Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra criticized USC in a letter for not including any Democratic candidates of color in the March 24 gubernatorial debate hosted by the Dornsife Center for the Political Future and ABC Los Angeles. Becerra’s letter was first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

In a public letter to President Beong-Soo Kim, Becerra accused USC of purposely excluding candidates of color from the debate and attempting to rig the election.

“USC’s actions may not seem so transparent. But, you have deliberately chosen to selectively filter the voters’ view of the field of gubernatorial candidates in what all observers characterize as a wide-open race,” Becerra wrote, according to the L.A. Times.

The gubernatorial debate will host six candidates. The University invited candidates to the debate based on their polling percentages and campaign fundraising.

Not included in the debate are Becerra, the U.S. Health and Human Services secretary under former President Joe Biden, and former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who USC has ranked at seventh and eighth based on their criteria.

USC also excluded former state Controller Betty Yee and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond from the debate. Yee and Thurmond are ninth and 10th most viable candidates according to USC’s methodology.

The CPF wrote in a statement to the L.A. Times that it will reissue a clearer version of the original criteria, but that changes to the debate lineup will not be made.

The debate will include two top-polling Republican candidates, political commentator Steve Hilton and Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco, as well as Democratic candidates Rep. Eric Swalwell, Rep. Katie Porter, billionaire Tom Steyer and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan.

“You can’t escape the detestable outcome: you disqualified all of the candidates of color from participating while you invited a white candidate who has NEVER polled higher than some of the candidates of color, including me,” Becerra wrote in reference to Mahan.

In a statement to the Daily Trojan, the CPF wrote Christian Grose, a professor of political science and international relations, independently established the methodology that determined eligibility for the gubernatorial debate, requested by CPF and ABC7.

“No one in the USC administration had any role in developing, reviewing or approving those criteria,” the statement read.

Becerra is currently polling at sixth in the race and Villaraigosa is polling seventh in the race according to an average of multiple qualifying polls. Mahan is polling behind both candidates at eighth in the race.

Mahan entered the race in late January and has not yet filed any semi-annual fundraising disclosures, although he has received large donations according to the L.A. Times. The CPF initially wrote its formula would be based on fundraising disclosed in the semi-annual reports, then elsewhere in its explanation of the formula stated it would also include self-funding and external donations.

Other candidates also criticized USC’s decision, including Villaraigosa, a former professor for the Price School of Public Policy.

“This biased and bigoted action by USC to manipulate the data to exclude every qualified Black, Latino and [Asian Pacific Islander] candidate in favor of a less qualified white candidate is shameful,” Villaraigosa wrote in a statement to the L.A. Times.

Mahan wrote in a statement to the L.A. Times that Becerra should be included in the debate.

Editor’s Note: This article was updated on March 19 at 12 p.m. to include the Center for the Political Future’s statement on the gubernatorial debate.

Correction: A previous version of this article misspelled Antonio Villaraigosa’s name in some references. The article was updated March 25 at 9 p.m. to correct the spelling. The Daily Trojan regrets this error.