Gubernatorial Debate Canceled Because It Would Only Feature White Candidates?

A California gubernatorial debate was called off because of criticism that the stage would only feature white candidates who qualified for the event.

The debate was set to be co-sponsored by the University of Southern California and the Los Angeles TV station KABC.

BREAKING: University of Southern California (@USC) has CANCELED their planned CA gubernatorial debate because…

The only candidates attending were White people.

No, this isn’t a joke.

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 24, 2026

NBC News explained further:

The sprawling field includes eight prominent Democrats and two major Republicans, as well as several other lesser-known candidates.

USC had faced condemnation for using polling and fundraising criteria for participation in the debate that had resulted in the exclusion of all the nonwhite gubernatorial candidates.

In a statement from late Monday night, USC said that the “concerns about the selection criteria” for the debate had “created a significant distraction from the issues that matter to voters.”