BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — There are less than four months until California voters decide the top two candidates for California’s highest office. That’s why some governor hopefuls are making stops in the Golden Empire.

A row of Kern County residents lined up to shake hands with governor hopeful Steve Hilton after a two-hour town hall meeting. After answering questions about California’s energy crisis, new oil permits and agriculture, Hilton spoke to 17 News about his recent stop in Kern County.

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“It’s fantastic to be here in Bakersfield to do this town hall. We call it the Cal Affordable Tour, because the plan that I’m laying out … a lot of the specific things that I’m actually announcing as policies during the campaign have come from these town halls,” said Steve Hilton.

Hilton’s arrival comes as tensions grow between the former Fox News host and Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco.

Hilton labeled the Riverside Sheriff “BLM Bianco” over a video of him taking a knee at a Black Lives Matter protest in 2020.

Hilton also called Bianco a “shifty” sheriff.

The top two candidates with the most votes, regardless of party, will be on the ballot in the November midterm election.

“It’s my responsibility to make the case that the Republican Party needs to get behind one candidate, so we don’t split the vote and it needs to be the strongest candidate,” said Hilton. “My Republican opponent has just got too much baggage to be the champion for change that we need.”

Bianco fought back by calling Hilton the “Gavin Newsom of the Republican Party” and a “narcissist.”

Hilton laughed when I asked him about that.

“Well, I just think that we shouldn’t be making these sort of petty insults. I don’t think that’s what it should be about,” said Hilton. “I think it should be about serious points and about your character and leadership and the policy agenda that you’re setting forward.”

But Hilton was not the only candidate taking a pit stop in Bakersfield.

Former California Controller Betty Yee spoke on some of the key takeaways from her campaign which began in March of 2024.

“A lot is happening with respect to policies that are hitting California,” said Yee. “I think there’s a lot of anxiety about, you know, just what’s to come for California’s future in the near term.”

Yee shared what separates her from other candidates.

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“It’s a crowded field. So I will say you’ve got like, you know, the billionaire boys club, you’ve got people who have two candidates that have run for president before and you’ve got, you know, other kinds of statewide leaders,” said Yee. “And I just look at myself as somebody who just wants to roll up her sleeve and do the work with my fiscal and financial experience.”

17 News reached out to the Bianco campaign for comment on Hilton’s remarks but has not heard back as of news time.

California’s Governor Primary Election will be held June 2.

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