Overview
- USC scrapped the on‑campus gubernatorial debate after it failed to reach a deal with co‑sponsor KABC to add more candidates, saying the uproar had become a distraction.
- The invite list was set by a polling‑and‑fundraising formula from USC political scientist Christian Grose that yielded an all‑white lineup and excluded Xavier Becerra, Antonio Villaraigosa, Tony Thurmond and Betty Yee, while including San José mayor Matt Mahan.
- Democratic lawmakers, including leaders of the Legislature’s Asian and Pacific Islander, Black, Latino, Native American, LGBTQ, Jewish and women’s caucuses, called the method biased and urged voters to boycott unless more candidates were invited.
- Roughly 50 professors defended Grose’s approach as grounded in peer‑reviewed research, and USC said the criteria used common national metrics and did not favor or target any candidate.
- Right‑leaning outlets framed the cancellation as a DEI‑related capitulation and noted reports that the stage would have featured only white candidates, while other reporting focused on the methodology, representation concerns and professors’ warnings about a chilling effect on election research.