{"id":5361,"date":"2026-07-24T22:38:03","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T22:38:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5361"},"modified":"2026-07-24T22:38:03","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T22:38:03","slug":"endorsed-by-trump-steve-hilton-asks-presidents-critics-to-vote-for-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5361","title":{"rendered":"Endorsed by Trump, Steve Hilton asks president\u2019s critics to vote for him"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Steve Hilton, the Republican former Fox News host and gubernatorial candidate endorsed by President Donald Trump, is making a direct appeal to Californians who dislike the president: Vote for me anyway.<\/p>\n

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In a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans nearly 2-to-1, Hilton has virtually no path to defeating Democratic former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra without winning voters outside his party. A poll released last week showed Becerra leading 61% to 36%, including a 60% to 34% advantage among independents. On Wednesday, Hilton rolled out a newspaper ad aimed directly at those voters.<\/p>\n

The full-page newspaper ad, which appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, the Los Angeles Times and the Sacramento Bee, was titled \u201cCan you be anti-Trump but still vote for me?\u201d It offered voters a \u201csimple test,\u201d asking if they agreed with any of the following 10 statements, including \u201cI can\u2019t stand Trump, but I\u2019m not happy with the way things have been run in California lately,\u201d and \u201cI\u2019m a Democrat, but I want to send a message that we need a change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other issues Hilton used in the ad to persuade voters included wanting to fight climate change, but believing $6 a gallon gas is too high, and being in support of solar power, but struggling to afford the cost of electricity.<\/p>\n

The ad tells voters who agree with any of the statements that Hilton is their choice for governor.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I\u2019m the Republican,\u201d the ad reads. \u201cThe \u2018Fox News guy.\u2019 Endorsed by Trump. But this election is not about who you hate in Washington. It\u2019s about what you love here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matt Ciepielowski, Hilton\u2019s campaign manager, said the campaign wants \u201cto give voters a permission slip to look past the letter next to a candidate\u2019s name. This ad is an invitation to every reader who wants results, regardless of how they have voted in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

But in a state where the president is deeply unpopular, Melissa Michelson, a political science professor at Menlo College, said that Hilton is likely trying to appeal to no party preference or independent voters with his pitch, while also making sure he keeps his main voting base happy.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s clearly showing that he doesn\u2019t want to piss Trump off, that he knows he needs Trump\u2019s support and this is all meant to at least get Republicans excited enough to go out and vote so they\u2019ll vote\u201d in other races, she said. \u201cBut I don\u2019t think there\u2019s much chance of this moving many Democrats over to vote for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recent polling spells out the long odds Hilton faces.<\/p>\n

A poll last month by the Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies that surveyed voters shortly before the June primary election found Becerra favored over Hilton by more than 20 percentage points, 52% to 31%, with the Democrat leading among both men and women, all age groups and races, and in every region of the state except the North Coast and the Sierra Nevada. It found just 29% of California registered voters approve of Trump\u2019s job performance.<\/p>\n

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Hilton, who previously served as an adviser to former British Prime Minister David Cameron before relocating to the United States, clinched Trump\u2019s endorsement in April as the race to succeed Newsom narrowed. That boosted Hilton over Republican Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco to help him squeak past Democratic billionaire investor and philanthropist Tom Steyer as the runner-up behind Becerra for the November election.<\/p>\n

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In an April post on Truth Social, the president called Hilton a \u201ctruly fine man,\u201d while Hilton said it was a \u201cdeep honor\u201d to receive Trump\u2019s endorsement. The White House did not respond to a request for comment on Hilton\u2019s latest ad, and Trump hasn\u2019t posted anything about it.<\/p>\n

Upon the ad\u2019s release, Democrats were quick to criticize Hilton, accusing him of trying to rewrite his relationship to Trump.<\/p>\n

Rusty Hicks, the chair of the California Democratic Party, which has endorsed Becerra, said in a statement that \u201cSteve Hilton says he\u2019s \u2018honored\u2019 to have Donald Trump\u2019s endorsement, but he also knows it\u2019s a huge liability. For his campaign and for California. But his latest spin job routine isn\u2019t fooling anyone anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jonathan Underland, a spokesman for the Becerra campaign, also criticized the ad.<\/p>\n

\u201cSteve Hilton cheers on a president whose illegal war has sent gas prices soaring and illegal tariffs have cost California families more than $2,500 this year alone,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can\u2019t fix the affordability crisis while carrying water for the man causing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Ciepielowski, Hilton\u2019s campaign manager, said in response to the criticism that the candidate isn\u2019t trying to distance himself from the president.<\/p>\n

\u201cSteve has consistently said he is proud to have the President\u2019s endorsement and will continue to do so,\u201d he said. \u201cThe purpose of the ad is to reach the large number of persuadable voters who are dissatisfied with California\u2019s direction but did not vote for President Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Hilton has repeatedly said he is “honored” to receive Trump’s endorsement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5360,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nEndorsed by Trump, Steve Hilton asks president\u2019s critics to vote for him - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5361\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Endorsed by Trump, Steve Hilton asks president\u2019s critics to vote for him - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Hilton has repeatedly said he is "honored" to receive Trump's endorsement.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5361\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-24T22:38:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5361#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5361\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"Endorsed by Trump, Steve Hilton asks president\u2019s critics to vote for him\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-24T22:38:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5361\"},\"wordCount\":893,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5361#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/44b3fb0c2aaae64a4b8599e5c656ef50-scaled.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5361#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5361\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5361\",\"name\":\"Endorsed by Trump, Steve Hilton asks president\u2019s critics to vote for him - 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