The candidate has pledged to eliminate state income taxes for people under $100,000, improve business and education, and “make California golden again.”
Steve Hilton, a conservative author and contributor to Fox News, announced on April 22 that he was running to become California’s next governor.
“Now is the time to make California golden,” the British-born Republican said the many supporters gathered along the Huntington Beach coastline.
“Now is the time to end the year of Democrat failure. It’s time for a new future.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom is not entitled to run again after offering two terms.
During Tuesday’s rally, Hilton planned to rebuild California. This includes removing the state’s income tax for everyone under $100,000.
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He also said he will focus on restoring his “California Dream.”
“We’re going to make this the best place in America and start and run a business rather than the worst,” Hilton said.
He said everyone wants to end the bureaucracy, where everyone owns their homes and stands in the way of progress.
“That’s how we can rebuild that ladder of opportunity and restore our California dreams,” Hilton said. “We need to build movements. It’s gold, not blue, not red.”
On stage, Hilton signed a petition supporting California voter IDs, encouraging others in the crowd to do the same.
Political commentator Steve Hilton took part in the 2026 Governor race at a rally in Huntington Beach, California on April 22, 2025. Courtesy of Steve Hilton for the Governor
Hilton will join the crowded field of candidates for the 2026 election and replace Newsom.
California voters have not elected Republican governors since resigning as Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2011.
“What we’ve seen here in the Democratic Party’s rules for the past 15 years is an ideological experiment,” Hilton said.
Public speculation also focuses on whether former Vice President Kamala Harris, a Southern California resident, will take part in the race.
Unlike traditional primary elections, where each party selects candidates for a general election, primary California voters select the top two candidates regardless of the party’s affiliation.
Hilton was born in England, the son of Hungarian immigrants who fled to England to escape communism. His mother sold shoes, and his stepfather worked in construction. According to Hilton’s website, his father was the goalkeeper for Hungary’s national ice hockey team, and died when the candidate was young.
He said his early political memories belonged to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, a good friend of Ronald Reagan, when he served as president. Reagan was the governor of California before that. After attending Oxford University, Hilton began working for the Conservatives of England and Thatcher.
“She unleashed the spirit of British corporates,” Hilton said. “She inspired me.”
Hilton started several restaurants and later helped to elect Prime Minister David Cameron.
Hilton and his family moved to California in 2012.
Hilton taught at Stanford University and started Crowdpac.com, a technology startup, and wrote two books, “Califailure” and “Positive Populism.”
Several speakers approved the candidates Tuesday, including a celebrity chef and Huntington Beach City Councilman Andrew Grell, Huntington Beach Republican Sen. Tony Strickland and California Sen. Gloria Romero, who served as Democrats, but switched to Republican in 2024.
Former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, running for governor of Ohio, also supported Hilton.
