Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host, is projected by The Associated Press to advance to the general election in the race for California governor.
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That means Hilton, a Republican, is set to join Xavier Becerra, a Democrat and former Biden administration Cabinet official, in the November general election for the top political job in California.
“What an incredible honor to be chosen by Californians to lead the movement for change in the greatest state in the greatest nation on earth,” Hilton said in a statement. “There’s nowhere better than California.
“My mission is clear. To go to Sacramento, clean up corruption, cut your costs, help your business and fix our schools,” he added.
“In the weeks ahead, we will lay out my plan in detail to make our state ‘Califordable’ — particularly for workers and small businesses,” Hilton said, referring to his campaign catchphrase related to affordability.
That means progressive billionaire Tom Steyer, who had been trailing Becerra and Hilton in third place, won’t move forward in the election.
The latest, unofficial vote tally showed Hilton leading Steyer by just over 200,000 votes with more than 1.4 million ballots left to count. Becerra, who on Friday was projected to advance, was ahead of Hilton by nearly 216,000 votes.
In an email to supporters Tuesday evening, Steyer said it was “now clear” the votes weren’t there to advance.
“I have always been an optimist, and today, I remain an optimist,” Steyer said. “Nothing this campaign fought for is far off. These dreams we dreamt together are not too big. Californians deserve a life they can afford, and they deserve for it to be in California.
“My commitment to this fight didn’t start last November, and it doesn’t end today. Because the work of winning a better, fairer California is not the work of a campaign. It is the work of my life,” Steyer added.
Earlier Tuesday, before The Associated Press projection, Becerra said he was looking forward to seeing who he’d face in the general election.
“Anxious to see the end result,” Becerra said. “Thankful that it looks like a good number of Californians decided to cast ballots in this primary.”
Hilton also projected confidence earlier Tuesday, though he told reporters he wouldn’t declare his finish in the top two until after the AP called the race.
“We’re not popping the champagne yet,” he said.
As a candidate, Hilton, who was endorsed by Trump, has billed himself as a needed change for California, constantly railing against the Democratic leadership that has led the state for several years.
The 56-year-old got his start in politics in the United Kingdom. Born in England to immigrant parents from Hungary — his father had found success as a professional hockey goalie before the couple fled during the 1956 revolution — Hilton started working with the Conservative Central Office in 1990.
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He would eventually become a close adviser to David Cameron, who was the United Kingdom Prime Minister between 2010 and 2016, and was credited with softening Cameron’s stance on several positions. The two have since fallen out, disagreeing over several policy positions, including Brexit (the term referring to the U.K. leaving the European Union), with Hilton in favor and Cameron against it.
An Atherton resident, Hilton had helped lead a policy and research group, Golden Together, since 2023. He became a U.S. citizen in 2021.
Historically, Republicans seeking statewide office in California have faced an uphill battle.
California is a deep-blue state, with Democrats enjoying a 20-point voter registration advantage over Republicans. The last time Californians elected a Republican to the post of governor was 20 years ago, when then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was reelected.
But Hilton said he had a track record from his days in the UK government of working with people across the political spectrum and believed that, if elected, he could be successful in working with a Democratic-led state legislature.
“If it is the case that we have a legislature that’s dominated by Democrats, I’m very comfortable that we’ll find ways to work together,” he told reporters earlier Tuesday. “That’s how I’ve always been. I’m open. I want to work with anyone who wants positive outcomes. I have a track record of that.”
Hilton came out of the gate Tuesday evening swinging at Becerra.
“We will draw a powerful contrast with Xavier Becerra, who represents more of the same cost, incompetence and corruption,” Hilton said.
Becerra, though, pointed to how many voters chose Democratic candidates over Hilton.
“Last week, Californians sent a clear message: more than 4 million voters chose a different path than the one Steve Hilton and Donald Trump are offering. That’s the mandate I’ll carry into November,” he said Tuesday night.
“Here’s what we’re fighting for: a California where every child gets a great education, every family can afford a home, and no one loses their health care because of where they were born or how much money they have,” Becerra added. “This November, voters will choose between a governor who will fight for that future and one who would hand Sacramento to Donald Trump. California will not be his next casualty.”
There was a moment — particularly as the race was so unsettled leading up to Election Day — when it looked like Hilton and fellow Republican, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, might lock Democrats out of the general election. The state runs a so-called “jungle” primary — where the top two vote-getters, no matter political party, advance to the general election — and the number of Democratic contenders and lack of a clear frontrunner had Democrats worried their candidates wouldn’t advance.
That switched closer to the election, when Republicans became concerned that Democrats would lock up the top two spots. That’s when Hilton renewed his earlier calls for Bianco to belatedly drop out of the race.
Bianco did not heed those calls, but he did say, in May, that he would consider voting for Hilton if he were the only Republican on the November ballot.
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