President Trump endorses Steve Hilton in the California governor’s race
President Trump endorsed conservative commentator Steve Hilton for governor of California late Sunday night.
This approval could have a huge impact on the race that is still ongoing; Recent polls show Hilton and his top Republican rival, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, as the top contenders in the 2026 contest.
“He is a truly good man, someone who once watched this great state go to hell.” Trump shared the following on Truth Social: He added that he has known Hilton for many years.
In his endorsement, Trump attacked California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s record while praising Hilton, using a derogatory name for the governor. Newsom is in the final year of his final term as governor as he weighs a 2028 presidential run.
“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 Nation, perhaps the World. Steve can turn the tables before it’s too late, and as President, I will help him do it! With the help of the feds,” Trump said.
Hilton’s campaign described the president’s support as “strong.”
“Thank you, Mr. President!” campaign was published on social media platform X. “The moment California has been waiting for has arrived!”
Despite California’s solid Democratic electorate, A recent survey by the UC Berkeley Institute of Government Studies The report, co-sponsored by the Times, found Hilton and Bianco leading a crowded field of candidates just months before the June 2 primary election; This has led to the possibility that Democrats will be left out of the November elections that will determine California’s next governor. The poll showed that Democrats’ crowded field in the race had fragmented the party’s electorate, providing an opening for Republicans.
Under the state’s top-two primary system, the top two candidates, regardless of party affiliation, advance to the general election.
If Trump’s support leads Republican voters in California to unite behind Hilton and seriously damage Bianco’s campaign, it would likely make it less likely that the two GOP candidates will finish first and second in the primaries.
In California’s 2018 gubernatorial race, Trump’s endorsement of Republican businessman John Cox helped him lead the GOP and led to his second-place finish in the primary. This propelled Cox to the general election, where he was defeated by Newsom.
Trump’s endorsement came a day after Hilton and Bianco faced off in a bitter debate in Rancho Mirage moderated by Trump’s former ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, and days before the GOP meets in San Diego to consider an endorsement in the race.
On Saturday, Bianco said he suspected Trump would weigh in on the race and that his team had been 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 weigh in on the race.
“I said I would be honored to have the President’s endorsement. I think the race for Governor of California is pretty low.” [agenda] right now,” he said in an interview. “I didn’t ask for this and I don’t expect him to weigh in.”
Jon Fleischman, former executive director of the California Republican Party, wrote on Substack late Sunday that he believed Trump’s endorsement would significantly increase Hilton’s support among GOP voters.
“This Timing Is Not Coincident,” he wrote, noting that it was previously unclear whether either candidate would receive 60% of the delegate vote to secure the party’s endorsement at the next convention. “Well, obviously this support from the President for Hilton will build on his momentum heading into the convention weekend.”
