HUNTINGTON BEACH, California — Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton whipped a standing-room-only election-night crowd into a frenzy when he revealed the lining of his suit jacket, emblazoned with the American flag on one side and the California flag on the other.
Hilton, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, took the stage shortly after 10 p.m. as early returns showed him leading in the governor’s race. Democrat Xavier Becerra also had a strong showing, while billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer seemed to be in third place.
Surrounded by yellow-and-blue balloons and signs reading “Change is coming!,” Hilton thanked voters for propelling his first political campaign. Speaking to supporters gathered at the Hilton hotel in Huntington Beach, Hilton declared that “the fight really starts tomorrow.”
“As someone who is a new American citizen, so proud to be an American, so proud to be a Californian, what an incredible honor,” he said. “The first time I have run for office, over a million people and rising have voted for me to take this incredible state in a new direction.”
Hilton also pledged to represent Californians regardless of whether they supported his candidacy.
“I am here for you,” he told the cheering crowd. “For every single one of you because it’s the greatest honor of my life to stand before you … more than one million Californians have put their faith in me.”
Drawing parallels to Spencer Pratt’s strong showing in the Los Angeles mayoral race, Hilton argued that voters were embracing political outsiders over career politicians and sending a message to the state’s governing establishment. Pratt, like Hilton, has never run for public office.
Hilton was one of 61 candidates competing in the governor’s race to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), who is term-limited and widely expected to launch a 2028 presidential bid.
California uses an all-party primary system. If no candidate clears 50%, the top two finishers, regardless of party, advance to a Nov. 3 runoff. It had been a nightmare scenario for Democrats in the deep-blue state, who feared for weeks that a fractured field could allow two Republicans, Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, to claim both spots. Democrats make up nearly 45% of registered voters, while Republicans are just over 25%, effectively relegating the GOP to third-party status in a state where independents make up about 30% of the electorate.
California’s last Republican governor was Arnold Schwarzenegger, who left office in 2011. Hilton said it was Schwarzenegger who told him to get the double-flagged jacket.
Hilton, whose campaign has focused heavily on affordability, has repeatedly said that California’s problems stem from Newsom and Democratic supermajorities in Sacramento. He said his campaign’s success is evidence that voters are clamoring for something different. And despite constantly bashing Newsom, he insisted it’s nothing personal.
“We actually have friends in common,” he told the Washington Examiner. “I’ve actually known him for years. You can have a personal relationship with someone without necessarily agreeing with what they do as a politician, and that’s how I see Gavin Newsom. It’s not personal; I just think he’s done a terrible job, and we need change.”
While the results of the primary race could take days or weeks to finalize, Becerra told supporters at his election watch party in downtown Los Angeles that he believed he would be one of the two candidates advancing.
“Like my parents, I never gave up … and thankfully neither did you,” he said. “While I take nothing for granted, [and] there are lots of ballots left to be counted, it appears that we are on track to advance to November.”
The 68-year-old Sacramento resident has brought decades of public service experience to the race. His resume includes a stint in the California Assembly, 24 years representing Los Angeles in Congress, serving as the state’s attorney general, and holding a Cabinet role in the Biden administration.
“I am not learning this job on Day One,” Becerra said at a packed Sunday rally in Long Beach. “I have done this job. …On housing, on my first day as governor, I will declare California’s housing shortage a state of emergency. Right now, there are nearly 40,000 affordable housing units sitting shovel-ready to be built. Right now, they’re just waiting for funding.”
Steyer, a Democrat who has poured millions of dollars into the race, told his supporters that the race wasn’t over and urged them to remain patient as the statewide vote is counted.
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Other top candidates in the race included Republican Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and Democrats Katie Porter, a former congresswoman, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
Porter, Mahan, and Villaraigosa conceded the contest Tuesday night.