USC cancels California gubernatorial debate because all qualifying candidates are white

A California gubernatorial debate that was slated for the University of Southern California was canceled by school President Beong-Soo Kim under pressure from candidates who were not to be included on the debate stage. The criticism was that the candidates who would be on the stage were too white.

The debate was canceled less than 24 hours before it was slated to happen. 

Prior to the cancelation, USC was criticized by former HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, who is running to lead the state, as well as other "candidates of color." Those included Tony Thurmond, Betty Yee and Antonio Villaraigosa. Becerra took to social media to praise the cancelation by USC. Kim canceled, saying "I know this will make several of you extremely disappointed. I hope you will understand the decision was made in good faith based on my long-term view as to what was best for the university."

Democrat lawmakers in California also urged USC to cancel the debate over the lack of diversity on stage. "The outcry over this debate is deafening and includes legal demands from the excluded candidates’ attorneys, public calls by elected leaders across the state, concerns from the included candidates’ own campaigns, and growing alarm from California voters," said Assembly Speaker Robert Rivazfs, Senate President Pro Tem Monique Limón, as well as heads of the Latino, Black, Asian and Pacific Islander, Native American, LGBTQ, Jewish and women’s caucuses.

After the debate was canceled, Becerra posted to social media in victory. "We fought. We won! We stood up against an unfair candidate debate set-up that prematurely chose winners and losers," he said. "Tonight USC made the right decision to cancel their March 24 gubernatorial forum…so hopefully next time it’s done right.  Thank you to everyone who stood up, raised hell and demanded justice. Never give up when you’re fighting for fairness!"

USC put out a statement on Monday, saying that they objected to the selection criteria of the candidates who would appear on the debate stage. "We recognize that concerns about the selection criteria for the debate have created a significant distraction from the issues that matter to voters. Unfortunately, USC and KABC have not been able to reach an agreement on expanding the number of candidates at the debate. As a result, USC has made the difficult decision to cancel the debate and will look for other opportunities to educate voters on the candidates and issues," they said.

Because of the excessive whiteness of the candidates, USC tried to get the debate cosponsor, KABC-TV Los Angeles, to expand the criteria so that more candidates of color would qualify to be part of the debate. The LA Times reports that USC and KABC-TV were "unable to reach an agreement." Candidates who were hoping to tell Californians why they should be the state's next governor were left "scrambling to organize a new event and keep a spotlight on the race," The LA Times said.

Tom Steyer, a Democrat and climate activist, was trying to find a new venue so that the debate could continue, with Republican candidates included. "We will definitely have an event," he said. "There are a lot of reporters in Los Angeles to talk about this race," he went on, "we're trying to put this together on the fly."

Steve Hilton, a Republican who has been leading in polling, said of the cancelation "What a pathetic humiliation. USC receives over a billion dollars in federal funding, and I have written to Education Secretary Linda McMahon calling for an immediate suspension of all federal payments to USC pending a full investigation into this anti-free-speech shambles. Whoever is responsible at USC should be fired."

Ballots are set to arrive in voters' mailboxes in less than two months and Democrats are worried because it's Republicans leading in polling. The state has a "top-two primary system," meaning that the two top candidates in the primary go on to run in the general election—even if they're both in the same party.

Hilton leads the pack with 16%. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, also a Republican, is in second with 14%. After those two come the Democrats, Eric Swalwell, Katie Porter, both at 10%, as is Steyer. None of those who demanded access to the debate stage had more than single digit percentages in the polls.