{"id":13525,"date":"2026-06-10T04:03:54","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T04:03:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=13525"},"modified":"2026-06-10T04:03:54","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T04:03:54","slug":"steve-hilton-projected-to-advance-in-california-governor-race-joining-xavier-becerra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=13525","title":{"rendered":"Steve Hilton projected to advance in California governor race, joining Xavier Becerra"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

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.<\/p>\n

Read more Impeachment sought against federal judge over alleged sex in chambers, lying to investigators<\/a><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat an incredible honor to be chosen by Californians to lead the movement for change in the greatest state in the greatest nation on earth,\u201d Hilton said in a statement. \u201cThere\u2019s nowhere better than California.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mission is clear. To go to Sacramento, clean up corruption, cut your costs, help your business and fix our schools,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the weeks ahead, we will lay out my plan in detail to make our state \u2018Califordable\u2019 \u2014 particularly for workers and small businesses,\u201d Hilton said, referring to his campaign catchphrase related to affordability.<\/p>\n

That means progressive billionaire Tom Steyer, who had been trailing Becerra and Hilton in third place, won\u2019t move forward in the election.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

In an email to supporters Tuesday evening, Steyer said it was \u201cnow clear\u201d the votes weren\u2019t there to advance.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI have always been an optimist, and today, I remain an optimist,\u201d Steyer said. \u201cNothing 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy commitment to this fight didn\u2019t start last November, and it doesn\u2019t 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,\u201d Steyer added.<\/p>\n

Earlier Tuesday, before The Associated Press projection, Becerra said he was looking forward to seeing who he\u2019d face in the general election.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnxious to see the end result,\u201d Becerra said. \u201cThankful that it looks like a good number of Californians decided to cast ballots in this primary.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Hilton also projected confidence earlier Tuesday, though he told reporters he wouldn\u2019t declare his finish in the top two until after the AP called the race.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not popping the champagne yet,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The 56-year-old got his start in politics in the United Kingdom. Born in England to immigrant parents from Hungary \u2014 his father had found success as a professional hockey goalie before the couple fled during the 1956 revolution \u2014 Hilton started working with the Conservative Central Office in 1990.<\/p>\n

Read more Attorneys claim new video ends any doubt that SCE started Eaton fire<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

An Atherton resident, Hilton had helped lead a policy and research group, Golden Together, since 2023. He became a U.S. citizen in 2021.<\/p>\n

Historically, Republicans seeking statewide office in California have faced an uphill battle.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it is the case that we have a legislature that\u2019s dominated by Democrats, I\u2019m very comfortable that we\u2019ll find ways to work together,\u201d he told reporters earlier Tuesday. \u201cThat\u2019s how I\u2019ve always been. I\u2019m open. I want to work with anyone who wants positive outcomes. I have a track record of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hilton came out of the gate Tuesday evening swinging at Becerra.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will draw a powerful contrast with Xavier Becerra, who represents more of the same cost, incompetence and corruption,\u201d Hilton said.<\/p>\n

Becerra, though, pointed to how many voters chose Democratic candidates over Hilton.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast 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\u2019s the mandate I\u2019ll carry into November,\u201d he said Tuesday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere\u2019s what we\u2019re 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,\u201d Becerra added. \u201cThis 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was a moment \u2014 particularly as the race was so unsettled leading up to Election Day \u2014 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 \u201cjungle\u201d primary \u2014 where the top two vote-getters, no matter political party, advance to the general election \u2014 and the number of Democratic contenders and lack of a clear frontrunner had Democrats worried their candidates wouldn\u2019t advance.<\/p>\n

That switched closer to the election, when Republicans became concerned that Democrats would lock up the top two spots. That\u2019s when Hilton renewed his earlier calls for Bianco to belatedly drop out of the race.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Read more Orange County mother charged with murder in death of her 2-year-old son in Placentia<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A week after Election Day, the Trump-backed Republican was expected to advance in the gubernatorial contest. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13524,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-based-on-facts-either-observed-and-verified-directly-by-the-reporter-or-reported-and-verified-from-knowledgeable-sources","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nSteve Hilton projected to advance in California governor race, joining Xavier Becerra - Silicon Valley Moving Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=13525\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Steve Hilton projected to advance in California governor race, joining Xavier Becerra - 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