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I admit, I didn’t know a lot about Los Angeles Republican mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt. I have never seen the MTV show that made him famous, The Hills, and frankly, I assumed that a reality star was not a serious candidate to be the chief executive of the second most populous city in the nation. I fully remember, however, a grade teacher exhorting me back in the day, “Do not assume.” You make an “ass” out of “u” and “me.” I wholeheartedly admit that my bias was misplaced, because as I’ve now seen in numerous bombshell ads and interviews, Pratt...

California used to be a place where you could get ahead. Work hard, save up, buy your first home, and build a life. That path is disappearing. A generation ago, buying your first home was something many Californians could imagine doing in their 20s. Today, the median first-time homebuyer is 40. Today, first-time buyers are being shut out of the market entirely. The homes that do get built are too big, too expensive, and completely out of reach for young, middle-class families. Starter homes, the foundation of a healthy housing market, have almost vanished. That’s not just a housing issue....

“The billionaires and corporations are spending big in this race to oppose me and to support the other people on this stage,” he claimed. This same statement is made by every Democrat in any race above the level of dog catcher, but when it’s being made by a candidate who is not only a billionaire, but whose only reason for running in any race is being a billionaire, that takes it to a whole other level of hypocritical grifting. If Steyer were just a working class Bay Area millionaire like Gov. Gavin Newsom or Rep. Ro Khanna, but without their...

It’s not exactly uncommon to suddenly hear a gubernatorial candidate make tall promises as election day draws nearer. So when a California gubernatorial candidate mentions bringing Dr. Anthony Fauci to justice for the way COVID policy was handled, it might be easy to dismiss it as little more than standard campaign fare. After all, Fauci was infamously pardoned by former President Joe Biden at the end of his lone term. But for Steve Hilton, the Republican gubernatorial candidate leading the crowded pack in RealClearPolitics’ current polling, this doesn’t appear to be an empty threat. Hilton spoke to conservative content creator...

If you go to NASCAR to watch the cars crash, the Democratic gubernatorial race in California has been a thrilling pile-up. From Katie Porter spewing profanities at employees, to Eric Swalwell fleeing the race on the heels of prosecutors, it has been something to behold. However, some elements of the campaign have been more predictable, including the use of racial politics. The first major debate was canceled after Former Biden Health and Human Services Secretary and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra declared that his exclusion (due to low polling numbers) was racist.

Ten days ago, Congressmember Eric Swalwell was getting very close to becoming the Democratic candidate for governor of California. But then he imploded amidst sensational accusations of sexual harassment and assault. Within hours of the revelations, Swalwell abandoned his campaign and then resigned from Congress and is now under criminal investigation. Why Swalwell was leading the field of Democratic hopefuls was never clear. His only claim to political fame was being one of President Donald Trump’s most persistent critics — which, of course, has little to do with governing the nation’s most populous state. It seemed he was seen as...

Overton@overton_news·13hHe flipped the script on them instantly.California Gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton (R) gave a masterful response to the debate moderator who tried to use President Trump’s endorsement of him as an attack against him.MODERATOR: “Mr. Hilton, you said you were ‘deeply honored’ to recently receive President Trump’s endorsement.”“That’s despite the fact that 62% of Californians disapprove of the job he is doing. Are those Californians wrong?”HILTON: “One of the proudest days of my life was the day I became an American citizen.”“It happened in a ceremony right here in San Francisco.”“So it is a deep honor for me to be...

The California governor's race is heating up, with Emerson College polls showing two Republicans leading after Eric Swalwell's departure. Steve Hilton leads with 17%, followed by Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco at 14%. Democratic billionaire Tom Steyer is tied with Bianco at 14%. Trailing Democrats include former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and former Representative Katie Porter both tied at 10%. San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan follows with 5%. The poll also found that 23% of likely voters said they are still undecided, meaning the race remains wide open.

A cousin of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, is throwing his tech fortune behind two of the governor’s biggest critics. Siebel Systems founder Tom Siebel, second cousin of Siebel Newsom, gave $50,000 to San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan’s bid for California governor and another $10,000 to Republican former Fox News Host Steve Hilton. Siebel sold Siebel Systems, an enterprise software firm, to Oracle to 2006 for approximately $5.8 billion, making him a billionaire with an estimated net worth of around $4 billion currently.

Eric Swalwell has dropped out of the race for California Governor after a series of sexual misconduct allegations. Republicans may be celebrating the demise of the prominent Democrat, but they should hold off on the champagne for now. Swalwell’s exit only increases the chance of two Democrats moving through to the run-off, depriving the GOP of a place on the ticket. However some Republicans still believe that the two GOP candidates in the race – Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco – can make it through California’s jungle primary and face each other in November. While it sounds exciting and makes...

Amid the implosion of former Congressman Eric Swalwell’s gubernatorial campaign, the race to be California’s new governor next year is up for grabs as pundits guess who will fill in Swalwell’s leading position. A poll released Tuesday may offer a clue: progressive billionaire Tom Steyer leads with 21% of likely voters and Republican candidate Steve Hilton is second at 18%, according to SurveyUSA. Swalwell, who resigned from Congress Tuesday after bombshell sexual assault allegations, polled at third with 9% of voters. The poll was conducted from April 8 to 10, right as the accusations came to light and when rumors...

Progressive billionaire Tom Steyer has been telling California voters he wants to “abolish ICE” despite investing nearly $90 million in a company behind the state’s largest immigration detention center. The California gubernatorial candidate has tried to swat off that criticism, but in a recent interview with the Sacramento Bee, he said it was a “mistake.” “We never had anything to do with running the company,” Steyer said. “But it was a mistake to think that that was a place where it was decent to make money.” Steyer founded a hedge fund named Farallon Capital Management in 1986. Under his management,...

California Gubernatorial Candidate Steve Hilton joins Clay and Buck to discuss Eric Swalwell’s departure from the race, who he thinks inside the Democrat Party orchestrated the hit on Swalwell, and how he feels his campaign will deliver regime change in California.

On April 22, KRON4 will host a California gubernatorial debate airing across the state. On the Democratic side, former Rep. Katie Porter will join East Bay Congressman Eric Swalwell and billionaire activist Tom Steyer on the debate stage. On the Republican side, political commentator Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco will also take part.

With California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) nearing the end of his term, numerous candidates have stepped up to replace him in the upcoming gubernatorial primary race on June 2. Sixty-one individuals appear on the official certified list of candidates competing for California's top office. While there is currently no clear front-runner, several notable candidates have emerged. These include former Rep. Katie Porter (D), Rep. Eric Swalwell (D), climate advocate and businessman Tom Steyer (D), Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco (R), and Fox News host and small-business owner Steve Hilton (R). President Donald Trump released a post on social media on...

Political media habitually use “race” to describe contests for public office. However the word implies movement and therefore would be inaccurate if applied to this year’s election of a new governor. Sixty-one names will be on the June 2 primary ballot, including 10 leaders who profess to be serious about seeking the office. However, they aren’t racing. Rather, the eight top-polling Democrats seem to be in a children’s game, sitting in a circle staring at each other, waiting for someone to blink. Meanwhile, the two top Republicans are taking potshots at each other, potentially undermining the GOP’s only chance to...

The University of Southern California (USC) and Los Angeles television station KABC tried to have a gubernatorial debate on March 24. The qualifying criteria for being invited included polling numbers and fundraising thresholds. Six candidates made the cut: four Democrats: Katie Porter, Tom Steyer, Eric Swalwell and Matt Mahan, and two Republicans: Chad Bianco and Steve Hilton. Democrat Xavier Becerra, who didn't make the cut, called the qualifying criteria "biased. Every one of those who were invited is white. They should all withdraw from this racist so-called debate." His reasoning was so powerful that USC decided to cancel the debate...

"I don’t want this state that I love to become the country I left,” Steve Hilton tells the lunch meeting of South­ern California Republican Women. Knives and forks rattle on porcelain as the perfectly coiffured ladies down cutlery to clap. Remarkably, Hilton, director of strategy under former British prime minister David Cameron, has topped virtually every poll for governor of California since he launched his campaign in April last year. Hilton has leant into the West Coast aesthetic and spirit. Once the rebel of Downing Street in T-shirts and stockinged feet, today he sports a tech-bro beard, more bracelets and...

California Democrats were warned to get their act together months ago. Back off, consolidate, pick a front-runner or risk splitting the vote. They ignored the advice. Now the numbers are in and the results are brutal. A new UC Berkeley-LA Times poll shows the 2026 race for governor is a total mess for Democrats. Support is scattered across a crowded field while Republicans Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco have quietly pulled ahead. The data tells the story. Not a single Democrat tops 13% while the GOP contenders sit in the high teens. 16% of voters remain undecided leaving the door...

California's jungle primary system has created a path for Republicans to flip the state in a nightmare scenario for Democrats, according to new polling that shows the Democratic field splintering while GOP candidates consolidate. The Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll, conducted March 9-15, has Republican commentator Steve Hilton at 17 percent and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco at 16 percent, while the leading Democratic candidates are scattered below them. Representative Eric Swalwell and former Representative Katie Porter each sit at 13 percent, businessman Tom Steyer at 10 percent, and former HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra at 5 percent. […] The...