![\"President](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WORLD-NEWS-USVENEZUELA-STRIKES-GET.JPG\" "\\"President")
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President Donald Trump delivers an announcement on his Homeland Security Task Force in the State Dining Room of the White House on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n
Alex Wong<\/p>\n
Getty Images\/TNS<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump\u2019s backing of Steve Hilton<\/a> for governor has blunted some suspense ahead of this weekend\u2019s California Republican convention, where delegates will try to unify the party amid dimming midterm election prospects.<\/p>\n The focal point of the convention, which begins Friday morning in San Diego<\/a>, will be the party\u2019s potential endorsement for governor. The two candidates, Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, must receive 60% of the delegates\u2019 support to secure it.<\/p>\n Several Republican political experts and consultants say they believed Bianco was slightly favored to receive the endorsement until Trump weighed in on Sunday night. In a Truth Social post, the president said he had known Hilton, a former Fox News host, for years and believed \u201cSteve can turn\u201d California around \u201cbefore it is too late.\u201d Prior to Trump\u2019s endorsement, some Democrats had worried about the minimal chances of a Republican versus Republican general election.<\/p>\n \u201cIt makes the CRP endorsement much less important, because, among Republican voters, the president is still very popular, and his endorsement is probably better than anything you could get from a California Republican Party convention,\u201d said Matt Rexroad, a GOP consultant.<\/p>\n Rexroad said Trump\u2019s announcement this week makes it more likely that Hilton receives the endorsement or neither candidate reached the 60% threshold.<\/p>\n Mike Madrid, a longtime Republican voting expert and founder of the anti-Trump Lincoln Project, said the California GOP has essentially been directed by the president to vote for Hilton.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the don\u2019t, it\u2019s going to be a rebuke of the president and that\u2019s not tolerated,\u201d Madrid said<\/p>\n More broadly, the convention will offer California Republicans an opportunity to rally ahead of what is expected to be another tough election year. The party already faced the challenges of California\u2019s Democratic supermajority, but are now dealing with the implementation of Proposition 50 \u2014 a voter approved redistricting initiative to oust some Republican members of Congress.<\/p>\n \u201cFor one glorious 72-hour weekend, all of the Republicans in that hotel can feel like they\u2019re a major political party in California,\u201d said Jon Fleischman, a former executive director of the state Republican Party.<\/p>\n This year\u2019s convention is titled \u201cTurning The Tide, Together,\u201d which is both a reference to California\u2019s supermajority for Democrats in the Legislature and the host city.<\/p>\n \u201cWe never go without a fight,\u201d said Matt Shupe, the communications director for the California Republican Party. \u201cAnd I actually think the wind is to our back. We see a lot of momentum. There\u2019s a lot of people that are very frustrated with the status quo.\u201d<\/p>\n Fleischman described the party as \u201cin the middle of a Rocky movie.\u201d At this point in the iconic films, the main character \u2014 Sylvester Stallone \u2014 often faces his most adversity.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t really have the big win at the end unless it goes bad in the middle,\u201d Fleischman said. \u201cRight now, there are millions of more Democrats than Republicans in California, and it\u2019s getting worse.\u201d<\/p>\n Fleischman said the main hurdle is that a party is defined by its president, and Trump has lost support among the public. Earlier this month, amid climbing gas prices and the war in Iran, Trump\u2019s approval rating dipped below 40% for the first time in his second term, according to a daily average of polls.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a potential wave here coming for Democrats,\u201d he said. \u201cThe only good news if there\u2019s a wave here for Democrats is that Republicans are in such bad shape in California, there\u2019s not much to knock us out of.\u201d<\/p>\n The convention, which will be held at the Sheraton San Diego Resort, ends Sunday.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n