{"id":349966,"date":"2026-06-06T22:44:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T22:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/349966\/"},"modified":"2026-06-06T22:44:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T22:44:11","slug":"steve-hilton-launches-ad-targeting-xavier-becerra-in-california-governor-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/349966\/","title":{"rendered":"Steve Hilton launches ad targeting Xavier Becerra in California governor race"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/video\/6397759567112\" data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_featured-video_5_1\" data-v-7b1896ea=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Steve Hilton vows to repair California\u2019s election system as primary results remain undecided<\/a> <\/p>\n<p data-v-7b1896ea=\"\">California primary election results for governor and Los Angeles mayor are still delayed days after the vote, as officials continue counting mail-in ballots. Meanwhile, Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner faces a new wave of troubling allegations from ex-girlfriends, which he labels politically motivated. Congressman Ro Khanna defends Platner, despite warnings from other Democrats.<\/p>\n<p>NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!\n  <\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"speakable\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_7657501\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/us\/us-regions\/west\/california\">California<\/a> Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton launched a new campaign ad Saturday targeting former Biden administration official Xavier Becerra, signaling the general election fight may already be underway even as primary ballots continue to be counted.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"speakable\">The 55-second ad mocks Becerra&#8217;s lengthy political career and record in government, portraying the Democrat as a continuation of California&#8217;s political status quo.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">The ad features silent clips of Becerra appearing on an old-fashioned TV screen while captions flash across the screen, including: &#8220;I&#8217;ve been a career politician for 36 years. Vote for me.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Other captions reference issues likely to become central themes in the governor&#8217;s race, including homelessness, California&#8217;s high-speed rail project and Becerra&#8217;s tenure as secretary of Health and Human Services in former President <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_7657502\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/person\/joe-biden\">Joe Biden<\/a>&#8216;s administration.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_7657503\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/hilton-becerra-lead-votes-still-being-counted-battle-california-governor\">HILTON, BECERRA, IN THE LEAD WITH VOTES STILL BEING COUNTED IN BATTLE FOR CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">The ad also attempts to tie Becerra to Gov. <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_7657504\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/person\/gavin-newsom\">Gavin Newsom<\/a>, ending with the message: &#8220;I&#8217;ll change nothing about how California is governed,&#8221; followed by the tagline, &#8220;Don&#8217;t watch another rerun.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Fox News Digital reached out to the Becerra and the Hilton campaigns for comment.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">The ad comes less than 24 hours after The Associated Press projected Becerra <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_7657505\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/former-hhs-secretary-xavier-becerra-advances-california-governor-general-election-ap-projects\">would advance<\/a> to California&#8217;s November gubernatorial election to succeed the term-limited Newsom.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_7657506\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/california-election-limbo-fueled-4-pressure-points-dragging-out-vote-count-expert-says\">CALIFORNIA ELECTION LIMBO FUELED BY 4 PRESSURE POINTS DRAGGING OUT VOTE COUNT, EXPERT SAYS<\/a><\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/steve-hilton-campaign.jpg\" alt=\"Republican governor candidate Steve Hilton speaking to press at Huntington Beach event\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Republican governor candidate Steve Hilton speaks during a news conference in Huntington Beach, Calif. (Kayla Bartkowski \/ Los Angeles Times via Getty Images, File)<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">As vote counting continued Saturday, Becerra led the field with 26.8% of the vote, according to AP totals. Hilton received 26.4%, while Democrat <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_7657507\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/person\/tom-steyer\">Tom Steyer<\/a> had 21.1%.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Roughly 68% of ballots had been counted as of Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">In a statement after the AP race call, Becerra celebrated the result and framed his campaign as a fight for California voters.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_7657508\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/xavier-becerra-pressed-rumors-he-knew-about-eric-swalwells-alleged-misconduct-during-ca-governor-debate\">XAVIER BECERRA PRESSED ON &#8216;RUMORS&#8217; HE KNEW ABOUT ERIC SWALWELL&#8217;S ALLEGED MISCONDUCT DURING CA GOVERNOR DEBATE<\/a><\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/becerra-debate.jpg\" alt=\"Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton participating in a debate in San Francisco\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>California gubernatorial hopefuls Xavier Becerra, left, and Steve Hilton participate in a candidate debate in San Francisco. (Laure Andrillon\/AP Photo, File)<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;The people of the great state of California, in the greatest nation on earth, have spoken \u2014 loudly and proudly,&#8221; Becerra said. &#8220;We will not be bought. We will not be bullied. And we are never backing down. November, here we come.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Becerra&#8217;s campaign also said the result makes him the first Latino candidate to advance from a California gubernatorial primary to a general election, calling it a historic milestone for the state.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">If elected in November, Becerra would become California&#8217;s first Latino governor since Romualdo Pacheco, who briefly served as governor in 1875.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/foxnews.onelink.me\/xLDS?pid=AppArticleLink&amp;af_dp=foxnewsaf%3A%2F%2F&amp;af_web_dp=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fapps-products\">CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Becerra, a former California attorney general, served as Health and Human Services secretary during the Biden administration before <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_7657510\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/former-biden-cabinet-member-mounts-california-gubernatorial-bid\">launching his gubernatorial campaign<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Hilton, a <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_7657511\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/media-personality-steve-hilton-enters-california-gubernatorial-race\">former Fox News host<\/a> and political commentator, has campaigned as a political outsider and agent of change, arguing California is headed in the wrong direction under Democratic leadership.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Results from Tuesday&#8217;s primary have not yet been certified.<\/p>\n<p>Brittany Miller is a Breaking News Writer for Fox News Digital. Tips can be sent to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/mailto:brittany.miller@fox.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">brittany.miller@fox.com<\/a> and @BrittMillerFox on X.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Steve Hilton vows to repair California\u2019s election system as primary results remain undecided California primary election results for&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":349967,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,79182,989,18818,13,27767],"class_list":["post-349966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-democrats-elections","tag-elections","tag-midterm-elections","tag-politics","tag-republicans-elections"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349966","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=349966"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349966\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/349967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=349966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=349966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=349966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}