President Donald Trump has officially endorsed conservative commentator Steve Hilton in the race for California governor, a move that lands just ahead of the California Republican Party’s annual convention this Sunday in San Diego. The endorsement directly tests the influence of the party’s base against the established support that Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco has built among GOP insiders. California Republican Party chairwoman Corrin Rankin noted that this kind of endorsement can rally the base and generate real enthusiasm for a candidate.
In his statement, as first highlighted by Fox News, Trump claimed that California had gone to hell and that Hilton was the person to turn it around, promising to help him do so from the White House. Hilton’s background is notable: he served as a top adviser to former British Prime Minister David Cameron roughly a decade and a half ago before moving to the United States and becoming an American citizen in 2021.
Sheriff Bianco, a loyal Trump supporter with deep ties within the party, pushed back in a video posted to social media. He argued that politicians and insiders from Sacramento to Washington had spent too long trying to pick leaders for the voters, calling the process a coronation rather than an election and insisting the choice belongs to the people.
Trump’s pick could actually hurt Republican chances of an all-GOP runoff
California uses a top-two primary system where the two highest vote-getters, regardless of party, advance to the general election in November. With eight Democrats and two Republicans in the field, there has been significant speculation about whether Republicans could consolidate enough support to shut out Democratic candidates entirely. Rob Pyers of the California Target Book suggested on social media that Trump’s endorsement might undermine that possibility, with the theory being that a surge for Hilton could simultaneously sink Bianco’s numbers, leaving neither with enough momentum to crowd out Democratic rivals.
Hilton himself dismissed the all-Republican runoff scenario during an appearance on Fox Business, calling it a fantasy. He argued that the Democratic machine in California was never going to hand the state to two Republicans, and that his candidacy ensures there is at least one Republican in the top two to offer voters a clear alternative. The primary is set for June 2, with the field also including former US Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and former representative Katie Porter, amid a broader political climate where Democrats have been pushing back hard on Trump’s agenda at the federal level.
No Republican has won a statewide election in California since Arnold Schwarzenegger’s re-election in 2006. Democratic leaders have expressed concern about their crowded field, with some calling on candidates without a viable path to exit the race and avoid splitting the vote, though most have stayed in. Trump’s approval rating in California currently sits in the 30s, a figure that could complicate Hilton’s general election prospects even if he clears the primary. The endorsement arrives as Trump has been taking increasingly assertive positions on multiple fronts, with California now added to the list of races where he is staking his influence directly.
The convention on Sunday will be the first real test of whether the endorsement moves delegates, where a candidate needs 60% of the vote to secure the party’s official backing.
Published: Apr 11, 2026 07:00 am