LOS ANGELES — Republican Steve Hilton officially launched his general election bid for California governor on Wednesday with an unconventional message aimed at the state’s predominantly left-leaning electorate: even if you can’t stand President Donald Trump, you should still give him your vote.
Hilton held his campaign kickoff event in Los Angeles, choosing as his backdrop a charred and foul-smelling food warehouse that he described as a fitting symbol of Democratic mismanagement in the state. Standing before a small group of supporters in the Boyle Heights neighborhood — where residents have been dealing with the stench of rotting food, flies, and rodents since a fire last month gutted a cold storage facility — Hilton laid out an ambitious set of campaign pledges targeting Californians squeezed by the state’s notorious cost of living.
Among his promises: slashing gasoline prices to $3 a gallon, roughly half of what drivers currently pay; cutting utility bills in half for residents who already face some of the highest rates in the country; and eliminating state income taxes on the first $150,000 of earnings.
Hilton placed the blame for the state’s troubles — ranging from a homelessness crisis to poor student academic performance — directly on Democrats, who control every statewide office and hold supermajorities in both chambers of the Legislature. He described the party as a “rotten regime that has abandoned the working class.”
Addressing his ties to Trump, who has endorsed his campaign, Hilton took out ads in major newspapers across California and made the relationship a central theme of his remarks. He argued that the election should be about California’s future, not national politics.
“This is not about who you hate in Washington. It’s about what we love about California and what we can do to make California once again the best place anywhere in the country to start and raise a family, to start and run a business,” he told supporters. “That’s what this election is about.”
The strategy is a careful balancing act — creating just enough separation from Trump without fully distancing himself from the president. It reflects the steep political challenge facing any Republican running statewide in California, one of the most reliably Democratic states in the country. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by nearly two to one, and no Republican has won a statewide race in California since 2006.
Trump’s approval in California is weak outside his core conservative supporters. He lost the state to Democrat Hillary Clinton by 30 points in 2016, to Joe Biden by 29 points in 2020, and to Kamala Harris by 20 points in 2024.
California has long been considered the heart of resistance to Trump, and Democrats have repeatedly used the president as a rallying point. Last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom framed the fight over Proposition 50 — a measure that redrew U.S. House districts to benefit Democrats — as a battle against Trump. It passed by 29 points.
The campaign of Hilton’s Democratic opponent, former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, dismissed the idea that Hilton represents any kind of change.
“Californians already know who Steve Hilton is: Trump’s puppet in California. His campaign is a promise to run our state the way Trump runs the country and we’re not buying it,” said campaign spokesman Jonathan Underland.
Underland also pushed back on Hilton’s appeal to anti-Trump voters, saying, “Steve Hilton cheers on a president whose illegal war has sent gas prices soaring and illegal tariffs have cost California families more than $2,500 this year alone. You can’t fix the affordability crisis while carrying water for the man causing it.”
Hilton’s team is banking on the idea that his message will give Democrats and independents what they describe as a “permission slip” to look beyond party labels — a tall order in today’s deeply polarized political climate.
“You do have a choice if you think that this state is going in the wrong direction,” Hilton told those gathered at the kickoff.
Joining him at the event was Gloria Romero, a former Democratic state lawmaker who switched to the Republican Party in 2024 and is now the GOP’s nominee for lieutenant governor. She addressed the crowd in both English and Spanish as supporters held “Hilton-Romero” signs behind her.
Becerra, who previously served as a state lawmaker, congressman, and California attorney general, is widely considered the frontrunner to succeed Newsom, who is prohibited by law from seeking a third term and is viewed as a likely contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination. Both Hilton and Becerra advanced from a crowded primary in June that featured more than 50 candidates.
The governor’s race is playing out as California grapples with a string of serious problems: persistent homelessness despite billions in government spending, projected multi-billion-dollar budget shortfalls, unaffordable home prices, a destabilized home insurance market, an ongoing exodus of businesses and residents, and some of the highest gas prices, taxes, and utility costs in the nation.
Delivering on his promises would be a significant challenge for Hilton, a former adviser to ex-United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron who has never held elected office. The governor has no direct authority over oil or utility markets, though Hilton says he would eliminate mandates, taxes, and fees that push those prices up. Any changes to the state’s income tax structure would almost certainly require approval from a Legislature dominated by Democrats.
Hilton capped his campaign launch with a 30-second television ad highlighting the financial strain many California families face. “Life here has become impossible for anyone who isn’t already rich,” he says in the spot. “Let’s fix California.”
