Candidates for California governor face off about affordability, high cost of living in first bipartisan clash

The first bipartisan gathering of 2026 gubernatorial candidates unfolded Wednesday evening.

While the six candidates who took part largely aligned with their respective parties’ views, there were moments of differentiation.

The primary is scheduled to take place exactly one year from Thursday.

SACRAMENTO — In a largely courteous gathering of a half dozen of California’s top gubernatorial candidates, four Democrats and two Republicans agreed that despite the state boasting one of the world’s largest economies, too many of its residents are suffering because of the affordability crisis in the state.

Their strategies on how to improve the state’s economy, however, largely embraced the divergent views of their respective political parties as they discussed housing costs, high-speed rail,