Trump endorses Hilton in California gubernatorial primary

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(The Center Square) - President Donald Trump has endorsed former Fox News anchor Steve Hilton in California’s Republican gubernatorial primary.

Trump picked Hilton over the other prominent GOP candidate - Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, who is an outspoken Trump supporter.

Sunday night’s endorsement on social media comes as Democrats face the risk of being shut out of the general election for the first time in the Golden State’s history.

Besides the two Republicans, there are eight prominent Democratic candidates. Under California law, the two candidates with the highest number of votes in the June 2 primary, regardless of party affiliation, will face off in the Nov. 3 election. Hilton and Bianco could get more votes if Democrats spread their votes among the eight candidates. 

And a recent University of California, Berkeley poll shows Hilton, a small business owner in addition to being a former commentator, and Bianco are ahead of the Democratic candidates.

According to the poll, Hilton has 17% of the vote, and Bianco, 16%. The leading Democratic candidates are U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell of San Francisco with 14%, former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter of Orange County with 13% and billionaire and consumer protection advocate Tom Steyer, who financed the successful campaign to pass congressional redistricting in California, with 10%. The poll says none of the five remaining prominent Democrats - former Health Secretary Xavier Becerra, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, former state Controller Betty Yee and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan - has more than 5% of the vote.

The Democratic Party is taking the risk seriously, with California Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks urging Democrats with less support to drop out. So far, no one has budged. Hicks has said the risk of shutout is "relatively low but not impossible."

Hicks wasn’t available for further comment on Monday, and the state Republican Party and Bianco or his campaign staff didn’t respond to The Center Square’s requests for comment. 

Hilton also wasn’t available for an interview, but his spokesperson Hector Barajas emailed The Center Square a statement saying Hilton was honored to be endorsed by Trump. The candidate's statement noted California has the nation’s highest poverty, unemployment and cost-of-living rates after 16 years of "one-party rule" by Democrats. Hilton promised to cut electric bills by half, have no taxes on the first $100,000 of income, make house purchases more affordable and reduce the cost of gas to $3 a gallon.

California consistently has had the nation's highest gas taxes for several years, and the tax has grown more than $1 a gallon since the Feb. 28 start of the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran. On Monday, California's average price was $5.93 a gallon, above the national average of $4.12 a gallon, according to AAA.

Roxanne Hoge, chair of the Los Angeles County Republican Party, told The Center Square that under the top-two primary system, Democrats have spent a lot of money to help Republican candidates they think they can beat in November.

“We as a party have not gotten to choose our standard bearer for a long time, from state Senate all the way up to governor,” Hoge said in a phone interview Monday afternoon. ”The fact that for the first time in hundreds of races they [Democrats] might be shut down does not fill me with great empathy or concern."

She added two Republicans and no Democrats in the general election's gubernatorial race would be the best outcome for California.

“I'm firmly of the opinion that either Steve Hilton or Chad Bianco — or any Republican — would be a vast improvement over the public-sector-union puppets we have running our state now," she said.

In his endorsement on his social media platform TruthSocial, Trump said he has known and respected Hilton for many years. 

“People are fleeing, crime is increasing, and Taxes are the highest of any State in the Country, maybe the World," Trump's post said. "Steve can turn it around, before it is too late, and, as President, I will help him to do so! With Federal help, and a Great Governor, like Steve Hilton, California can be better than ever before!”

There’s the question of whether Trump’s endorsement of Hilton could pull enough votes away from Bianco to mean Hilton would face a Democrat in the general election. But Hoge isn't willing to predict that would happen.

“Republicans are first and foremost rugged individuals,” Hoge said. “For me to know what they’re going to do would be a fool’s errand.”

Porter, one of the leading Democratic candidates, commented on Trump's endorsement of Hilton on social media.

"If there was any doubt what this race is about, now it's certain: It's California values against MAGA," Porter posted on X. "I'm running because voters are tired of the same old political games when the stakes are so much higher. They deserve a governor they can trust to fight for regular people, not just push policy agendas that only benefit corporate interests and the richest of the rich."

Campaign staffs for some of the other leading Democratic gubernatorial candidates did not respond to The Center Square's requests for comment Monday.