LIVE: Ben ON BREAKING NEWS Special CA GOV RACE!!

Steyer proposes aggressive rental protection enforcement, expanded renters' tax credits, and a comprehensive plan to build a million homes by streamlining permits, promoting offsite construction, and closing corporate real estate tax loopholes to fund local services and reduce fees.

In terms of rent, I'm going to aggressively enforce rental protection. I am going to greatly expand the renters's tax credit... we need to shorten the time of permitting, reduce the cost... Offsite industrial construction lets... drive down the cost per square foot by at least a third... I'll call a special election to close a corporate real estate tax loophole that will give $22 billion at the local level in California.

Steyer advocates for single-payer healthcare as the only viable option for California, vowing to take the issue directly to voters via proposition if the legislature fails to act, citing his success against corporate opposition in past ballot initiatives.

I am for singlepayer healthcare because I know there is no other option for us to be able to deliver health care as a right to every Californian... if we can't get the legislature to pass a legitimate singlepayer... I will take it directly to the people. I have passed three propositions against highly... well-funded corporate opposition.

Becerra pledges to fast-track 40,000 'shovel-ready' housing units within his first 100 days by securing final funding or permits, alongside expanding down payment assistance programs to boost homeownership and wealth acquisition for Californians.

There are reports that there are some 40,000 housing units that are essentially ready to go, shovel ready... In the first 100 days, I'm going to get those 40,000 units... I would expand... down payment assistance programs. So whether it's a zerointerest loan... or we subsidize down the interest rate...

Becerra differentiates himself by highlighting his executive experience managing crises (COVID, avian flu, monkeypox) as HHS Secretary and his track record of suing and defeating Donald Trump over 120 times as Attorney General, positioning himself as a leader who 'knows how to win.'

Whether it was getting us out of the COVID crisis when I was a secretary of health and human services or getting us out of the aven flu or monkey pox crisis... I sued him over 120 times when he was president the first time and I was attorney general and I beat him.

Porter proposes eliminating California state income tax for individuals earning under $100,000 to provide direct financial relief, arguing this policy would return thousands of dollars to families, seniors, and young people, and reshape the narrative of California's high cost of living.

If you're earning less than $100,000 in California... then California shouldn't take any taxes out... giving people back thousands of dollars a year by not taking California state income taxes is a big help.

Porter identifies slow construction as the primary driver of California's housing crisis, asserting that building housing two years faster and 10-20% cheaper (like peer states) is crucial, advocating for accelerated permitting, innovative construction, and reformed finance.

If California built housing at the same rate as our peer states like Colorado, housing would be built two years faster and 10 to 20% cheaper... you build faster by changing how we permit by speeding that up... innovation in in manufacturing and then you speed it up on the back end with again different rules on getting people into homes and different innovations in housing finance.

Mahan advocates for significant regulatory reform to reduce housing costs, citing San Jose's success in cutting impact fees and streamlining permitting to get 2,000 units built. He also targets broken energy and insurance markets, arguing Sacramento's over-regulation drives up costs and pushes companies out.

In San Jose we dropped our impact fees... We moved our permitting process to what's called ministerial... We cut the permitting timeline in half. And we got 2,000 units to break ground last year... California broke our energy market, our insurance markets... a lot of it, frankly, comes down to a disconnect between Sacramento... we've actually broken a lot of markets.

Mahan highlights his unique experience regulating tech as San Jose Mayor, including building the GovAI coalition for ethical AI use, while also strongly fighting for immigrant rights by joining lawsuits against the Trump administration and expanding legal services, leveraging California's storytelling power to humanize the issue.

I'm the only candidate in this race who actually has experience regulating tech... We built the Gov AI coalition that is all about regulating tech... In San Jose, we have joined over a dozen lawsuits against the Trump administration... 20x the amount of money we're putting into legal services for immigrant families. We've passed bans on ISIS use of masks.