California University Cancels Governor Debate Over ‘Blowback’ for Candidates Being All White

All white is not alright, apparently.

The University of Southern California abruptly canceled its planned gubernatorial debate that was set for Tuesday night after the college was criticized for all six candidates being white.

That led to “outrage” and “blowback” against USC and compelled the school to scrap the debate less than 24 hours before it started, according to The New York Times.

“Some Democratic lawmakers claim the formula the school used to determine who could participate was biased,” the report said. “They had called on voters to boycott the debate if the university did not invite the excluded candidates.”

KTLA 5 in Los Angeles reported:

The Democrats who were set to participate — Rep. Eric Swalwell of Dublin, former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter, billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer and San José Mayor Matt Mahan — condemned USC’s selection criteria but did not pull out of the debate.

The candidates who were furious they were not included were former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, former State Controller Betty Yee, ex-U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, and State Superintendent Tony Thurmond. All four of those candidates are not white.

“We are a minority-majority state, and the idea that the four candidates of color are not going to be on the stage to bring those perspectives, to really speak to those communities, is really not doing right by the voters,” Yee complained last week.

Villaraigosa celebrated USC’s cancellation of the debate on Tuesday, saying the school made the “right call.”

The two Republican candidates who were invited to the debate were former Fox News commentator Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.

Hilton ripped USC’s decision on Tuesday, saying in a statement, “A Republican is leading in the polls, so what do Democrats do? Cancel the debate. What a total joke California Democrats have become.”

USC defended its formula for selecting the candidates in a statement.

“The methodology was based on well-established metrics consistent with formulas widely used to set debate participation nationwide — a combination of polling and fundraising — and developed without regard to any particular candidate,” the school said.

The university added it is now looking for “other opportunities” to educate voters. California will elect the successor to Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) later this year.

Watch KTLA 5’s report above.

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