Former Fox News host Steve Hilton secured one of the top two spots in California’s gubernatorial primary on Tuesday, setting up a November showdown with Democratic veteran Xavier Becerra for the state’s highest office.
The Associated Press called Hilton’s advancement Tuesday, days after Becerra locked in his spot and a week after the June 2 election. Under California’s top-two primary system, the two highest vote-getters advance regardless of party. Becerra currently holds a slight edge over Hilton in ongoing vote counts.
“In a weird way, I was sad when we had the last [debate]. I’m looking forward to debating whoever it is.”
The matchup offers voters sharply different visions for California. Hilton, 56, is a British immigrant and former political advisor to U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron. President Trump endorsed Hilton, who has campaigned on cutting taxes, deregulation, and hard-line stances on abortion — including promising to extradite California doctors who provide abortion pills to other states for prosecution.
Becerra, 68, rose through Los Angeles politics in the 1980s and has championed immigrant protections and abortion rights throughout his career. Married to Harvard-educated OB-GYN Carolina Reyes, Becerra campaigned as a battle-tested warrior against Trump and a champion of affordable healthcare. He could make history as California’s first elected Latino governor.
Billionaire Democrat Tom Steyer finished third despite spending $216 million of his own money on the race.
Becerra enters the general election with a distinct advantage — Democratic voters in California outnumber Republicans by almost 2-to-1, a key reason no GOP candidate has won a statewide race since 2006.
Republican strategist Kevin Spillane credited Hilton’s six-year Fox News show, “The Next Revolution,” with boosting his profile. Hilton “understands how politics and how communications work,” Spillane said.
During debates, Hilton often appeared relaxed, even joking with rivals. At a CBS debate earlier this year, Becerra referred to Trump as Hilton’s “daddy.” Hilton deflated the attack with a quip: “It would be rather amazing. My daddy was the goalie for the Hungarian national ice hockey team.”
Unlike past self-funding Republican candidates like Meg Whitman in 2010 or John Cox in 2018, Hilton spent just a few million dollars on media advertising. “I just said, ‘I want to do it the old-fashioned way,'” Hilton said in an interview before the election. “We’ve been to nearly every single county…. stepped it up with our town halls.”
Nina Royal, 83, a Los Angeles community advocate who voted for Hilton, said he understands California’s problems. “He’s a realist,” Royal said. “He has a clear view of what needs to be done.”
The general election is scheduled for Nov. 3.
