California Democrats Fight Over Who Will Tax The Most

California Democrats running for governor battled Tuesday night over who would impose the most taxes and spend the most money as the state faces an affordability crisis and unprecedented budget deficit. 

In a televised CNN debate, Democrats — including former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, former Rep. Katie Porter, businessman Tom Steyer, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa —pushed to break through a crowded field that still lacks a clear frontrunner.

Several Democratic candidates, led by billionaire Tom Steyer, endorsed taxpayer-funded healthcare for illegal immigrants.

“It’s going to be a big job to get us to single payer, but the truth is, we don’t have a choice,” Steyer said. “The truth of the matter is, immigrants built this state. Immigrants make this state run. The fact of the matter is, we had a broken immigration system, and now you want to victimize the people who are working here and making this state run.” 

.@Elex_Michaelson asks candidates beginning w/ @TomSteyer –

In last year’s budget, Gov. Newsom “cut healthcare funding for undocumented immigrants to address a budget gap. As governor, would you restore that funding?”@ChadBianco , @katieporterca and @XavierBecerra weigh in. pic.twitter.com/LPdfZMD1a5

— The Story Is (@CNNTheStoryIs) May 6, 2026

Former Orange County Congresswoman Katie Porter backed him up. 

“We can’t afford to have people who are sick who are making the rest of us sick,” Porter said. “When anyone doesn’t have care, the rest of us are at risk. When people don’t get vaccinations, when they don’t go to the doctor, they wind up in the emergency room, they cause longer lines for the rest of us, they make our healthcare system — they push it to the brink.” 

Amid a mass exodus out of California, Porter credited illegal immigrants for sustaining the state’s population. 

“They are one of the only ways our state has been growing in recent years,” she said. 

.@Elex_Michaelson asks candidates beginning w/ @TomSteyer –

In last year’s budget, Gov. Newsom “cut healthcare funding for undocumented immigrants to address a budget gap. As governor, would you restore that funding?”@ChadBianco , @katieporterca and @XavierBecerra weigh in. pic.twitter.com/LPdfZMD1a5

— The Story Is (@CNNTheStoryIs) May 6, 2026

Republican Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco fired back, saying illegal immigrants “shouldn’t be here.” 

“It’s ridiculous,” Bianco said. “When are we going to draw the line at any other crime? It’s illegal. They entered the country illegally. We’re not going to incentivize them to come here, to take more of the resources that regular Californians aren’t getting.”

“It makes absolutely no sense. And health care, no one is talking about, how about we try and make people healthy,” Bianco added. 

Under California Gov. Gavin Newsom, the Golden State faces a $18 billion budget deficit for the 2026-2027 year, which is $5 billion more than state officials expected. 

In a telling moment, debate moderator Elex Michaelson asked all candidates to provide one word to describe Newsom’s job performance. 

Porter called him “bold.” Steyer hailed him as “progressive.” For Becerra, Newsom has been “game-changing.” 

Only two Democrats offered mild critiques — with Villaraigosa calling the likely presidential hopeful “performative” and Mahan describing his governorship as “incomplete.”

Both Republican candidates called Newsom a failure. 

“One word you would use to describe Governor Newsom’s performance as governor?” –@Elex_Michaelson

“Performative”
“Bold”
“Progressive”
“Failed”
“Failure”
“Game changing”
“Incomplete”@AVillaraigosa @katieporterca @TomSteyer @SteveHiltonx @ChadBianco @XavierBecerra @MattMahanSJ pic.twitter.com/98UBcQbMBW

— The Story Is (@CNNTheStoryIs) May 6, 2026

“It’s not Donald Trump who’s given us gas prices $2 higher than the rest of the country. It’s Democrat policies, which Antonio and all the Democrats here support,” Republican Steve Hilton said. “Donald Trump is the president in all the other states of America, where the cost of living is way lower than in California.”

When asked about a controversial billionaire tax proposal — requiring Californians worth more than $1 billion to pay a one-time 5% tax on their assets — two Democratic candidates said it doesn’t go far enough.

“This tax isn’t going to fundamentally change California’s economy in the way that young people and the working people of California need,” Porter said. “It’s a one-time tax. But we don’t have one-time revenue needs.” 

Steyer said he would vote for the wealth tax, which has qualified for November’s ballot, but he wants to tax the rich even more. 

“Billionaires like me should pay more taxes, and the big corporations should pay more taxes,” Steyer said. “But going forward, we do need to go further. This is a one-time tax, and it also doesn’t spread the money across the government; everything else does.” 

For Bianco, the back-and-forth represents what’s wrong with California. 

“So these Democrat policies of tax everybody to death and make them leave is how we started this program off to begin with. Everyone is leaving California, and it is because of their horrific policies,” Bianco said. 

See how the candidates hoping to be the next governor of California responded to a question over a proposed billionaire tax.

Watch the California Governor Primary Debate live now on CNN and the CNN app: https://t.co/U59v8fS1nd pic.twitter.com/Ryv7s31DAF

— CNN (@CNN) May 6, 2026

Under California’s “jungle primary” system, all candidates appear on the same ballot, and the top two vote-getters advance to the general election in November regardless of party.

California’s primary election is set for June 2, 2026.