Blaming President Donald Trump for everything ailing your state has proved to no longer be a sound political strategy for Democrats. It’s the one Xavier Becerra, the Democratic nominee for California governor, chose anyway during the Sept. 30 debate aired on CNN.
The showdown between Becerra, the Health and Human Services secretary under former President Joe Biden, and Republican nominee Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host who has never held elected office, is the only one of its kind before Californians go to the polls on Nov. 3.
The debate itself was more about people who weren’t running than people who were. Hilton tied Becerra to current Gov. Gavin Newsom. Becerra continuously reminded viewers that Hilton, who has been endorsed by Trump,
is simply going to do whatever the president wants. It was something that frustrated Hilton within the first 20 minutes of the debate.
“All you ever say is ‘Trump, Trump, Trump,’” Hilton said during a question on immigration. “That’s nothing but an insult to every Californian who is desperate for something to change in this state.”
While I don't normally agree with Republican politicians, I do think Hilton raises an interesting point. Across the country, we have seen Democratic candidates for office succeed in their primaries when they choose to focus on issues that voters care about beyond going after the president.
Every poll may show Becerra as likely to win the November election, but I wonder if rallying voters on issues beyond disliking the president would lead to a higher turnout. At the very least, it would endear him more to left-leaning voters who still want to see change in California.
The California governor election debate featured two weak candidates
Debate moderators Dana Bash and Jake Tapper asked about everything from the movie industry to education. Both candidates kept bringing the conversation back to who was to blame, without offering concrete solutions. While we've come to expect this from both parties, it doesn't mean we should let it slide.
In the debate, I would have liked to see Becerra tackle some of the more absurdist positions that Hilton has taken since the GOP primary election. Hilton previously said that he wanted to abolish California’s Department of Motor Vehicles if elected. During the debate, he said the state should establish 10 new cities to address the housing crisis.
Both takes feel like they were created in a political "Mad Libs" game to come up with the most ridiculous Republican proposals available. Becerra could have criticized these ideas on the debate stage but didn’t.
Nor did Becerra go out on a limb to propose anything new. At times, he even failed to expand on things that have won Newsom popularity. His housing plan was sparse. His failure to support the popular billionaire tax proposal in the state was disappointing.
I don’t think Becerra is a bad candidate. He certainly is the better of the two. I just think he could offer more of a vision for people who are struggling in the state.
Trump's impact can't be ignored, but neither can real issues
Becerra’s debate strategy is not new. Almost every Democratic campaign for the past decade has homed in on criticizing Trump. This strategy makes sense in California: The president currently holds a dismal 27% approval rating among the state’s registered voters, according to the Los Angeles Times and the Institute of Governmental Studies at University of California, Berkeley.
To be fair, many of the issues that plague California and other states are the president's fault. Trump’s decision to start a war with Iran is the reason gas prices have risen. Tariffs have made housing supplies and groceries more expensive.
This has certainly been the strategy of Newsom, who has made a national career out of admonishing the president. The governor's approval rating sits at 45%. I just don’t know if it’s a strategy that will distract from the Democratic Party’s shortcomings forever.
In states like New York and Michigan, Democratic socialist candidates excelled in their primaries because they focused on affordability, rather than simply bashing President Trump. Though time will tell if these strategies work out in the midterms, it seems as though the best way to keep approval ratings high and promote voter turnout is to try something new. Becerra is afraid to do that.
Follow USA TODAY columnist Sara Pequeño on Bluesky: @sarapequeno.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: In California, Democrats must do more than blame Trump | Opinion
