<\/p>\n
California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton, center, poses with supporters at the California Republican Party Convention in San Diego on April 11, 2026.<\/p>\n
Jae C. Hong\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
California gubernatorial candidates Chad Bianco and Steve Hilton, background left, cross paths at the California Republican Party Convention in San Diego on April 10, 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jae C. Hong\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
SAN DIEGO\u00a0\u2014 President Donald Trump will face a test of his power Sunday in an unusual place: California, where the state\u2019s Republican Party delegates will decide whether to follow his lead and endorse Fox News commentator Steve Hilton or buck him and back Riverside County Sheriff Chad\u00a0Bianco, an immigration hardliner who appeals to the party\u2019s base. Republicans have a rare, if slim shot at winning the governor\u2019s mansion in deep blue California\u00a0\u2014 but risk blowing it if they\u2019re divided and brawling when voters receive their ballots in early May.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At a cigar party Friday night at the convention, top party official Shawn Steel introduced Bianco as a man who \u201ccan carry a gun, but he could do it legally, as part of the perks of being a sheriff.\u201d Bianco took the microphone and promised the crowd that \u201cwith me as your governor, we\u2019ll all be carrying guns. We will actually abide by the Second Amendment, the First Amendment, the third, the fourth, the fifth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bianco is a little shakier on other aspects of the law. Documents<\/a> unsealed by the Riverside County Superior Court last week showed that Bianco\u2019s office credited a conservative election denial group\u2019s disputed claims about the November 2025 statewide election as its justification for seizing 650,000 ballots. The state Supreme Court has halted its investigation, which many legal experts have said appears to be illegal.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Bianco said Friday that he voted for Trump three times, but \u201cas much as I love our president, he proved that he makes bad decisions too.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier Friday, Bianco shrugged off the impact of a Trump endorsement. He told me that \u201cmy campaign is about Californians. It\u2019s not about the president, it\u2019s not specifically about Republicans, even though I am Republican. I\u2019m very confident I\u2019m going to get this endorsement, but this is about Californians and I want Californians\u2019 endorsement.\u201d (Bianco is supported by 1% of Democrats and 12% of independents in a March Berkeley IGS poll.<\/a>)<\/p>\n San Francisco Chronicle Logo<\/p>\n Make us a Preferred Source to get more of our news when you search.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Hilton, meanwhile, has been mentioning Trump\u2019s endorsement\u00a0\u2014 delivered via social media on Easter Sunday\u00a0\u2014 like a mantra at the three-day convention. One Marin County delegate told me that at one meeting he attended, Hilton \u201cmust have mentioned it 35 times.\u201d<\/p>\n With good reason. While only 29% of likely California voters approve of Trump\u2019s performance, 81% of likely Republican voters give Trump a thumbs up, according to a January survey<\/a> from the Public Policy Institute of California.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cAre we on the brink of a historic victory in California?\u201d Hilton asked the same cigar-puffing audience Friday moments after Bianco spoke. \u201cYes, we are. This is the year. Do you feel it? I feel it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Knowing that this audience would lap up any details about Trump at a convention where red-sequined cropped jackets emblazoned with \u201cMAGA\u201d are on sale from $300 to $600, Hilton shared the details of how he found out he earned the nod.<\/p>\n He was headed to bed shortly before midnight on Easter Sunday when his flip phone<\/a> (yes, he still has one) started blowing up with messages that Trump had endorsed him via social media. Hilton texted Trump to thank him (he said they text every once in a while), writing, \u201cAt some point I would love to thank you in person.\u201d Hilton wanted to share the good news with someone, but his campaign team and family had gone to bed, so he called a friend in Australia, where it was earlier in the day.<\/p>\n Twenty minutes later, Trump called and they talked into the wee hours of the morning, Hilton said. \u201cAt some point I say, \u2018It\u2019s kind of late, don\u2019t you think it\u2019s bedtime? \u2019 He wanted to keep going, and he kept going.\u201d Trump must have had a lot of energy that night, because hours later, he posted his infamous, profane social media post<\/a>\u00a0 threatening to bomb Iranian bridges and power plants and urging Iranian leaders to \u201cOpen the Fuckin\u2019 Strait, you crazy bastards, or you\u2019ll be living in Hell\u00a0\u2014 JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Hilton didn\u2019t mention that to his audience. He was too enthralled by recounting the \u201cproudest moment of this campaign so far\u00a0\u00a0\u2014 for me to be endorsed by our leader, our president, Donald J Trump. He knows what a winner looks like. He knows what it takes to win.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Part of Hilton\u2019s pitch to delegates isn\u2019t just that he\u2019s been endorsed by Trump, it\u2019s that they have a good relationship that will be beneficial for the state, a difference from years of hostile sparring between Trump and Gov. Gavin Newsom.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s going to be there for us in this campaign. And that is the first time we\u2019ve seen that for a very long time in this state, when they are helping us, not just coming here to raise money from us to help campaigns across the country. He\u2019s going to be here for me in this campaign, and when I\u2019m elected in November and take office next January.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Nor did Hilton acknowledge the duality<\/a> of a Trump endorsement in California. It may help him edge Bianco, and become one of two candidates to advance out of the June 2 primary to the general election in November. But if a Democrat also advances, he or she will attempt to tie HIlton to Trump at every turn.<\/p>\n Now Hilton is in a bit of a bind. Accepting the endorsement means you can\u2019t disavow Trump or risk his wrath.<\/p>\n When I asked<\/a> Hilton last week to name a policy or action Trump has taken that he disagreed with, he demurred.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m really not going to get into the business of just constantly commenting on somebody and an administration that it really is\u00a0\u2014 when you look at the problems that Californians want us to fix, the cost of living, housing, homelessness\u00a0\u2014 nothing to do with President Trump,\u201d Hilton told<\/a> the Chronicle\u2019s editorial board.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n But Trump\u2019s support doesn\u2019t guarantee that Hilton will win the party\u2019s endorsement when delegates vote Sunday by secret ballot. He will need to win 60% of the delegates to secure the party endorsement. It will be tough, as delegates are torn. Even though Orange County delegate Galina Connery was carrying a white beaded clutch purse with \u201cTrump\u201d emblazoned across it in red and blue lettering and a sparkly \u201c47\u201d pin on her lapel, she is voting for Bianco.\u00a0<\/p>\n