Here’s what led to USC’s gubernatorial debate cancellation

President Beong-Soo Kim cancelled the debate after national attention and criticism over which candidates were chosen.

By LIZZY LIAUTAUD
The Center for the Political Future stated that the University did not play a role in developing, reviewing or approving the debate criteria. (Jake Berg / Daily Trojan file photo)

On Monday night, less than 24 hours before the California gubernatorial debate hosted by USC and ABC7 was set to take place, President Beong-Soo Kim cancelled it, according to the L.A. Material.

In a statement to the Daily Trojan, the University wrote that the national conversation surrounding the candidate selection criteria caused too much distraction from the topics that voters cared about.

The Daily Trojan reviewed the back and forth between the University, gubernatorial candidates, state politicians and political science professors to summarize what led to the debate’s cancellation. 

Below is the rundown of what happened.

A previous version of this article stated at multiple points that USC and ABC7 hosted and invited candidates to the debate. The article was updated March 25 at 11:21 p.m. to reflect that the USC Dornsife School of Letters, Arts and Sciences Center for the Political Future and ABC7 hosted and invited candidates to the debate. The Daily Trojan regrets this error.

ADVERTISEMENTS

Looking to advertise with us? Visit dailytrojan.com/ads.
© University of Southern California/Daily Trojan. All rights reserved.