Latest / Next Up with Mark Halperin
2026 Starts NOW: California Governor Candidate Debate Between Steve Hilton and Stephen Cloobeck
On this Election Day edition of Next Up, Mark Halperin opens the 2026 election season by unveiling an innovative campaign debate format tailor-made for the new realities of today’s political discourse and new media — an actual conversation between two candidates seeking to replace Gavin Newsom as California’s next Governor: Democrat Stephen Cloobeck and Republican Steve Hilton.
Today’s debate sets the new standard. Gone are the podiums, buzzers, and pre-scripted, stilted answers of legacy media — along with the biased and blabby moderators who too often make themselves the story. In their…
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