIs before that?" To Villaraigosa. (CNN Debate, 5/5/26)
PAC ADS AGAINST STEYER
The "California Is Not for Sale" PAC ran ads attacking Steyer's former hedge fund investments in private prison companies, citing a 2019 Los Angeles Times article.
They also ran ads attacking Steyer's fossil fuel investments and describing his policy proposals as likely to make life more expensive for Californians.
PAC spokesperson Amelia Matier: "The only big money interest in this race is Tom Steyer." (SF Standard)
PAC spokesperson Amelia Matier: "Californians deserve a candidate whose support is built on trust not a checkbook." (Statement)
PAC spokesperson Amelia Matier: "Tom Steyer is a climate champion is a fallacy. The man claims to not take any donations from oil and gas, but he just spent $217 million of Farallon capital, which is energy money, on his own vanity project. The largest chunk of corporate money in this race comes from Tom Steyer's own bank account." (SF Standard, 5/31/26)
METHODOLOGY Scores reflect a qualitative analysis of direct quotes from debates (Fox 2/3/26, Nexstar 4/22/26, CBS 4/28/26, CNN 5/5/26, CBS 5/14/26), candidate interviews, and paid advertising through June 2, 2026. Independent PAC advertising was not included in candidate scores.