Conservative commentator Steve Hilton announces a run for California governor

Conservative commentator and Silicon Valley entrepreneur Steve Hilton announced Monday that helium is moving for governor, the 2nd salient Republican to participate the 2026 contention to regenerate termed-out Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.

“California means to America what America means to the world. Let’s marque California the onshore of accidental again, large jobs, large homes, large kids. Let’s marque California an inspiration again, the precise champion of America,” he said successful a astir three-minute video posted online. “There’s lone 1 mode to bash that. We’ve got to extremity the one-party regularisation that got america into this mess. It’s clip to extremity the years of Democrat failure. It’s clip for a caller future. That’s wherefore I’m moving for governor, to marque this beauteous authorities that we emotion truthful overmuch genuinely aureate again.”

Hilton, who plans an authoritative run announcement lawsuit successful Huntington Beach connected Tuesday, faces steep likelihood successful the gubernatorial race. Californians past elected statewide Republican candidates successful 2006, and the state’s residents person go much wide since then. However, determination is mounting vexation astir issues specified arsenic crime, ostentation and the outgo of living.

“Fortune favors the bold. It is an uphill conflict for a Republican to triumph statewide office, but if bold radical similar Steve don’t emerge, Republicans aren’t going to win,” said Conyers Davis, an advisor to erstwhile Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Davis archetypal met Hilton erstwhile blimpish person David Cameron of England visited then-Gov. Schwarzenegger’s cigar-smoking structure astatine the statehouse successful Sacramento successful 2008 and worked with him connected Cameron’s palmy 2010 run to go premier minister.

Additionally, the state’s jungle superior system, successful which the 2 candidates who person the astir votes successful the June 2026 superior determination connected to the wide predetermination careless of party, mean Republicans person a decent changeable of securing 1 of the spots connected the November ballot.

That’s partially due to the fact that the Democratic ballot whitethorn beryllium fractured by the ample fig of Democrats moving — Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, state schools main Tony Thurmond, erstwhile U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, former authorities Controller Betty Yee, former Rep. Katie Porter, erstwhile authorities Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and businessman Stephen Cloobeck.

Additionally, former Vice President Kamala Harris is weighing a bid and expected to marque a determination by the extremity of the summer.

On the Republican side, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco is the sole salient GOP campaigner who antecedently announced helium would run. So if Democratic voters splinter, Bianco oregon Hilton could triumph 1 of the apical 2 spots, contempt the state’s heavy bluish tilt.

Hilton, 55, is the lad of Hungarian immigrants who fled their homeland during a gyration successful 1956. He was calved successful England and aft graduating from Oxford, Hilton worked successful authorities and advertising. He past founded “Good Business,” a consulting steadfast that advised companies specified arsenic Nike and McDonald’s astir ethical capitalism.

Described arsenic “part Svengali, portion rotation doctor, portion strategist” by the London Standard successful 2006, Hilton was a elder advisor and adjacent confidante of Cameron, who served arsenic Britain’s premier curate from 2010 to 2016.

Hilton was credited with modernizing the British blimpish movement, remaining existent to free-market ideals portion besides supporting wide societal policy, specified arsenic backing cheery rights and warring clime change.

News reports astir Hilton’s clip astatine 10 Downing Street overgarment him arsenic a charismatic but eccentric and idiosyncratic figure, routinely wearing wrinkled t-shirts, jeans, tracksuit pants, cycling cogwheel and nary shoes arsenic helium wandered astir the premier minister’s stodgy ceremonial residence.

He besides drew headlines for making £276,000 per twelvemonth successful 2006, a wage that dwarfed Cameron’s compensation, according to The Observer. And helium broke with Cameron by supporting Brexit, the palmy 2016 effort to person the United Kingdom permission the European Union.

Hilton immigrated to California successful 2012 with his wife, Rachel Whetstone, who has worked arsenic a nationalist relations enforcement astatine Google, Uber, Facebook and Netflix. He became a national successful 2021. The mates lives successful the affluent Silicon Valley assemblage of Atherton and has 2 children.

Since helium moved to the United States, Hilton has taught astatine Stanford University, hosted a Fox News amusement called “The Next Revolution,” and co-founded Crowdpac, a nonpartisan governmental fundraising website. He and the institution parted ways successful 2018 aft his full-throated enactment of President Trump caused controversy. Villaraigosa chopped ties with the institution during his unsuccessful 2018 gubernatorial bid due to the fact that of the kerfuffle.

Despite positioning himself arsenic a populist who has supported argumentation of some parties, Hilton’s vocal enactment of Trump, including calling for an probe into imaginable elector fraud successful the 2020 statesmanlike election, and different arguable views volition astir surely beryllium raised successful the campaign.

But Hilton’s Silicon Valley relationships with billionaires specified arsenic task capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya and erstwhile Google CEO Eric Schmidt could beryllium a boon to his gubernatorial campaign.

In 2023, Hilton founded Golden Together, a probe radical focused connected restoring the California dream. Among the group’s argumentation focuses are the state’s concern climate, homelessness, crime, affordable lodging and wildfire management. Its advisory committee includes Lanhee Chen, a erstwhile advisor to the statesmanlike campaigns of Mitt Romney and Marco Rubio; Gloria Romero, a erstwhile Democratic authorities Senate person who is present a Republican; erstwhile San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and Davis.

“He is idiosyncratic who is sincerely funny successful moving to code immoderate of the challenges California faces,” said Chen, a Stanford lecturer who unsuccessfully ran for authorities controller successful 2022 and has been floated arsenic a imaginable statewide oregon legislature candidate. Chen said helium is weighing his options, but is simply a protagonist of Hilton due to the fact that of his absorption connected argumentation and substance. “He is astatine his halfway a argumentation feline and has a batch of ideas to code these challenges.”