Overview
- USC called off the gubernatorial debate less than a day before it was set to happen, saying it could not reach a deal with broadcast partner KABC to expand the participant list.
- The university relied on a viability formula by USC professor Christian Grose that blended polling and fundraising to select six candidates, which yielded an all-white stage that included San José mayor Matt Mahan.
- Democratic legislative leaders and excluded candidates said the criteria produced biased results and urged USC to open the event to all leading contenders, warning voters to boycott if it did not.
- Roughly 50 scholars from USC and other universities signed a letter defending Grose’s method as grounded in peer-reviewed research, and Grose said the backlash could chill scholars from helping with civic events.
- Coverage split along partisan lines, with right-leaning outlets casting the cancellation as deference to DEI politics, while higher-ed reporting focused on the clash between representation concerns and academic methods.