California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton warned former Vice President Kamala Harris, who is rumored to be considering a run for the Golden State’s governor’s mansion, to think twice before entering the race while detailing that his goal is to end the “one-party rule” that the Democratic Party has in the state.
The former Fox News host announced his campaign in California’s 2026 gubernatorial election on Monday, making him one of two Republican candidates to throw a hat into the ring, the other GOP candidate being Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco. In detailing his decision to run, Hilton suggested that California could not endure “another 15 years of this one-party rule” present within the state, and that it is “now or never” to stop it.
“We got the highest property rain, the highest unemployment, highest taxes, worst business climate, it’s got to change,” Hilton explained on Fox News’s The Faulkner Focus. “So day one we’ve got to attack that bureaucracy, the bloat, the regulations, the taxes that are making it impossible to do anything in California, to build homes, to run a business, to do anything! That’s what has been going on, and we’ve to stop it in its tracks. That’s going to be the first day priority.”
Hilton also detailed how the theme of his 2026 gubernatorial campaign is to “make California golden again,” a nod to President Donald Trump’s iconic “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan. He continued by stating that his goals for the state include “great jobs, great homes, great kids.”
The California gubernatorial candidate also expressed a desire to enforce “common sense” with the state’s homeless population, suggesting the “Democrat machine in California” does not have much common sense. Hilton pointed to how the state is wasting “billions” on taxpayer money by spending it on the homeless population, which has grown due to the state failing to “confront the reality” that most homeless people suffer from mental health or addiction, and that these people should get the proper help.
Hilton held his first campaign event on Tuesday, during which he detailed the “rebel spirit” of California and how the one-party rule within the state is seeking to “crush” it. He also took a shot against Kamala Harris potentially running for governor, telling the former vice president that governing California is “not some consolation prize” for someone who lost the presidential election.
“So bring it, Kamala,” Hilton stated. “If you decide to run for governor, we will beat you again.”
Dear Kamala,
Leading the greatest state in the greatest nation on earth is NOT a consolation prize for a machine politician and a failed candidate like yourself.
We will beat you again. pic.twitter.com/kqcJ8M3rha
— Steve Hilton For Governor (@SteveHiltonShow) April 22, 2025
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Harris has been speculated to launch a 2026 gubernatorial run for California following her time as vice president, though former Meet the Press anchor Chris Todd has suggested this election would be “a tough place for her to be,” and that “an outsider Democrat” may have a better chance.
Confirmed Democratic candidates in next year’s election include former Rep. Katie Porter, former State Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins, and Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis.
