Trump Endorses Steve Hilton for California Governor in 2026 Race

President Donald Trump threw his full support behind Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton late Sunday night, posting an endorsement on Truth Social that could reshape California's June 2 primary while simultaneously raising strategic questions about the Republican Party's chances of winning the state for the first time since 2006.

"Steve Hilton has my COMPLETE & TOTAL ENDORSEMENT," Trump wrote in the overnight post. "He will be a GREAT Governor and, importantly, WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!!!" Trump added that Hilton had "watched as this once great State has gone to Hell," describing the London-born former British political strategist as "a truly fine man."

The timing is significant. Mail ballots go to voters roughly a month before the primary, and the endorsement lands the same week the California Republican Party was scheduled to hold its own convention endorsement vote. It also came one day after Hilton and his chief Republican rival, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, clashed in a testy debate. Bianco, who had endorsed Trump in the 2024 presidential race, was passed over.

Hilton, 56, is a dual British-American citizen who got his start in politics at Conservative Central Office during Margaret Thatcher's tenure, later rising to serve as director of strategy for Prime Minister David Cameron from 2010 to 2012. He moved to California that year, co-founded the political crowdfunding platform Crowdpac, and from 2017 to 2023 hosted The Next Revolution with Steve Hilton on Fox News. He officially launched his governor's campaign on April 21, 2025, at an event in Huntington Beach.

Recent polls show Hilton as the Republican frontrunner in a sprawling field. A UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies survey from March placed Hilton at 17% and Bianco at 16%, statistically tied. A February Public Policy Institute of California poll had Hilton at 14%, Democratic candidate Katie Porter at 13%, and Bianco at 12%, with Rep. Eric Swalwell at 11% and billionaire Tom Steyer at 10%. An Emerson College poll from March showed Swalwell ahead at 17%, with Hilton at 13% and Bianco at 11.4%.

The strategic stakes of the endorsement are complicated by California's jungle primary, in which the top two vote-getters advance to the November 3 general election regardless of party. Republicans' best-case scenario required both Hilton and Bianco to nearly split the GOP vote and finish first and second, locking Democrats entirely out of the general. Democratic Party leaders had been openly worried about that outcome. Political data expert Rob Pyers argued the endorsement undercuts it: "Trump's endorsement of Steve Hilton likely frees up tens of millions of dollars for Democratic groups who would have otherwise had to spend heavily to elevate one of the two leading GOP gubernatorial candidates to avoid a Democratic lockout."

Hilton's campaign platform, branded "Califordable," promises to cut gas prices to $3 a gallon, eliminate state income tax for Californians earning $100,000 or less, halve energy costs through deregulation, and restrict Medi-Cal coverage for undocumented immigrants. He has also launched a volunteer anti-fraud initiative called "Cal Doge," claiming state waste and fraud have cost taxpayers more than $430 billion over five years.

No Republican has won a statewide California seat in nearly 20 years. Governor Gavin Newsom is term-limited and cannot seek re-election, leaving the race fully open as Newsom weighs a 2028 presidential bid. Whether Trump's endorsement proves a springboard or an anchor in a state where he remains deeply unpopular will likely define the general election, should Hilton make it that far.