On this Election Day edition of Next Up, Mark Halperin opens the 2026 election season by unveiling an innovative campaign debate format tailor-made for the new realities of today’s political discourse and new media — an actual conversation between two candidates seeking to replace Gavin Newsom as California’s next Governor: Democrat Stephen Cloobeck and Republican Steve Hilton.

Today’s debate sets the new standard. Gone are the podiums, buzzers, and pre-scripted, stilted answers of legacy media — along with the biased and blabby moderators who too often make themselves the story. In their place: a focused, issue-driven exchange that reveals how candidates think, lead, and engage — giving voters a clearer sense of their ideas, mental agility, and readiness to govern when they head to the polls.

Next Up’s inaugural debate with Democrat Cloobeck and Republican Hilton centers on one of the nation’s most consequential races, addressing issues that reach far beyond California — the economy, crime, education, infrastructure, and more.

Welcome to the next chapter of political debate.

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Franklin D. Lewis

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