Steve Hilton, the British political operative turned Fox News personality, has secured a spot in November's California gubernatorial general election after finishing second in the state's nonpartisan primary on June 2. He will face Democrat Xavier Becerra, who leads the race after consolidating support among Democratic voters.
Hilton's advance marks a striking achievement for a recent arrival to American politics. The former Conservative Party strategist immigrated to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2012 and became a U.S. citizen in 2021, securing his spot in the race largely on the back of a high-profile endorsement from Donald Trump.
Early returns on primary night showed Hilton leading the field, prompting Trump to declare victory prematurely. That led to accusations of election rigging from the president when Becerra overtook Hilton on June 5 as mail-in ballots were counted. Hilton nonetheless finished ahead of billionaire hedge fund investor Tom Steyer, who ran as a progressive candidate.
Hilton responded to the primary outcome by acting as though he had won, saying "Change is coming, and the campaign for change starts today" without explicitly claiming victory.
His political journey from London to California has startled those who knew him during his tenure as director of strategy under Prime Minister David Cameron. In UK political circles, Hilton earned the nickname "pint-sized Rasputin" for his unorthodox approach and willingness to champion unconventional policy ideas. He became famous, and sometimes infamous, for catchy political slogans, including Cameron's "hug a hoodie" campaign. He is now pitching himself to California voters with the slogan "Californfordable."
During his years in Downing Street, Hilton cultivated a reputation for walking around offices in socks and pushing civil servants to implement offbeat schemes. His management style was so distinctive that he was parodied in the British political satire series The Thick of It, which later inspired the U.S. show Veep.
The road to victory in November presents formidable obstacles. California has backed Democratic candidates with roughly 60 percent of the vote in each of the last three gubernatorial races. Democrats hold overwhelming control of state government and enjoy a nearly two-to-one registration advantage. Trump is broadly unpopular across the state, adding to the challenge for a candidate running with his backing.
Hilton's campaign strategy leans heavily on positioning himself as embodying the California dream. His website features images of him at the beach, at a Trump rally in Coachella where the current president praised him, and holding an In-N-Out burger. That effort suffered a public relations setback when social media users mocked him for calling a hard-shell tortilla in a video a "street taco," a term traditionally reserved for tacos made with soft corn tortillas.
Hilton describes himself as pragmatic rather than ideological and points to his experience in Cameron's coalition government as evidence of his ability to work across political lines. He frames alignment with Trump as an asset that could help attract federal resources and repair the relationship between Sacramento and Washington after more than a year of public conflict between the Trump administration and California Governor Gavin Newsom.
"My job will be to deliver pretty pragmatic things, all focused on making your life easier and better," Hilton told the Guardian last month.
Author James Rodriguez: "A Fox personality and recent British import running for governor of the nation's most populous state with Trump's endorsement in a deep-blue stronghold sounds like a punchline, but Hilton got here by finishing second in a real primary."
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