On Wednesday, the first major televised California gubernatorial debate was hosted by Nexstar Media Group. Six leading candidates participated: Democrats Xavier Becerra, Katie Porter, Tom Steyer, and Matt Mahan; and Republicans Chad Bianco and Steve Hilton.

BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales watched the debate and came away with one conclusion: Some Democrats are so bad, they make even Gavin Newsom — one of the most far-left governors in America’s history — look almost competent.

“Things are looking bleak when California Governor Gavin Newsom looks like a good governor, a good leader,” she sighs. “And I got to tell you, he looks like a rock star right now compared to the Democrats who are trying to win his job in the election.”

“This isn’t a compliment to Gavin Newsom. That’s just how bad everyone else is.”

On this episode of “Sara Gonzales Unfiltered,” Sara reviews three lowlights from the debate.

Candidates were asked about President Trump’s Enforcing Commonsense Rules of the Road for America’s Truck Drivers executive order. Signed in April 2025, the order directs federal agencies to strictly enforce English proficiency requirements for commercial truck and bus drivers while cracking down on non-domiciled (foreign/non-resident) CDLs by limiting them mostly to specific temporary work visa holders and improving background checks — all in the name of road safety.

Predictably, three out of the four Democrats strongly opposed the policy. Xavier Becerra called it “reckless”; Katie Porter vowed she would “absolutely fight the Trump administration” to protect Californians from Trump; and Tom Steyer equated requiring English understanding to “racial profiling.”

Sara can’t help but laugh at the absurdity of these responses to what is a commonsense safety policy.

“I actually don’t care if you have, like, Whitey McWhiterson from Norway or Sweden who comes here and doesn’t speak a lick of English,” she quips in response to Steyer.

Referencing Porter, she gibes, “She said, ‘We have to protect Californians.’ Yeah, I think Californians are like, ‘I would like to also not just be run over by a truck driver who shouldn’t be here, who can’t read the road signs.”’

“You can never have nice things in California. That’s the rule. It’s unwritten, but that’s what the Democrats have decided,” Sara concludes.

In another part of the debate, the candidates were asked to give Newsom a letter grade on his performance handling homelessness.

Both Republicans gave Newsom an F, while Democrats gave him three B’s and one A.

“The homelessness is out of control. Anyone who has been to California understands that,” Sara says.

But the best moment in the debate in Sara’s view was when Katie Porter was asked about the viral Politico video from October 2025 showing her berating a staffer with phrases like, “Get out of my f**king shot!”

The first words out of Porter’s mouth were, “I apologized that day to that staffer four years ago.”

Sara can’t stress enough how critical it is that a Republican wins the California governor’s race.

“[California] is such a hellhole,” she says.

“Republicans, this is probably your last chance. It may be gone if you guys don’t take it back.”

To hear more of Sara’s commentary and watch clips from the debate, check out the episode above.

Want more from Sara Gonzales?

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​Blaze media, Blazetv, California, California governor’s race, California gubernatorial debate, Gavin newsom, Katie porter, Matt mahan, Nexstar media group, Sara gonzales, Sara gonzales unfiltered, Steve hilton, Tom steyer 

A viral video of a Las Vegas slot machine has viewers concerned that yet another old piece of media has predicted the future.

Typically, “The Simpsons” is the most-cited show known for its eerily accurate depictions of future events, but in this case, a 1960 episode of “The Twilight Zone” is popping up on social media feeds.

‘This machine mocks me, it teases, it beckons.’

The video in question stems from the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, where a creepy, mobile gaming machine was seen moving about the showcase floor, seemingly begging passersby to give it a whirl.

“Slot machines can now follow you across the casino floor,” the caption read.

In addition to several commenters expressing concern about an incoming robot apocalypse, others quickly pointed out how closely this mimics the January 29, 1960, episode of “The Twilight Zone” called “The Fever.”

The episode follows a married couple who wins a vacation to Las Vegas, with the husband warning his wife that gambling is a “miserable, terrible waste of a time.”

But when a drunk man gives him a dollar, the man gives in, pulls the arm on a slot machine, wins, and gets addicted. The money and slots start calling his name, literally.

“Franklin,” they say, compelling him to leave his wife in the night. After 24 hours of losing money, Franklin is brought back to his hotel room after tipping over a machine that ate his last dollar. Still hearing his name, he opens the hotel room door to find the now-mobile slot machine in the hallway. The machine soon enters the hotel room and begins encroaching on Franklin, causing him to fall out of a window to his death.

RELATED: Arizona files 20 criminal charges against Kalshi for flouting state gambling laws

– YouTube

Although the slot machine’s assault was shown to be a hallucination, it is later seen ejecting a dollar coin toward Franklin’s corpse in the streets of Las Vegas. The voiceover accepts Franklin’s prior explanation that it was an evil, sentient being.

As for the new machine, it is actually several years old. In fact, Jacob Orth, who posted the viral video now seen 16 million times on X, posted the exact same video in 2025 with the exact same caption. However, that video only garnered around 100,000 views.

A different Vegas-centric account actually pointed out the machines during the 2023 Global Gaming Expo held at the Venetian Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“It’s all fun and games until the slot machine chases you down,” the account wrote.

RELATED: Trump has cut taxes for waitresses and bartenders across the country — but many have no clue about it

The machine, created by Apex, was criticized by a Vegas-focused account with about 220,000 followers, stating, “Slot makers have run out of ideas and the casino industry is doomed.”

The model does not appear to have made its way into any casinos, but closely resembles Apex’s typical product line.

The idea of the mobile slot machine perhaps reflects the 66-year-old TV program after all, given that Franklin said the “inhuman” machine teased him at every turn.

“This machine mocks me, it teases, it beckons.”

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​Casino industry, Casinos, Gambling, Las vegas, Return, Robot apocalypse, Slot machine, Television, The simpsons, The twilight zone, Viral video, Tech