{"id":408709,"date":"2026-07-23T00:10:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T00:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/408709\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T00:10:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T00:10:11","slug":"steve-hilton-announces-california-governor-general-election-campaign-in-boyle-heights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/408709\/","title":{"rendered":"Steve Hilton announces California governor general election campaign in Boyle Heights"},"content":{"rendered":"

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK\/KBFX) With California\u2019s governor\u2019s race taking shape, Republican candidate Steve Hilton kicked off what he called the \u201csecond phase\u201d of his campaign with a press conference in Boyle Heights, aiming to broaden his appeal to working-class Latino voters.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo today we\u2019re launching the second phase of this campaign to make California exactly what we want it to be. What so many people are looking for,\u201d Hilton said.<\/p>\n

Hilton was joined at the event by Gloria Romero, a candidate for lieutenant governor, who focused her remarks on the economic challenges facing Latino Californians.<\/p>\n

\"Steve<\/p>\n

Steve Hilton announces California governor general election campaign in Boyle Heights (Photo: Adobe Stock)<\/p>\n

\u201cLatinos are 40% of California. 39% of its workforce. We work. But we remain the working poor. We power California\u2019s economy, but we can\u2019t afford the California dream,\u201d Romero said.<\/p>\n

Hilton and Romero argued that working-class Latino voters have been let down by years of Democratic policies. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve abandoned the working class. They\u2019ve abandoned the Latino community. They\u2019ve abandoned communities like this one in Boyle Heights,\u201d Hilton said.<\/p>\n

The campaign launch comes as Hilton trails his opponent, Xavier Becerra, in a recent Public Policy Institute of California poll by 25 points.<\/p>\n

Ian Anderson, a political science professor at Taft and Bakersfield College, said the polling suggests Hilton faces steep odds. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo, it\u2019s a long shot. The polls do show Becerra up by a lot,\u201d Anderson said.<\/p>\n

\"Steve<\/p>\n

Steve Hilton announces California governor general election campaign in Boyle Heights (Photo by Mario Tama\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Anderson said Hilton\u2019s best opportunity to narrow the gap is to keep his message centered on cost-of-living concerns. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf he keeps it, focused on California affordability issues. There is definitely a chance to bridge that gap,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But Anderson warned that tying the campaign too closely to national politics could hurt Hilton, particularly against an opponent with extensive government experience.<\/p>\n

\"Steve<\/p>\n

Steve Hilton announces California governor general election campaign in Boyle Heights (Photo: AdobeStock)<\/p>\n

\u201cBecerra has a much longer track record of experience regardless of if you favor, you know, politically. Just the experience of working with the federal government, Becerra has a much stronger resume,\u201d Anderson said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK\/KBFX) With California\u2019s governor\u2019s race taking shape, Republican candidate Steve Hilton kicked off what he called…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":408710,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8],"class_list":["post-408709","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\/408709","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=408709"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408709\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/408710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=408709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=408709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=408709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}