Overview
- At a Skirball Cultural Center forum in Los Angeles, Eric Swalwell, Antonio Villaraigosa, Matt Mahan, Tom Steyer and Steve Hilton presented themselves as leading voices on combating antisemitism.
- All five pledged to enforce Assembly Bill 715 in K–12 schools, oppose the BDS movement, and pursue closer economic and innovation partnerships with Israel.
- Candidates faulted public universities for their handling of the 2024 encampments and said campus intimidation and discrimination would face firm consequences.
- Legal pressure escalated this week with the Justice Department suing UCLA over a hostile work environment, Brandeis Center and StandWithUs suing the state and education officials, and former UCSB student leader Tessa Veksler filing her own case.
- A PPIC survey released Feb. 24 showed five contenders clustered at roughly 10–14% ahead of the June 2 top-two primary, sharpening concern over how a fragmented field advances.