Steve Hilton, top Republican hopeful for California governor, says the state has lost its way

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Steve Hilton has painted California as a state bursting with potential that has lost its way under Democratic leadership in his bid to be the state’s first Republican governor in more than 15 years.

“We have a responsibility to revive California so it is once again that symbol of everything that is great about our nation: energy and optimism and ambition,” he said Tuesday in an election night speech in Southern California.

On Wednesday, he remained optimistic he would have the chance to take that message to the general election as vote counting continued. California puts all candidates on the same ballot regardless of party and two advance to the general election.

The Associated Press had not called the primary for any candidate as of Wednesday afternoon. Hilton and Democrat Xavier Becerra were leading so far, with Democrat Tom Steyer running slightly further back. The state has a history of substantial vote updates after Election Day that can sometimes shift the outcome of elections as late-arriving mail and drop-off votes are counted.

Hilton, who has never held elected office, has promised to be a disruptor to the state’s political order, which he said has failed Californians struggling to afford life in the notoriously expensive state. He is a relative newcomer not just to the state’s political scene, but to California itself. He migrated to the state in 2012 from the United Kingdom, where he was an adviser to Conservative Party officials including former Prime Minister David Cameron. He had a show on Fox News from 2017 to 2023 and became a U.S. citizen in 2021.

If he advances to November, Hilton faces an uphill battle in a state that hasn’t had a Republican governor since Arnold Schwarzenegger left office in 2011, and where Democrats make up 45% of registered voters compared to Republicans’ 25%. He said he is confident he can beat those odds.

“When people say, ‘How are you going to win in California as a Republican?’ My question is, how will a Democrat win based on the record that they are putting before the people?” he told reporters outside the state Capitol on Wednesday.

He is pledging to lower prices on everything from gas to housing, reduce income taxes, create a loan program for first-time homebuyers, and freeze in-state tuition at public colleges.

He faces another obstacle to winning over voters who don’t typically vote Republican: President Donald Trump’s endorsement.

“I know Steve — He is a hard driving WINNER, and he will turn California around, quickly — and the Federal Government will be there, with him, to help!” Trump said in a social media post.

While that endorsement likely helped him consolidate support among Republicans in the primary, it could be a liability in November given the president’s deep unpopularity in a state that he has routinely made a punching bag. On debate stages and in speeches throughout the primary, Hilton hasn’t emphasized Trump’s support since he won it in April. But he said he looks forward to having a friendly partner in Washington should he win.

“It’s about, what does that endorsement mean for the practical things we can get?” Hilton said Wednesday, adding that he would work with the federal government to try to lower gas prices and cut wasteful spending in government so the state can reduce taxes.

The candidate’s promise to return the state to an unspecified golden age when most people were better off is not dissimilar to Trump’s ubiquitous pledge to “Make America Great Again.”

In the primary, Hilton fought for Republican votes against Republican Chad Bianco, the Riverside County sheriff.

In the race’s final days, Hilton warned of the possibility that Becerra and Steyer could advance to the general election, shutting out Republicans. Becerra throughout his campaign touted his decades of political experience as proof he could lead, while Steyer leaned on his history of progressive advocacy to demonstrate how he would deliver for families trying to make ends meet.

But neither candidate would disrupt the status quo after years of Democratic rule, Hilton said.

“The progressive experiment in governance — we can see the results. It’s a disappointment all around,” he said. “I don’t know how much longer we have to wait for this experiment to actually work.”