California governor candidates discuss cost of living

SAN FRANCISCO (KABC) -- A day after his primary win in the race for California governor, Democrat Gavin Newsom was continuing to talk about his top priorities.

One of the topics of discussion on Wednesday was the cost of living in the Golden State.

"It's the No. 1 issue I hear more than any other issue," Newsom said.

"We have to address that head on."

The cost of living is also a top priority for Republican candidate John Cox.

"We're going to grow the economy, we're going to cut the cost of living and we're going to give people a chance at a real life in California," Cox said.

But there are differences in how the two candidates plan reduce the cost of living.

Cox addressed Newsom in a speech on Wednesday, calling out the Democrats for making a "colossal mess."

The Republican candidate expressed his desire to clean that "mess" up by repealing a $52 billion gas tax, but Newsom cautioned against that strategy.

"There's not $52 billion sitting around in the state's general discretionary fund to offset the cost associated with repealing that gas tax," Newsom said.

Many pundits believe Cox doesn't have much of a chance in November because there are so many more Democrats in the state of California than Republicans.

But just having Cox's name on the ballot may give many Republicans that much more of a reason to show up and vote, which could have an effect on so many crucial races for Congress.