California Democrat Xavier Becerra has finally agreed to debate Republican Steve Hilton as the two face off in the state’s gubernatorial election this November. Normally that wouldn’t be front-page news, but it looks a lot like Becerra waited to lock in a debate until his polling numbers started to slip. 

Becerra may still be the favorite to win, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that running out the clock until Election Day isn’t the sharpest political play, even in a Democratic stronghold like California.

The latest sign of Becerra’s slipping poll numbers came in an early-August UC Berkeley IGS/Los Angeles Times survey, which showed him leading Steve Hilton 55 percent to 37 percent, an 18-point margin. That’s down from a 25-point lead in a late-June poll that had Becerra at 61 percent and Hilton at 36 percent.

A different poll conducted the following week emphasized the growing problem for the California Democrat even more, as it found a considerably tighter race. Becerra received 49.2 percent support to Hilton’s 41 percent, giving the Democrat just a single-digit lead. 

This came after Becerra assured Californians he would debate his Republican opponent in mid-August, although Hilton expressed significant doubt it would ever occur, especially as Becerra has shown little drive to run anything resembling a vigorous campaign, offering Californians free electricity and failing to update his website. To many, it looked as though Becerra was simply about to run the laziest campaign of all time, all the way to the governor’s mansion. 

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“We will have debates, and between now and Nov. 3, we will continue to go out there and meet with folks to make sure they have an opportunity to see the candidates,” Becerra told reporters in downtown Los Angeles in mid-August. “Voters need to have good information. We’ll make sure they have it, and there will be debates.” 

Just the next day, here’s what Hilton had to say: 

“I don’t believe him unless he commits to an actual debate. Invitations are on the table for dates and places. Why can’t he just accept them? I think he’s lying. I don’t think he wants to do debates because he doesn’t want to debate his record.”

The debate will be held on September 30, live, on CNN.