By Jaz McKay
Steve Hilton, is a 55-year-old British-born Republican, running for California governor in the 2026 race to replace the termed-out Gavin Newsom. Hilton moved to California in 2012 with his wife, Rachel Whetstone, a tech PR executive whoβs worked at Google, Uber, Facebook, and Netflix. They live in Atherton, in the Silicon Valley with their two kids. He became a U.S. citizen in 2021, making him eligible to run.
Steve Hiltonβs background is a powerhouse mix: he graduated from Oxford, served as a senior adviser to former UK Prime Minister David Cameron from 2010 to 2012, and helped modernize the British Conservative Party with a sharp focus on free-market principles. Heβs also a former Fox News host, leading The Next Revolution from 2017 to 2023, where he pushed populist ideas and gave props to Trump, though now heβs branding himself as a βpositive populist.β Hilton co-founded Crowdpac, a nonpartisan political fundraising platform, taught at Stanford, and wrote Califailure: Reversing the Ruin of Americaβs Worst-Run State, a book tearing into Californiaβs Democrat leadership for sky-high taxes, rampant homelessness, and crimeβcalling it the death of the βCalifornia Dream.β
Now, lets examine seven reasons why Steve Hilton is the best choice for California governor:
- Heβs Not a Career PoliticianβHeβs a Doer: Unlike the Sacramento swamp creatures whoβve been running California into the ground, Hiltonβs a Silicon Valley entrepreneur who co-founded Crowdpac and advised a world leader. Heβs not here for a lifelong political gig; heβs here to fix things and move on, which is exactly what this state needs after 15 years of Democratic one-party rule.
- Heβll Slash Regulations and Boost Business: Hilton gets that Californiaβs 420,000 regulations are choking small businesses. He wants to cut red tape and lower taxes across the boardβnot just for Hollywood elites, but for everyone. While Dems keep passing 1,200 new bills a year to micromanage your life, Hiltonβs plan will let businesses breathe and create jobs.
- He Prioritizes Public Safety Over Ideology: Hiltonβs not afraid to say what weβre all thinking: laws need to be enforced. Heβll back law enforcement to tackle homelessness, open-air drug markets, shoplifting, and violent crime, something the leftβs too busy coddling criminals to do. His stance on overturning laws that block mandatory treatment for mental health and addiction issues is a no-nonsense fix for the streets.
- Heβs Got a Plan for Education That Puts Parents First: Hiltonβs education platform is a breath of fresh airβgrading schools and teachers, rewarding the good ones, and firing the bad ones. Heβll expand charter schools, introduce school choice, and protect parentsβ rights in the system. The Demsβ obsession with woke curricula? Hiltonβs tossing that out for real learning.
- He Understands Working Peopleβs Struggles: As a guy whoβs lived the California Dream since moving here in 2012, Hilton gets how hard it is for working families to afford housing, gas, and electricityβthe highest in the nation, thanks to Democratic mismanagement. His βGolden Againβ vision focuses on great jobs, homes, and kids, not ivory-tower nonsense.
- Heβs Got Big-Name Backing Without Being a Sellout: Vivek Ramaswamy, a Trump ally running for Ohio governor, endorsed Hilton, calling him βAmerican excellence.β Heavyweights like Rep. Kevin Kiley, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, and Charlie Kirk also support him. Yet Hiltonβs not beholden to anyoneβheβs running a βnon-partisanβ campaign focused on practical solutions, not party loyalty.
- Heβs a Fresh Outsider with Global Experience: Hiltonβs not just another Sacramento insider recycling the same failed ideas. Born to Hungarian immigrants who fled communism, he modernized Britainβs Conservative Party and now wants to do the same for California. While Kamala Harris looms as a potential opponent, obsessing over being the βfirst Black woman governor,β Hiltonβs focused on results, not identity politics. Heβs ready to take her on and win.
Hiltonβs campaign is considered a long shot in deep-blue California, where no Republican has won statewide since Schwarzenegger in 2006, but his outsider status, practical policies, and Trump-era momentum, 10 counties flipped red in 2024, give him a Real Shot to shake things up. The establishmentβs quaking, and they should be!
