Four leading Democrats running for California governor gathered Sunday morning for the first major candidate forum of the 2026 election, with few fireworks and no attacks on Gov. Gavin Newsom, a politician they hope will succeed. There was very little discussion, and there was a peaceful discussion.

The forum in downtown San Francisco, sponsored by the United Health Care Workers Union, featured gubernatorial candidates, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, and state legislators. Public Education Secretary Tony Thurmond, San Diego State Sen. Tony Atkins, and former Secretary of State Betty Yee.

The event, which was livestreamed on the Los Angeles Times website, was held very early in the 2026 gubernatorial race and just a month before the high-stakes 2024 presidential election. More candidates for California's top job are expected to jump into the race in the coming months.

Also absent from the forum was one of the most prominent Democrats in the race, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. The union announced that Villaraigosa had been invited but declined to attend.

Do you agree with Newsom's opinion?

The four candidates were repeatedly pressed about Newsom's record and how he would govern differently. They mainly support Newsom's side, such as the death penalty (all oppose it) and California's policy to phase out new gasoline car sales by 2035 (all support it), and each other. also supported.

All four also said they would sign a bill giving striking workers access to state unemployment benefits, a top priority for California's powerful organized labor movement. Mr. Newsom vetoed a similar bill last year, saying expanding benefits would make the unemployment trust fund “easier to go bankrupt.”

Candidates are divided on whether California should allow school districts to decide when to reopen during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in the closure of some urban public schools. remained closed for months longer than private and rural schools.

Mr. Kounalakis, Mr. Thurmond and Mr. Yee said they would have responded differently than Mr. Newsom. Atkins said he wasn't sure, saying, “It's easy to be the quarterback on a Monday morning now.” …We know more today than we did then. ”

single payer healthcare

The hosts pressed the candidates on health policy positions of particular interest to the audience, a union representing about 19,000 health care workers in California, including nurses and pharmacists.

All four candidates have said to varying degrees that they would pursue a single-payer health care system that would cover all Californians and dramatically restructure the state's health care system.

All said they are awaiting the January 2025 report required by Senate Bill 770. The bill, which Newsom signed into law last fall, requires the state health secretary to begin discussions with the federal government about waivers to allocate federal Medicaid and Medicare funds to states. Run the medical system.

Legislative analysts estimated earlier this year that a single-payer system could cost $392 billion a year.

Thurmond said California doesn't have a single-payer system because “people don't have the political will to push for it.” Atkins, who authored the 2017 bill creating a single-payer system, said he is waiting for a waiver option to be presented through SB 770, saying, “We can't make that system happen overnight.” Ta.

In an interview after the panel discussion, Yee said support for a single-payer system will depend in part on the results of the SB 770 study.

“I think a unified lending system makes sense,” Yee said. “Single-payer or not, that’s the question.”

The same question sparked the last gubernatorial race in California. At NUHW's 2017 candidate forum, Villaraigosa and Newsom clashed over state-led single-payer health care.

Villaraigosa said he supports the concept of single-payer health care, but warned that politicians who promote the concept are “selling snake oil.” He said politicians like Newsom underestimated the complexity of creating a new system and didn't know how to pay for it.

Newsom dismissed Villaraigosa's concerns, saying the fight for single-payer health care is a “leadership issue” and he won't wait for Congress to act. Mr. Newsom won union support and won the 2018 gubernatorial election, but he has not introduced a single-payer health care system.

Housing, Homelessness, and the California Escape

All four candidates said building more housing is a top priority for addressing California's rising cost of living.

Kounalakis pointed to his 20 years of experience in real estate development before entering politics, where he said he helped build a planned community for 200,000 people. “There was tremendous opposition to building housing” from local governments, she said.

“It's time to put someone in the governor's office who actually built things,” Kounalakis said.

Mr. Yee called for expanded local zoning to increase housing capacity and said he would promote “a permanent and stable funding source for affordable housing.”

Forum panelist Laurel Rosenhall, the Times' California political editor, asked the candidates what homelessness policies they would support that Newsom had not yet addressed. He said Newsom has spent more than $20 billion on the crisis, but the number of homeless people in California is increasing.

Mr. Yee said he would like to see more spending to prevent people from falling into homelessness. she quoted University of California San Francisco poll They found that 83% of older homeless adults believed a one-time payment of $5,000 to $10,000 could stop homelessness, but this was “more than what we have been offering in our budget.” Certainly there are far fewer.”

Thurmond said there are 240,000 homeless students in California, 10,000 of whom are unaccompanied minors. He said he would like to see housing subsidies provided with comprehensive support to help students attend classes and find jobs.

crime in california

Three of the four candidates avoided taking a position on Proposition 36 on the November ballot. Proposition 36 would impose harsher penalties for crimes involving repeat theft and the deadly drug fentanyl.

The bill has been the focus of intense debate this year, with Republicans and law enforcement advocates calling for parts of it to be repealed. The criminal justice reform bill that voters approved a decade ago, which downgrades some felonies to misdemeanors, is under fire. increase in organized retail theft and “Smack and grab” robbery.

Mr Thurmond said his vote was “still undecided”. Kounalakis said he had made up his mind but wanted to keep his vote private.

Mr Atkins said he was “likely” to vote no. She worries that the vote “puts a law set in stone, and the only way to undo it is to put it back in the hands of the people,” and said she is concerned about the series of retail theft bills passed by Congress in August. He said he supports it.

Yee said Prop. 36 is “wrong” and plans to vote against it, adding that it “sets out false promises about how we want to address issues of public safety in general.” Ta.

To do so or not?

In a state where Democratic voters outnumber Republicans nearly 2-to-1, Democrats are expected to have an advantage in the 2026 statewide election to replace Mr. Newsom, who cannot run again after his second term. . A Republican has not won a statewide election in California since 2006.

Other Democrats may also enter the race, including California Atty. general rob bonta;Rep. Katie Porter (D-Irvine) ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in March. Developer Rick Caruso ran for mayor in Los Angeles in 2022, but lost to Karen Bass.

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, Conservative commentator Steve Hilton.