Responsibility also comes with control, and Democrats’ record in California has soured the electorate, Steve Hilton, a former Fox News commentator, told American Family Radio.
Hilton (pictured below) and Chad Bianco, the sheriff of Riverside County, are both Republicans and are leading the most recent polling in a wide-open field to replace the term-limited governor, Gavin Newsom.
“People think of California as this deep-blue state, but the fact that it's a deep blue state is exactly the reason that I think we're going to flip it red this year," Hilton said. "Because we've had 16 years of one-party rule in California, and look at the results. It's a total disaster on every front."
According to an Emerson College poll in December, Bianco leads at 13 percent followed by Hilton and Democrat Rep. Eric Swalwell at 12 percent.
Democrat Katie Porter, a former congresswoman, is next at 11 percent.
A whopping 31 percent said they are undecided.
A poll by Virginia-based Civic Lens Research surveyed 400 likely California voters found Hilton at 18%, Bianco at 14% and Swalwell at 12%.
The reason a Republican could come out on top is due in part to the state’s electoral process. Democrats, not surprisingly, have flooded the field.
Primary system helps GOP candidates
Despite a long list of problems, it's still an uphill climb for either Hilton or Bianco to win, according to CalMatters.org, a nonprofit news outlet in the state.
“The possibility of a Republican governor, although very scant, stems from the state’s top-two primary election system. All candidates, regardless of party, will appear on the same June 2 primary election ballot, and the two with the highest percentages of the vote — no matter how small those shares may be — will face each other in the November election,” CalMatters’ Dan Walters wrote.
“With upwards of a dozen Democrats now running and the possibility of others, it’s possible the two Republicans in the mix so far -- Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and former television commentator Steve Hilton -- could theoretically finish one and two with perhaps as few as 10-15% of the votes each.”
The primary is June 2.
Hilton announced his candidacy last April.
Born in the United Kingdom to Hungarian parents who fled communism, Hilton moved to California in 2012, became a U.S. citizen, and has since been involved in policy and education, including teaching at Stanford University. He founded the policy organization Golden Together, aimed at addressing homelessness and reviving economic opportunity in California.
He is best known for hosting The Next Revolution on Fox News and for his work as a senior adviser to former British Prime Minister David Cameron.
Bianco has been sheriff since 2019 after being first elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2022 with about 60% of the vote.
A 30-year law enforcement veteran, Bianco leads a department with over 3,600 employees and oversees five jails, twelve patrol stations, and a $1 billion budget.
He’s an outspoken supporter of President Donlald Trump and his policies.
Newsom has left 'utter calamity'
When people across the country look at California, Hilton told show host Jenna Ellis, they see the "visible signs of utter calamity" from Newsom and what Hilton called a "regime of cronies and corrupt bureaucrats" who have stolen money meant to end homelessness.
On Newsom’s watch, Hilton argued, California leads the nation in many categories, none of them good.
After the current governor oversaw a $20 billion investment to decrease homelessness, the number of homeless Californians has jumped 30 percent.
The promise of a high-speed rail system is now years behind schedule with ballooning costs in the tens of billions. The estimated cost to taxpayers is now $215 million per mile for a plan that dates back to 2008.
California ties Louisiana for the highest poverty rate. It also has the highest unemployment rate.
Another fact is Californians are voting with their feet. The country's most populous state lost two congressional seats after the 2020 census due to a drop in population.
The annual U-Haul survey, which shows Texas and Florida are growing the fastest, also shows California ranks at the top for U-Haul trucks that are rented there and leave the state behind.
“If you look at the polling, not so much in the governor's race, but more broadly in terms of people's desire for change in California, it's a big majority that wants change, 60%, 65% saying the state's going in the wrong direction. That's our opportunity,” Hilton said.
The Trump Effect could help
Hilton said if he can duplicate Trump’s showing in California in the 2024 election, he would become governor of the state.
Kamala Harris won her home state with 58.38% of the vote. Trump, however, received more than six million votes and election maps showed huge gains in some deep-blue areas.
Voter turnout by Republicans is key, Hilton said, and should be helped by the fact that Voter ID, a ballot initiative, will also be decided in November.
“The president got, 6.1 million, and that would be more than enough to elect me governor in a midterm year," Hilton said. "So, it's all about getting the turnout up, the Republican voters out to vote in a midterm year.”
