On Tuesday, April 28, Pomona College will host the first of four California gubernatorial debates in Bridges Auditorium. 5C students, faculty and administration eagerly anticipate the event, and student political organizations will put on related events such as watch parties and post-debate panels.
The 90-minute debate will begin at 5:30 p.m., and Pomona politics professor Sara Sadhwani will join CBS California journalists as a debate moderator.
According to Pomona’s website, the candidates who confirmed their participation in the April debate are Xavier Becerra, Chad Bianco, Steve Hilton, Matt Mahan, Tom Steyer, Tony Thurmond and Antonio Villaraigosa. Invited candidate Katie Porter has yet to accept her invitation.
Based on the primary election in June, the top two candidates, regardless of party, will advance to the general election in November. The gubernatorial candidates are as follows:
Xavier Becerra, Democrat: Becerra is the former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary under Joe Biden and the former California Attorney General. In his role as secretary, he oversaw the country’s COVID-19 pandemic response. Becerra has two decades of experience in Congress as a California State Representative.
Chad Bianco, Republican: Bianco has been the Riverside County Sheriff since 2019 and has over 30 years of law enforcement experience. Recently, he faced public criticism after he seized more than 600,000 ballots from a local election and launched an investigation to verify the votes reported.
Steve Hilton, Republican: Hilton is a contributor at Fox News, where he works as a conservative commentator. He is a former adviser to conservative British Prime Minister David Cameron. President Donald Trump endorsed his campaign in a social media post on April 5, calling him “a truly fine man.”
Matt Mahan, Democrat: The current mayor of San Jose, Mahan has been critical of Governor Gavin Newsom, calling out Newsom’s social media presence in a 2025 op-ed, for example. Bay Area tech industry donors and other business leaders have financially supported his campaign.
Katie Porter, Democrat: A former U.S. representative in Orange County, Porter ran an unsuccessful campaign for US Senate. Porter has faced allegations of harsh treatment of staff and has been met with criticism for threatening to walk out of a TV interview and arguing with her interviewer. She is one of the two women on the ballot; California has never elected a woman governor.
Tom Steyer, Democrat: Steyer is a billionaire entrepreneur and climate activist from New York who was a 2020 presidential candidate. He founded Farallon Capital Management, a multi-billion-dollar hedge fund, and has been outspoken against Trump since 2017, when he spearheaded the “need to impeach” campaign. He is currently the front-runner among Democratic candidates.
Tony Thurmond, Democrat: Thurmond has been the California Superintendent of Public Instruction since 2019. Notably, he opposed a policy change in 2023 that would require school staff to notify parents if they were made aware of a child changing their pronouns or gender identity. This led to the creation of the California SAFETY Act.
Antonio Villaraigosa, Democrat: Villaraigosa served two terms as the mayor of Los Angeles (2005-2013) and is a former California Assembly Speaker. He lost to Newsom in the 2018 California Gubernatorial election.
Pomona President Gabrielle Starr has underscored the debate’s significance as “the first event of its kind” at the college.
“It reflects some of our most important, enduring values: civic engagement and active participation in the democratic process. This is Pomona living its mission in real time,” Starr said in a video announcing the event.
Only Pomona students were allowed to enter the selective ticket application to attend the debate in person, but student groups such as the Claremont College’s League of Women Voters (LWV) and 5C Democrats will host watch parties for others to engage in dialogue surrounding the debate.
5C LWV will host a watch party in Frary Dining Hall open to all 5C students. The organization has prepared voter guides, candidate information and bingo cards for the event, according to Vice President for Community Partnerships for the Claremont Colleges League of Women Voters Lianna Holden PO ’28. CBS reporters will be at this watch party to talk to students about the debate.
5C Democrats will also host a watch party in the Honnold Mudd Library, with bingo cards and food to keep students engaged, said Acting President of the club David Taylor CM ’26.
Directly after the debate, LWV will hold a panel at Frary of 5C professors who will answer students’ questions about the election.
To prepare for this debate and further elections, students can visit the Elections and Voter Information tab of the California Secretary of State website.
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