WATCH: LA Times columnist calls Larry Elder a 'white supremacist' on CNN

Los Angeles Times columnist Jean Guerrero told CNN's Brian Stelter on Sunday that California Republican gubernatorial candidate Larry Elder poses a "very real threat to communities of color" and doubled down on accusations of white supremacy against the black conservative.

Guerrero said that Elder "has been able to reach the minority of voters in California who embrace his white supremacist worldview."

Guerrero was part of a panel on CNN's Reliable Sources with Brian Stelter to speak about the upcoming California governor recall election on September 14. Stelter asked Guerrero about the Republican frontrunner who Los Angeles Times has called "the black face of white supremacy."

Stelter said, "You've been such an outspoken critic of Elder, you know, he's well-known to right-wing radio listeners as a host for decades, but then he has sparred with the media that's been covering the campaign. He's clearly the leading contender among the Republicans in this recall."

"So, do you think he was able to get around the media and reach voters in California?" Stelter asked. "Was he able to run a Trump playbook?"

"I mean, kind of, he's essentially been running his campaign on Fox News and on right-wing media outlets," Guerrero claimed. "He's refused to talk to large, you know, to non-partisan and media outlets and to journalists who are critical of him."

Guerrero accused Elder of refusing "to answer difficult questions," and claimed that the candidate "often uses the few interviews that he does give as an opportunity to give a performance on social media, you know, denouncing those Journalists and playing the victim."

Guerrero might have been referencing a recent incident where a white liberal in a gorilla mask hurled expletives and eggs at the black candidate.

Guerrero referenced an article recently run by her outlet, the LA Times, called "Larry Elder is the Black face of white supremacy. You’ve been warned"

"And you know," Guererro said, "he's co-opted this line by my fellow columnist from the headline, you know, calling him the black face of white supremacy, but he refuses to engage with the actual substance of our reporting."

She then claimed that the candidate’s views "...were shaped by a well-known white supremacist named Jared Taylor, who he repeatedly quoted in early writings," and added "that he plans to reverse all of the state's progress on immigrant rights and racial justice and that he poses a very real threat to communities of color for all of the reasons that we've reported in the past."

"You clearly, the LA times opinion folks, you and others have been, have been very much against Elder," Stelter agreed. "We will see what impact, if any of that has had in two days I liked the word you used about Elder and the media his performance. He performs his anti-media pose when he's on Fox and elsewhere, because of course that's what we hear from the former President as well."

The host then pivoted to attacking recent statements by former President Donald Trump.