The Walt Disney Company’s local television station in Los Angeles abruptly pulled the plug on its California gubernatorial primary debate after some candidates raised concerns about the criteria used to pre-select participants for the event.
The debate was scheduled to air on KABC-TV (Channel 7) in Los Angeles and two other ABC-owned TV stations in Fresno and San Francisco on March 24, but was canceled at the last minute after KABC and the event’s host, the University of Southern California, were unable to reach an agreement on expanding the criteria for eligibility, which would have allowed a greater number of candidates to participate.
A total of six candidates were qualified for the debate, based on what KABC called “objective criteria widely used to set debate participation nationwide.” That criteria included public support through polling and the amount of money raised from donations, KABC said.
“We recognize that concerns about the selection criteria for the debate have created a significant distraction from the issues that matter to voters,” the University of Southern California said in a statement. “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.”
Six candidates were qualified for the debate: Chad Bianco, the Republican Riverside County Sheriff; Steve Hilton, a Republican Fox News contributor and former adviser to former British Prime Minister David Cameron; Matt Mahan, the Democratic Mayor of San Jose; Katie Porter, a Democrat and former U.S. Representative for California’s 47th Congressional District; Tom Steyer, a Democrat entrepreneur and former presidential candidate; and Eric Swalwell, a Democrat and U.S. Representative for California’s 14th Congressional District.
Four additional candidates have also submitted paperwork to run for governor, but were not selected to participate in the debate. Those candidates include former California controller Betty Yee, former California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and former Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
Nexstar Media Group is producing its own California gubernatorial primary debate later this month, which will air across its TV stations in markets like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento, Fresno and Bakersfield, with CNN producing a similar debate in early May. The California primary will take place on June 2.
