President Trump endorses Steve Hilton in the California governor’s race
President Trump endorsed conservative commentator Steve Hilton for governor of California on Sunday evening.
The endorsement could have a major impact on a race that remains up for grabs, with recent opinion polls showing Hilton and his primary Republican rival, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, as the leading contenders in the 2026 contest.
“He is a truly fine man who has seen this once great state go to hell,” Trump posted on Truth Social, adding that he has known Hilton for many years.
Trump, in his support, praised Hilton while attacking California Governor Gavin Newsom’s record, using a derogatory name for the governor. Newsom is serving the final year of his final term as governor as he considers a run for president in 2028.
“Gavin Newscum and the Democrats have done an absolutely terrible job. People are fleeing, crime is rising, and taxes are the highest of any state in the country, maybe the world. Steve can turn this around before it’s too late, and as president, I will help him do it! With federal help,” Trump said.
Hilton’s campaign called the president’s support “powerful.”
“Thank you, Mr. President! » » his campaign published on social media platform X. “This is the moment California has been waiting for! »
Despite California’s solidly Democratic electorate, a recent poll by the UC Berkeley Institute for Government Studies and co-sponsored by the Times found that Hilton and Bianco led the field of candidates just months before the June 2 primary, raising the possibility that Democrats could be shut out of the November elections that will determine California’s next governor. The massive number of Democrats running has divided voters within their party, providing an opening for Republicans, the poll found.
Under the state’s two-primary system, the top two candidates advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation.
If Trump’s endorsement leads California Republican voters to coalesce behind Hilton, seriously hurting Bianco’s campaign, it would likely reduce the chances of two Republican candidates finishing in first and second place in the primary.
In the 2018 California governor’s race, Trump’s support of Republican businessman John Cox helped cement him as the GOP front-runner and allowed him to finish in second place in the primary election. This propelled Cox into the general election, where he was defeated by Newsom.
Trump’s endorsement came a day after Hilton and Bianco faced off in a tough debate in Rancho Mirage, moderated by Richard Grenell, Trump’s former ambassador to Germany, and days before the state GOP met in San Diego to consider an endorsement in the race.
On Saturday, Bianco said he suspected Trump could weigh in on the race and that his team was in talks with the president’s advisers.
“Of course I would like him to support me. He is the president of the United States,” Bianco said in an interview.
Hilton questioned Saturday whether the president would have any say in the race.
“I said I would be honored to have the president’s endorsement. I think the California gubernatorial race is pretty weak relative to his score.” [agenda] at the moment,” he said in an interview. “I didn’t ask for this and I don’t expect him to intervene.”
Jon Fleischman, the former executive director of the California Republican Party, wrote on Substack on Sunday evening that he believed Trump’s support would significantly boost Hilton’s support among GOP voters.
“This timing is not accidental,” he wrote, noting that it was previously unclear whether either candidate could secure the 60 percent of delegate votes to secure the party’s nomination at its next convention. “Well, obviously this endorsement from the president for Hilton is going to boost his momentum heading into the convention this weekend”
