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Trump-backed Republican Steve Hilton expressed confidence Tuesday as California Republicans fight to avoid being shut out of the governor’s race under the state’s unique “jungle-primary” system.
Hilton is one of two main Republicans in the race, alongside Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.
After Hilton received President Donald Trump’s endorsement, his neck-and-neck position with Bianco became a lead, but as the election neared, concern arose that two Democrats may outdo he and the sheriff – leaving no Republican on the ballot,
“I’m very excited that it looks like we’re going to have a good night tonight,” Hilton said.
“I think the president’s endorsement has been a great honor. The vice president endorsed me this morning. What an incredible thing for someone who’s a new American citizen,” the former Fox News host – a native of Great Britain – added.
Hilton portended a good night regardless of Bianco’s decision to stay in the race.
“I think everyone in California understands we need change,” he said.
Steve Hilton, Republican candidate for governor in California, speaks during an affordability town hall at Hotel Zessa in Santa Ana on March 18, 2026. (Leonard Ortiz/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
Hilton said California Republicans – of which there are more numerically than any other state – are energized and that the early ballot returns depict such.
“I’m pretty confident that we are going to do fine one way or the other.”
The mood extended beyond the governor’s race. In Los Angeles, independent mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt spent Election Day courting voters in neighborhoods Republicans and independents increasingly see as receptive to change.
Pratt was spotted at the famed Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles, mingling with voters at the soul food establishment – and also seen in another clip hosting a cookout in a park in a majority-minority community.
With Gov. Gavin Newsom term-limited and Mayor Karen Bass under fire for her handling of crime, homelessness and the Palisades fires, Republicans and Pratt see an opportunity for marked change in California.
Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger – who like Hilton is an immigrant and Republican – was the last member of the Grand Old Party to hold court in Sacramento.