Steve Hilton, a former political aide in the United Kingdom, is mounting a Republican campaign for California governor with a platform focused on overhauling the state's policies on energy, immigration, and electoral processes. Hilton, who has received an endorsement from former President Donald Trump, argues that his cooperation with the federal administration could lead to significant policy changes beneficial to Californians.
Hilton specifically pointed to fuel prices as an area for reform, attributing high costs to environmental restrictions that he claims force California to import oil despite domestic reserves. "I will work co-operatively to expand energy production," Hilton stated, asserting this would reduce costs for residents. He also addressed immigration, identifying himself as a candidate for the "legal immigrant community" while expressing opposition to California's "sanctuary state" policies. Hilton proposes a return to a more cooperative approach with federal immigration authorities, drawing a parallel to practices during the Obama administration.
His campaign acknowledges the challenges of running as a Republican in a heavily Democratic state. Hilton advanced through the primary election partly due to a divided Democratic vote. However, he believes that a significant portion of Californians feel the state is headed in the wrong direction, creating an opening for his candidacy. He cited the more than six million votes cast for Republican presidential candidates in California in 2024 as evidence of potential support, suggesting that mobilizing these voters and appealing to independent voters frustrated with the current status quo could lead to victory. Hilton also indicated that a proposed ballot measure for voter identification could boost turnout.
While Hilton has stated he has not seen evidence of voter fraud in California, he has called for electoral reform, including an end to automatic mailing of ballots to all registered voters, a practice he suggests contributes to the state's slow ballot count. "I will work co-operatively to expand energy production," he said, arguing this would bring down costs.
Hilton's Democratic opponent, Xavier Becerra, a former cabinet secretary under President Joe Biden, has framed his campaign as a defense of the "California dream" and positioned himself as accountable to the state's residents rather than Washington. Jonathan Underland, a spokesperson for Becerra's campaign, criticized Hilton, stating, "Californians didn't build the greatest state in the nation to hand it over to a Trump errand boy dead-set on throwing our progress into reverse." Underland added that voters associate Hilton with "higher prices, rights stripped away, and an all-out attack on our values."
The contest is expected to test whether Hilton's message can resonate beyond the Republican base in California and whether a figure with past ties to Westminster can establish a significant presence in American politics. The election will also assess the viability of a candidate whose platform is endorsed by Trump in a state where the former president's approval ratings are reportedly low.