Working on the VIP post this morning about the continuous problem at the Southern California border, I ran across a Steve Hilton video addressing it, and it made me wonder how his campaign was going. I have to be honest and say I hadn't paid much attention to it lately.

Like the savvy guy he is, he is firing on all cylinders, and it is not hurting his case in any way, shape, or form that Xavier Becerra, his Democratic opponent, is confirming his reputation for denseness and being a bit of a dolt.

For instance, Becerra's in hot water with Latino restaurant owners for recent comments where he told a gathering that one doesn't get 'real tacos' from guys who've been making them in the same building for thirty years. The best tacos, said the mah-roon who wants to be California's next governor, are from the little stand down the street.

The one that pays no property taxes, no income taxes, and no employee wages or taxes.

Yeah, says the Democrat - ditch the long-term contributing member of society, that brick-and-mortar business owner, for the illegal alien vendor on the corner.

Hilton ate him for lunch.

— Steve Hilton For Governor (@TeamSteveHilton) July 24, 2026

This guy, running for governor showing exactly whose side he’s on as small businesses drown in red tape and sky-high costs.  Californians are done with leaders who talk “real food” while crushing the people who actually follow the rules.

And then he teamed up with Charlie Curran, who did those marvelous AI ads for Spencer Pratt that went so viral, and released his first campaign ad.

It's a scream.

— Jay Costa (@JayCostaUSA) July 23, 2026

...As head of HHS, Mr. Becerra prioritized SPEED over DECENCY when dealing with the Migrant "Crisis" that the Biden Administration caused.

With NO Border enforcement, MILLIONS of children came with their parents trying to flood our country, many of them being USED, ABUSED, and WORSE. AWFUL.

Mr. Becerra's INCOMPETENCE allowed MILLIONS of children to be LOST.

Is this the leadership California Needs?

In reality, if it weren't Mr. Becerra, it would be some other INCOMPETENT Communist that the Democratic MACHINE of California runs and controls.

I think the Great people of CA have had ENOUGH and want to take their Beautiful State BACK!

GO Hilton GO

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

But it actually wasn't for the Hilton ad team, because another Gladiator-inspired barnburner followed shortly thereafter.

ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?

Steve Hilton puts out devastating ad exposing communist California’s mindless, Godless leftist machine! https://t.co/tfIJvVdv05

— The Chris Salcedo Show (@CSalcedoShow) July 24, 2026

And Gavin Newsom, who all this time I've dubbed 'Randall Flagg Lite,' plays his AI role to perfection.

The oleaginous Newsom was born to be a villain and should have those lines down pat.

Hilton's not letting the flash do all the talking, either, as well you might imagine. The former talk show host is perfectly capable of keeping an unending stream of patter, criticism, and constructive ideas raining down on Democrats, to the point where a candidate like the plodding Becerra is going to look even more helpless and befuddled.

Witness this terrific answer from the primary debate back in May. He handled a truly sticky question so deftly.

— Overton (@overton_news) May 6, 2026

He's asking Californians for their input, for what matters most to them.

— Steve Hilton (@SteveHiltonx) July 24, 2026

He's skewering Becerra for grading Newsom on the (D) curve - the 'A' grade Becerra gave him as DHS secretary for handling California's homelessness problem.

Where'd those billions go again?

— Steve Hilton (@SteveHiltonx) July 24, 2026

Maybe Hilton will be able to find them.

His shorter video ads are begging oil companies not to leave until the election. He says he's written to the CEOs' of the major oil companies still operating in the state and asked them, 'Please, give me eight months.' 

It's a good pitch.

IT ALL MAKES SENSE UNLESS YOU'RE A CRAZY CLIMATE DEMOCRAT

Steve Hilton for Governor! Save the date and help us save California.
"The author was paid by Steve Hilton for Governor 2026 committee ID number 1480425 in connection with this posting" pic.twitter.com/UfddJbgjTw

— NATIVE_AMERICAN_BITCH_FROM_THA_SLAPAHOE_TRIBE 𖧶🪓 (@TRUMPGIRL_STL) July 24, 2026

He's appealing to California consumers, too. And to their wallets.

— M.A. Rothman (@MichaelARothman) July 24, 2026

...California gubernatorial candidate 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐇𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐨𝐧 (@SteveHiltonx) laid out the actual math Sacramento doesn't want voters to do. “𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 $2 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘐𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯.”

His sharpest line cuts through the branding entirely: “𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘺. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨.” Pressed on what these regulations actually accomplish for the planet, Hilton's answer is blunt — “𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴”. California accounts for roughly 𝟏% of global CO2 emissions (California Air Resources Board, EPA data); its cap-and-trade and low-carbon fuel standard regimes move that number by a rounding error while adding real dollars at the pump for actual families.

Hilton, a former Fox News host now running to unseat California's Democrat-controlled statehouse, is campaigning on a simple contrast: “𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐'𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘰𝘳, 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 $3 𝘨𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘧 𝘵𝘰 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴.” California's average gas price has run persistently near the highest in the nation for years running (EIA state gasoline price data) — a self-inflicted tax that funds nothing but the appearance of virtue.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬.

I GET IT. MAYBE YOU HATE TRUMP, MAGA, WHATEVER. BUT LIFE HERE HAS BECOME IMPOSSIBLE FOR ANYONE WHO ISN'T ALREADY RICH

— SaltDisney (@SaltDisney2) July 22, 2026

Hilton is running far behind Becerra at the moment in both numbers and cash, hence the early appeal to Trump haters who also hate what has happened to their once beautiful state. 

Republican gubernatorial nominee Steve Hilton is making an early play for one of the toughest voter blocks for any California Republican: voters who don't like President Donald Trump.

...The strategy reflects the political reality facing Hilton in a state dominated by Democrats. Where Trump's endorsement may energize Republican voters, it presents a challenge with the independents and moderate Democrats Hilton would need to assemble a competitive statewide coalition.

..."For Steve Hilton to have any chance, he would have to break into a lot of those independent voters and then also more moderate, less partisan Democratic voters," Mitchell said.

Whether that message gains traction could help determine, not just the size of Becerra's advantage, but the shape of the electorate heading into November. Mitchell said a successful effort could dampen some anti-Trump sentiment among swing voters while increasing Republican enthusiasm.

"If he is extremely effective at doing this, he might have an ability to deflate some of the anti-Trump fervor from the Democratic side and do something to increase Republican engagement, maybe soften the anti-Republican stance of a lot of more moderate Democrats," Mitchell said.

...Whether that message gains traction could help determine, not just the size of Becerra's advantage, but the shape of the electorate heading into November. Mitchell said a successful effort could dampen some anti-Trump sentiment among swing voters while increasing Republican enthusiasm.

"If he is extremely effective at doing this, he might have an ability to deflate some of the anti-Trump fervor from the Democratic side and do something to increase Republican engagement, maybe soften the anti-Republican stance of a lot of more moderate Democrats," Mitchell said.

...A Public Policy Institute of California poll released last week found Becerra leading Hilton 61% to 36%.

The financial picture is similarly lopsided. Campaign finance reports show that since the June primary, Becerra has raised more than $6 million, while Hilton has raised around $812,000.

With those critical independents, it's tight, which means Hilton doesn't have nearly the lead he needs to beat the Democratic machine yet, but he is carrying them so far.

We have to realize that 35% of California voters are devoted blue retards so it’s still going to be very hard. We need all normal minded people to VOTE! And we need to get federal investigations started NOW to have a chance 🇺🇸🏆

— Fred Schmidt (@FredSCAlum) July 19, 2026

Hilton has his work cut out for him, but, to his credit, he surely is putting in the work.

And stranger things have happened.

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