{"id":388156,"date":"2026-07-06T18:07:30","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T18:07:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/388156\/"},"modified":"2026-07-06T18:07:30","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T18:07:30","slug":"steve-hilton-can-this-british-born-republican-be-cas-next-governor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/388156\/","title":{"rendered":"Steve Hilton: Can this British-born Republican be CA\u2019s next governor?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SteveRepublican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton speaks outside the state Capitol in Sacramento on June 3, 2026. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters<\/p>\n

As the Republican candidate for California governor, Steve Hilton has a steep mountain to climb. Democratic voters outnumber Republicans almost two-to-one, and the majority of California voters disapprove of President Donald Trump, who endorsed Hilton.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Hilton hopes to be the first Republican to hold statewide office in 20 years. But who is Hilton and what does he believe<\/a>?<\/p>\n

By speaking with Hilton, combing through past press coverage and reading Hilton\u2019s own writings, CalMatters\u2019 Jeanne Kuang details a candidate whose beliefs don\u2019t map neatly onto one singular political ideology.<\/p>\n

Born in the U.K. to Hungarian immigrants, Hilton later made a name for himself as a central figure in refreshing the British Conservative Party\u2019s image under Prime Minister David Cameron. In London, he pushed to slash welfare, cut government employment and privatize government services.<\/p>\n

After moving to Silicon Valley in 2012, Hilton landed a Fox News show where he aligned himself closely with Trump. He called for an audit into the 2020 presidential election that Trump lost and railed against American colleges for being \u201cwoke.\u201d<\/p>\n

But over the years, Hilton has also praised ideas that contradict GOP policies and the deregulatory campaign he promotes. In 2015 he wrote a book endorsing a higher national living wage in the U.K., generous family leave policies and forcing factory farms to pay for the environmental and health costs of their operations. He\u2019s also critical of the right for often blaming China and immigration for inequality in the U.S.<\/p>\n

Giles Gibbons, Hilton\u2019s friend and former business partner, described Hilton as \u201ca contrarian\u201d who \u201cchallenges the orthodoxy.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Hilton simply views himself as a pragmatist \u2014 one who isn\u2019t bound by ideology.<\/p>\n

Hilton: \u201cI don\u2019t like being told what to do myself, and I don\u2019t want to tell anyone else what to do with their life either, and I think that\u2019s a very Californian attitude.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

My Legislator: CalMatters has a free and personalized weekly newsletter called My Legislator<\/a> to help hold your Sacramento lawmakers accountable in a powerful new way. Sign up here<\/a> and for more details, read our FAQ<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Other Stories You Should Know<\/p>\n

CA Chevron stations charge higher prices<\/p>\n

\"AGas prices at a gas station in Sacramento on March 19, 2026. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr. for CalMatters<\/p>\n

With California gas prices hovering above the national average, testimony from a state watchdog unveiled that Chevron charged consumers higher prices<\/a> compared to other major brands, writes CalMatters\u2019 Alejandro Lazo.<\/p>\n

In June a subdepartment of the state Energy Commission told legislators that branded stations charged more than unbranded ones in California at a difference that\u2019s bigger than the rest of the country. When the Iran-war price spike was near its peak in late May, for example, California Chevron stations charged an average of $6.34 a gallon. That\u2019s the highest of any brand tracked in the state, and 44 cents above the average station that sells gas without a major oil-company logo.<\/p>\n

Part of the reason for this, according to the watchdog, is that California has a high share of fuel sales in which refiners sell fuel directly to branded retailers at prices the refiners set. Those agreements lock branded operators into paying more than unbranded ones for the same fuel \u2014 and those higher prices are then passed onto customers.<\/p>\n

A Chevron spokesperson blamed California\u2019s energy policies, not Chevron\u2019s pricing, for the state\u2019s high gasoline prices.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Judge rules CA\u2019s attorney general overstepped authority<\/p>\n

\"PeopleProtesters, who oppose regulations that would end black jack-style games at California cardrooms, gather in Sacramento on May 21, 2026. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters<\/p>\n

In the latest defeat for California Native American tribes that own casinos, a San Francisco judge has ruled that the state\u2019s attorney general doesn\u2019t have the power<\/a> to severely restrict blackjack and other table games at cardrooms across the state.<\/p>\n

As CalMatters\u2019 Ryan Sabalow explains, for years tribal casinos have sought to prevent cardrooms from offering blackjack, arguing that they had exclusive rights to host it and other lucrative games. Attorney General Rob Bonta sided with tribal casinos and moved to ban the game at private cardrooms earlier this year through a rule change under the state\u2019s Bureau of Gambling Control.<\/p>\n

But Superior Court Judge Richard Darwin ruled that the bureau didn\u2019t have the legal authority to do that, dealing a win to cardroom operators who say the ruling once again proves their business model is legal.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And lastly: Trump loses again in bid to revamp homelessness funding<\/p>\n

\"ResidentA resident walks through the DignityMoves tiny home village in San Francisco on Oct. 3, 2023. Photo by Loren Elliott for CalMatters<\/p>\n

A judge last week rejected the Trump administration\u2019s attempt to divert funds intended to provide unhoused people with permanent housing. The decision gave California a win in its battle over how to address homelessness, but the judge stopped short of banning the administration from making similar changes in the future. Read more<\/a> from CalMatters\u2019 Marisa Kendall.<\/p>\n

California Voices<\/p>\n

CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: One event that encapsulates this country\u2019s unique place in history is World War II, when Americans saved the world during one of its darkest periods<\/a>.<\/p>\n

California\u2019s voluntary busing programs are intended to achieve racial integration in schools, but these programs change nothing while enabling the state to look like it\u2019s addressing inequities, writes Vesta Kassayan<\/a>, a senior at Menlo-Atherton High School in San Mateo County.<\/p>\n

With a union survey saying most California teachers can\u2019t afford to live near the schools they teach at, the state cannot fund its way to great schools without building the affordable housing those schools require, writes Sam Finn<\/a>, executive director of the California Newcomer Network.<\/p>\n

Other things worth your time:<\/p>\n

Some stories may require a subscription to read.<\/p>\n

AT&T wins early approval to end landline service for 184K CA households \/\/ The Mercury News<\/a><\/p>\n

A CA farmer and a food distributor battle over a fruit patent \/\/ AP News<\/a><\/p>\n

LA turns \u2018most polluting\u2019 World Cup into Olympic rehearsal in bid for climate legacy \/\/ Grist<\/a><\/p>\n

CA\u2019s ban on Native American-themed mascots sparks dialogue in schools \/\/ EdSource<\/a><\/p>\n

An outdoor paradise in CA has a high suicide rate. Locals are determined to turn it around \/\/ The Guardian<\/a><\/p>\n

AI-edited images cause real concern over mountain lion in Sacramento County \/\/ Abridged<\/a><\/p>\n

Fresno used to be a cheap place to live. Now evictions are piling up \/\/ Fresnoland<\/a><\/p>\n

Paul Pelosi, Rep. Nancy Pelosi\u2019s husband, apologizes for Napa County hit-and-run \/\/ The Sacramento Bee<\/a><\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLynn La is the newsletter writer for CalMatters, focusing on California\u2019s top political, policy and Capitol stories every weekday. She produces and curates WhatMatters, CalMatters\u2019 flagship daily newsletter…\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMore by Lynn La\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton speaks outside the state Capitol in Sacramento on June 3, 2026. Photo by…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":388157,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8],"class_list":["post-388156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388156","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=388156"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388156\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/388157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=388156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=388156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=388156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}