President Donald Trump’s endorsement of former Fox News host Steve Hilton in California’s gubernatorial race has sent shockwaves through the state’s political establishment, potentially upending Republican hopes of locking Democrats out of the November runoff in a state they haven’t won statewide in two decades.
Trump declared his support for Hilton in a Truth Social post late on Sunday night, praising the British-born political strategist as someone who would “be a great governor” and arguing that “Democrats have done an absolutely horrendous job” in California, where “people are fleeing.”
The endorsement, which came as a surprise even to some in Hilton’s inner circle, threatens to consolidate Republican support behind the former television personality and squeeze out his GOP rival, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco. One Hilton adviser learned about the endorsement at 4:30 a.m. on Monday with no prior briefing from the campaign or White House.
California’s jungle primary system sends the top two finishers to the general election regardless of party affiliation. Until now, some Republicans had harbored slim hopes that both Hilton and Bianco could advance through the June 2 primary while eight Democratic candidates divided their party’s vote, potentially locking progressives out of the governor’s mansion entirely.
That scenario now appears dead on arrival.
“In my mind, it clearly diminishes the chance of two Republicans making the top two,” said Matt Rexroad, a California Republican consultant who previously worked for Bianco.
The president’s intervention follows months of behind-the-scenes maneuvering by MAGA-aligned figures. Hilton launched his campaign with backing from actor Jon Voight, now one of Trump’s special ambassadors to Hollywood, the late Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, and former Department of Government Efficiency co-leader Vivek Ramaswamy. He appeared on former Rep. Matt Gaetz’s One America News show in March to boost his profile among conservative viewers.
Meanwhile, MAGA influencer and conservative podcaster Laura Loomer spent months attacking Bianco on social media, criticizing him for kneeling with Black Lives Matter protesters, expressing support for providing immigrants with a pathway to citizenship, and refusing to violate California’s immigration sanctuary law. Loomer said she shared some posts with members of the White House political team.
“Given the fact that nobody was talking about Bianco being a RINO till I exposed him and posted videos exposing him, I’d say I helped bring more national attention to the race,” Loomer said on Monday.
The endorsement gains additional significance following a March poll by the University of California, Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies that rattled the Democratic establishment. The survey suggested Hilton and Bianco were leading Democratic contenders, prompting top state party officials to call for some candidates to drop out.
Among the eight Democrats running, Congressman Eric Swalwell, former Congresswoman Katie Porter, and billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer appeared to have the most support in that polling.
Hilton, a former director of strategy to ex-UK Prime Minister David Cameron from 2010 to 2012, moved to California and joined Stanford University as a visiting scholar in 2012. He said he was applying for U.S. citizenship in 2019. He went on to host “The Next Revolution” on Fox News from 2017 to 2023 and continues contributing to the conservative network.
The British-born strategist posted on social media on Monday that he was “deeply honoured” to receive the president’s backing, though Trump’s endorsement could become a liability if Hilton faces a Democrat in November’s general election in the heavily liberal state.
The endorsement’s timing followed a Saturday night debate where Hilton accused Bianco of being lax on immigration. Fox News hosts who had been pushing for Hilton accelerated their calls to Trump to back the former television personality after the debate, according to a person familiar with the conversations.
The White House had concluded that two Republicans were unlikely to capture the top spots in a California election, or that a Republican could ultimately win the governor’s mansion, but that Trump’s endorsement would at least ensure one Republican made the runoff. This could drive turnout for a proposed voter ID initiative and improve its odds of passage.
Republican John Cox, who made the 2018 runoff against Gov. Gavin Newsom largely on the strength of Trump’s endorsement, expressed bewilderment at the president’s decision.
“I don’t know what to make of it. I thought we were heading to two Republicans in the final two,” Cox said.
California GOP delegates will convene in San Diego this weekend, where the race is expected to dominate discussions. With Trump now firmly in Hilton’s corner, Republicans face a difficult choice: unite behind the president’s pick or risk dividing their already slim chances in deep-blue California.
For Democrats watching the Republican turmoil, Trump’s endorsement may have delivered an unexpected gift—clearing their path back to the November election in a state where they’ve maintained their grip on statewide offices for more than two decades.