As California voters put together to decide on their subsequent governor in 2026, the query of whether or not transgender college students must be allowed to play on faculty sports activities groups primarily based on their gender id has emerged as one of many gubernatorial race’s most contentious points.
Over a number of weeks in September, CBS Information California Investigates correspondent Julie Watts sat down with candidates within the race to debate their views on quite a lot of coverage questions, together with California’s legislation that ensures transgender college students the precise to take part on the staff that aligns with their gender id.
On this section, we look at how candidates interpret that legislation, whether or not they consider it ought to stand, and the place they might draw the road on the subject of equity, inclusion, or state authority.
Present California law requires public faculties to permit college students to take part in sex-segregated sports activities groups and use amenities primarily based on their gender id, regardless of what’s listed on faculty data.
In line with an April 2025 poll by the Public Coverage Institute of California, 65% of Californians and 71% of public school parents supported a Trump administration executive order that required college students to take part on sports activities groups that matched the intercourse that they have been assigned at delivery.
The eleven candidates we interviewed — Xavier Becerra, Chad Bianco, Ian Calderon, Stephen J. Cloobeck, Steve Hilton, Katie Porter, Tony Thurmond, Antonio Villaraigosa, Butch Ware, Betty Yee and Leo Zacky — provided sharply completely different views.
Their solutions typically fell into a variety of responses, together with those that oppose participation primarily based on gender id, those that assist some stage of inclusion with limits, those that assist present California legislation, and those that say these selections should not contain politicians in any respect.
The place do you stand on transgender athletes taking part in class sports activities?
A few of the strongest positions got here from candidates who consider transgender women shouldn’t compete in women’ sports activities.
Hilton, a Republican candidate, argued the difficulty is about defending women’ alternatives:
“It is not truthful. It is not truthful for ladies who’ve labored so arduous,” he stated.
Hilton additionally vowed to overturn California’s current legislation. He stated his authorized staff believes the present legislation violates two elements of the California Constitution: Section 28, which he described as guaranteeing “secure faculties,” and Section 31, which he stated “bans gender discrimination.”
“I believe the laws has ended up creating rigidity and division, which should not be there,” Hilton stated. “And so, I would prefer to repeal that laws.”
Bianco, a Republican and Riverside County sheriff, additionally tied his stance to security and equity.
“Boys shouldn’t be competing towards women. As a coach, I completely know that boys don’t have any place in women’ sports activities,” he stated.
Bianco later added that, if he have been elected governor, “There’ll by no means be an 18-year-old boy strolling by way of a 14-year-old lady’s locker room bare.”
Zacky, who’s working as a Republican, stated the present California legislation is “one other man-made determination” that the individuals “have the facility to vary.”
“You are born a boy, you are born a woman. That is it,” Zacky stated. “Boys play with boys, women play with women.”
Like Hilton and Zacky, Democratic candidate Clooback stated that if he have been elected governor, he would ask California residents to rethink the legislation. Cloobeck then emphasised biology.
“I’ve a level in neurobiopsychology, and I took biology and genetics,” Cloobeck stated. “And I do know that XX is XX and XY is XY, and I do not know of any manner presumably to mutate these or change that. I believe I’ll sit with science.”
Democratic candidate Calderon, a former state assemblymember, stated he believes there may be an athletic benefit with transgender lady athletes enjoying in women’ sports activities and stated, “I do not assist it.”
Nevertheless, he confused that his views may shift.
“I am all the time keen to absorb extra info and have my opinion evolve over time, however as I stand now and what I’ve seen now, I do consider that there is a bonus,” Calderon stated.
Calderon additionally highlighted the significance of compassion.
“These are additionally youngsters… we actually must be compassionate and cautious about how we discuss this and never demonizing them and making them really feel like they are not needed, making them really feel like they do not matter as a result of they do matter,” he stated.
A number of candidates argued that whereas they oppose discrimination, they consider the governor and the legislature should not be making selections about who performs on what staff.
“The governing our bodies of sports activities ought to make these selections… Why would I, because the governor, be concerned in a dialog about who will get to play which sport? There are individuals whose job that’s,” Ware stated.
Whereas Porter stated she is supportive of the present state legislation, she agreed with Ware.
“These are guidelines that may and must be set by the governing our bodies, and so within the case of California faculty sports activities, the California Interscholastic Federation must be making this determination at each stage of sports activities competitors,” she stated.
Like Ware and Porter, Becerra stated governing our bodies in sports activities “ought to resolve who performs within the sport.”
Nevertheless, like Porter and Ware, Becerra was seemingly unaware that California already requires faculties to permit participation primarily based on gender id.
“There’s nothing within the Structure that claims that you’re entitled to play a sport,” he stated.
Watts learn the present legislation to Becerra, who finally supported the state legislation.
“I am not as governor in having somebody be bullied or somebody discriminated due to who they’re, merely for that purpose,” Becerra stated. “And if the principles enable a person to play in that sport, these are the principles and you must abide by them.”
Thurmond, California’s superintendent of public instruction who can be working as a Democrat, strongly defended transgender college students’ proper to take part on a staff that aligns with their gender id.
“We’re a state that may settle for range, and we are going to ensure that we comply with the legislation and defend the rights of transgender athletes to take part and to have the ability to accomplish that safely,” he stated.
Some candidates stated they assist transgender college students’ rights however consider aggressive sports activities current completely different issues.
Villaraigosa, a Democrat and former Los Angeles mayor, made a distinction primarily based on puberty.
“Males who’ve gone by way of puberty and at the moment are transgender girls, ought to they play different girls? No, I do not consider they need to,” he stated.
However he emphasised that he opposes discrimination.
“I’ll by no means assist discrimination in any manner. I consider in gender-affirming care, however I do not consider these [trans] athletes must be enjoying girls,” he stated.
Democratic former State Controller Yee spoke about how this matter is one thing she remains to be studying about.
“That is one thing I’ll say I am nonetheless studying about, and the place I have been getting a variety of my info or turning into conscious of the difficulty extra is from mother and father of transgender youngsters who’re in highschool and faculty,” she stated.
Yee then stated there are methods transgender athletes might be built-in into faculty sports activities, “like growing a separate league,” however she confused that she would by no means wish to “discourage their participation in athletics.”
“To the extent that we’re nonetheless making an attempt to essentially perceive what this implies for everybody in athletics, I’d say simply I wish to study extra about what’s attainable, however I additionally do not wish to have alternatives lower off for anyone,” she stated.
This ongoing political accountability sequence lets viewers examine the top-polling candidates for California governor side by side by way of quite a lot of issue-specific segments. CBS Information California Investigates sat down with the 12 top-polling candidates to debate greater than a dozen points that matter to voters.
The subject-specific segments enable viewers to pick the problems that matter most to them individually. The accountability-focused format pushes past marketing campaign speaking factors to disclose how candidates reply to nuanced follow-up questions and opposing viewpoints.
The primary issue-specific section, the place candidates mentioned California’s controversial Prop 50 redistricting measure, led to a viral Katie Porter interview clip and impacted the trajectory of the governor’s race. Porter’s response stood out not simply due to what she stated, but additionally as a result of the distinctive interview format revealed how it dramatically differed from these of the opposite candidates.
The “One Question” segments introduce voters to every candidate and supply distinctive perception into how they could govern, as they clarify what they assume the present governor and legislature did proper, and what they might have carried out otherwise.
The “side-by-side” issue-specific segments enable viewers to check the candidates’ differing viewpoints and plans, focusing particularly on the problems that matter most to them. The preliminary subjects embrace redistricting, reaching voters across the aisle, principle vs. politics, sanctuary state polices, health care for undocumented immigrants, and transgender athletes in class sports activities.
Upcoming segments will characteristic points associated to crime & felony justice reform, the impression of environmental legal guidelines on California fuel costs, homelessness, housing affordability, high-speed rail, and extra.
Watch the total sequence on this CBS News California Investigates YouTube playlist.
