Another televised debate, another missed chance to clear up California’s unsettled governor’s race

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

That old question pretty much sums up what was billed as a 90-minute debate among the eight serious — at least in their own minds — candidates for governor Tuesday night.

It really wasn’t a debate in the classic sense, but rather brief responses from the six Democrats and two Republicans to questions posed by a panel of moderators at Pomona College and broadcast by CBS stations.

They weren’t even given chances to tell the on-site audience and TV viewers, even briefly, why they wanted the job via opening or closing statements. Instead, the panelists raised a familiar array of hot button issues — gas prices, wildfires, home insurance, homelessness, health care, housing shortages and education lapses — and asked for reactions.

The Democrats generally blamed the shortcomings on greedy corporations — oil companies and insurers particularly — and Donald Trump, and the Republicans blamed Gov. Gavin Newsom and a Legislature controlled by Democrats.

Only rarely did the candidates ignore the panel’s tight controls and confront each other, but those exchanges were banal at best.

If voters tuned in to learn something about how the would-be governors would actually govern, they were given thin gruel at best. The candidates occasionally sneaked in references to what they had done prior to running for governor, but they said little about what they would do as governor, and then only when the panelists specifically sought that information.

No one stood out. But, in fairness, the tightly controlled format provided no opportunity to do so; therefore, it’s unlikely that the event will have any serious impact on what the polls have been telling us in the aftermath of Eric Swalwell’s sudden departure amidst allegations of sexual harassment and assault.

Swalwell, who also resigned from Congress, had been in the top tier of Democrats, and it had been shaping up as a duel with billionaire Tom Steyer for one of the top two primary election finishes and thus a spot on the November general election ballot.

After Swalwell’s spectacular fall, one of the Democrats mired in single-digits, former Attorney General and Biden cabinet member Xavier Becerra jumped from 4% to 13% in a Democratic Party poll, tying with Steyer. Ever since, Steyer has devoted some of his lavish advertising expenditures to attacking Becerra’s record as Biden’s health and welfare secretary.

California voters will receive their primary election ballots in a few days and will return them via mail over the following four weeks, with a June 2 deadline. At the moment, it appears that Steyer and Becerra will be competing for a runoff spot, with former Congressmember Katie Porter and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan as backup contenders should either of the two leaders falter.

Meanwhile, the two Republicans, Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco and former television commentator Steve Hilton, could still conceivably, if not likely, finish 1-2 and freeze out Democrats in one of the nation’s bluest states.

It’s more likely that one of the Republicans will face one of the Democrats, but which Republican and which Democrat is still very uncertain as the campaigns enter their sprint to the June finish line.

Steyer will certainly ramp up his attacks on Becerra, who has drawn new support since the Swalwell departure but may not have the millions of dollars to respond in kind, especially since public employee unions, the deepest well of Democratic campaign money, are divided.

Porter also doesn’t have the resources to mount a heavy drive in the final weeks. Mahan does have money from Silicon Valley interests, but his late entry and very slow organizational efforts could doom a late push.

A pre-debate poll by CBS affirmed that there are no obvious frontrunners. The uncertainty and confusion that have marked the election of a new governor continue. Tuesday’s event didn’t provide much clarity.