Since the results were announced for the June 2 California primary, gubernatorial candidate and former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra claimed he plans to debate Republican challenger and former Fox News host Steve Hilton, but instead has been running from this challenge as much as he's been running from the California media.

With less than 60 days until the November 3 general election, it appears Becerra has decided to stop running.

California gubernatorial candidates Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton will meet for a debate later this month, a nationally televised event hosted by CNN.

The event will take place at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on Sept. 30 at the network’s studios in Burbank, with Jake Tapper and Dana Bash serving as moderators.

Oh. joy. Tapper and Bash are the same CNN pair who looked visibly perturbed, then disappointed at President Joe Biden's performance at the 2024 debate against then-former President Donald Trump. Biden crashed and burned, but not without attempts from Bash and Tapper to run interference. Bash actually gave Slow Joe hand signals to get him oriented and directed toward responding appropriately, but he still managed to bumble, stumble, and flub every answer.

WATCH:

As a former media personality, Hilton is very savvy and aware of their tactics. So, it will be interesting to see how Hilton handles a potential three-way debate if Tapper and Bash decide to insert themselves, as is their MO.

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Becerra and Hilton previously shared the stage in primary debates, including a CNN event last May that was moderated by Kaitlan Collins and Elex Michaelson. As of now, this will be their first one-on-one debate.

In that May 5 CNN debate between five Democrats and two Republicans, Becerra was confronted by one of his Democrat challengers on the over 300,000 unaccompanied minor children who went missing under Becerra's watch when he was Biden's HHS Secretary. Becerra has managed to dodge accountability on this until whistleblowers, who spoke exclusively with the Hilton campaign, exposed the fraud, abuse, and loosening of vetting standards demanded by Becerra in order to move illegals through like an "assembly line," facilitating sex traffickers, cartels, and other ne'er-do-wells to gain access to these children and teens, rather than properly vetted sponsors.

The drip-drip-drip of those Hilton exposés has had the intended effect. After Becerra and Hilton advanced to the Top 2 candidates from the California primary, Becerra was sitting pretty with an almost 30-point lead over Hilton. As our RedState editor Bob Hoge reported in late August, that margin has narrowed to 10 points. Becerra now leads Hilton 49 percent to 41 percent among likely voters, with nine percent undecided. 

Hilton has been doing the shoe-leather work of campaigning, riding into every California neighborhood, connecting with voters. Hilton even stepped up to Becerra's turf in East Los Angeles for a Block Party. The atmosphere was lit, and Hilton was welcomed with much fanfare.

Now that a debate has been officially set, Hilton cut a victory ad, showing the challenges and groundwork he has laid, which has done its work to narrow that polling gap. 

Becerra had no choice but to cry "Uncle." This September 30 debate may be the most popcorn-worthy of this election cycle.