{"id":337915,"date":"2026-05-29T18:47:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T18:47:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/337915\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T18:47:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T18:47:12","slug":"republican-steve-hilton-promises-real-change-in-california-governors-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/337915\/","title":{"rendered":"Republican Steve Hilton promises \u201creal change\u201d in California governor’s race"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Steve<\/a>Republican gubernatorial candidates Steve Hilton (right) and Chad Bianco at a forum in Fresno on April 1. (Photo by Larry Valenzuela\/CalMatters)<\/p>\n

Steve Hilton is leading the Republican field in the race for governor, which has tightened in recent weeks, with Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco emerging as his closest rival within the party.<\/p>\n

Recent polls show Hilton holding an edge among Republican voters, boosted by his media presence and the endorsement of President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

Campaign background and trajectory<\/p>\n

Steve Hilton, a conservative entrepreneur, political commentator and newly naturalized U.S. citizen, said his run for governor represents \u201ca real opportunity for change\u201d in a state he argues is grappling with high living costs, a housing crisis, public safety concerns and a \u201cbroken\u201d immigration system.<\/p>\n

In an interview, Hilton said he is encouraged by his standing in the polls, while stressing that nothing can be taken for granted.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very happy to see that I\u2019m leading in the polls \u2026 but I want to make sure people actually turn out and vote,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Hilton, who has never held elected office, was born in the United Kingdom and moved to the United States in 2012 after stepping down as director of strategy to then\u2013Prime Minister David Cameron. After becoming a U.S. citizen in 2021, he emerged as a prominent conservative media figure and frequent critic of Gov. Gavin Newsom\u2019s policies.<\/p>\n

His campaign has gained traction within the state\u2019s Republican Party, particularly after securing Trump\u2019s endorsement earlier in 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a new citizen\u2026 and being endorsed by the president of the United States is a real honor,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Hilton added that a cooperative relationship with the White House would be key to delivering results for California.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s good for Californians to have a candidate who has a strong relationship with the president.\u201d<\/p>\n

Criticism of Newsom and Bonta<\/p>\n

Hilton devoted much of the interview to criticizing California\u2019s confrontational approach to the federal government.<\/p>\n

He argued that lawsuits filed by Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta have harmed residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir lawsuits are helping keep gas prices high. It\u2019s crazy,\u201d he said, referring to litigation tied to energy production.<\/p>\n

He also accused the state of blocking federal audits of public spending.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe federal government is trying to find out where money is being wasted, and Gavin Newsom has consistently blocked those efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Economic proposals<\/p>\n

Hilton outlined a series of economic proposals he says would ease financial pressure on households.<\/p>\n

His central plan would eliminate the state income tax on the first $100,000 earned.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour first $100,000 would be tax-free,\u201d he said, arguing the policy would benefit millions of workers who currently pay higher rates than residents in other states.<\/p>\n

He also pledged to eliminate the state tax on tips, reduce fees for small businesses and cap vehicle registration at a flat $71.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn other states, people pay less than $100\u2026 in California it can be over $1,000,\u201d Hilton said.<\/p>\n

He rejected the idea of a new \u201cwealth tax,\u201d warning that it has already driven high-income residents out of the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s completely insane for our economy; we\u2019re already losing revenue because so many millionaires have left for other states.\u201d<\/p>\n

Housing policy<\/p>\n

On housing, Hilton criticized restrictions on building outside existing urban areas, which he attributes to Democratic environmental policies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey tell you that you can only build where there are already buildings \u2014 that just leads to luxury apartments,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He proposed allowing new developments of smaller, more affordable homes on the outskirts of cities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey call it urban sprawl; I call it the California dream.\u201d<\/p>\n

Homelessness response<\/p>\n

Hilton described the homelessness crisis as \u201cunacceptable,\u201d adding that it is worse than he expected during his statewide campaign.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just Los Angeles or San Francisco \u2014 it\u2019s everywhere,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He said the first step is to move people off the streets, including through state intervention if local governments fail to act.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re living on the street, you can\u2019t recover.\u201d<\/p>\n

Public safety<\/p>\n

Hilton said crime is \u201cout of control\u201d and that a lack of consequences has demoralized both law enforcement and residents.<\/p>\n

He criticized prison closures under the Newsom administration.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve shut down so many prisons that dangerous criminals have been sent back into communities or into already overcrowded county jails.\u201d<\/p>\n

His core proposal is to expand incarceration capacity to ensure \u201ccriminals are behind bars where they belong.\u201d<\/p>\n

Immigration stance<\/p>\n

Hilton said he \u2014 like many Californians \u2014 supports legal immigration.<\/p>\n

But when asked about migrants who followed legal processes but are now being detained at immigration courts, he argued that the system has been \u201cbroken for 50 years\u201d and that enforcement is a federal responsibility.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe question for the governor is: are you going to obstruct federal law enforcement? My answer is no.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Republican gubernatorial candidates Steve Hilton (right) and Chad Bianco at a forum in Fresno on April 1. (Photo…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":337916,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,35072,457,17382],"class_list":["post-337915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-election-2026","tag-gavin-newsom","tag-steve-hilton"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=337915"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337915\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/337916"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=337915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=337915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=337915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}