Hilton tops California governor primary, sets up Becerra showdown

Steve Hilton’s first-place finish in California’s governor primary turned a long-shot Republican pitch into a real November test. The British-born former Fox News host and former adviser to David Cameron now faces Xavier Becerra in a state that has not elected a Republican governor since Arnold Schwarzenegger left office in January 2011.

Hilton, a U.S. citizen since 2021, ran as a Trump-backed Republican in a state where Democrats hold the advantage but voters are still furious about housing costs, business costs, homelessness, water and public safety. In the June 2 top-two primary, Hilton led with about 25% of the vote as of June 9, enough to advance into a general election that will decide whether his bid to repackage conservative politics as common sense can break the state’s Democratic grip. California’s next governor will oversee a roughly $4 trillion economy, making the race a test not just of ideology but of economic stewardship.

Hilton has tried to make his case around affordability and anger at government. He has promised to slash spending and regulations, cut taxes, boost oil and gas production and lower diesel costs. He has attacked what he calls the “homeless-industrial complex” and says his agenda will make California “Califordable” for workers and small businesses. His campaign has also said it is running to end “one party rule,” a line aimed squarely at a state where Republicans have not held a statewide office since Schwarzenegger’s term ended.

The path to November also revealed the limits of the field Hilton just outlasted. Billionaire Tom Steyer spent $215 million of his own money on the race before conceding and endorsing Becerra, underscoring how much money can be spent in California without changing the fundamental partisan map. Hilton’s advance came as Donald Trump endorsed him in April, giving the race a national Republican marker in a state that remains deeply hostile to the party at the top of the ticket.

Becerra enters the general election with his own historic stakes. The former California attorney general and former U.S. Health and Human Services secretary would become the first Latino elected governor of California if he wins in November, in a state where about 40% of residents are Hispanic or Latino. Hilton’s challenge is to convince enough voters that the issues he is emphasizing, especially affordability, housing and public safety, can outweigh the state’s long Democratic tilt. If he cannot, his campaign’s talk of a conservative realignment will read less like a governing coalition than a political argument in search of one.