Steve Hilton, Republican gubernatorial candidate for California, during a gubernatorial debate at KRON Studios in San Francisco, California, US, on Wednesday, April 22, 2026. Jason Henry/Pool via REUTERS
The California Governor Primary Debate on CNN got heated on Tuesday after a fed-up Democrat gave a Republican an earful over his plan to lower energy prices.
Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host, has claimed that he will lower the price of gas to $3 per gallon within a year if he is elected governor. His plan includes releasing the state's strategic oil reserves to boost supply. However, Matt Mahan, the mayor of San Jose, said Hilton's plan is "unrealistic" and pointed out several flaws in the idea during the debate.
"Because of the policies supported by Matt and all these Democrats, we are now shipping oil halfway around the world, 7,500 miles from places like Iraq," Hilton said. "Instead of opening up California oil and gas production so we can reduce costs and get $3 gas in California, which is my plan."
Mahan said Hilton's plan could significantly impact the air quality in California, especially in cities like Los Angeles that once dealt with high pediatric asthma rates because of air pollution from oil and gas production.
"You know why we have those higher standards is because in places like Los Angeles, where we are today, it used to be that you couldn't breathe," Mahan responded. "Kids would have higher asthma rates. We have those higher standards for a reason. We can bring down costs over time, but it's totally unrealistic that you're going to have $3 gas in a year. You're lying!"