Republican Steve Hilton is running for California governor in the Nov. 3 general election against Democrat Xavier Becerra.

Hilton advanced from the June 2 primary with approximately 25% of the vote, according to CapRadio/CalMatters. He has said he wants to cut taxes, reduce regulation and make housing more affordable for Californians.

Candidate information

  • Party: Republican
  • Office sought: California Governor
  • Born: Aug. 25, 1969, in London, England
  • Education: Bachelor of arts in philosophy, politics and economics, New College, Oxford
  • Residence: Moved to California's Silicon Valley in 2012
  • Citizenship: Became a U.S. citizen in May 2021; renounced British citizenship in 2025
  • Running mate: Former Democratic State Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero, announced as his lieutenant governor pick

Hilton's parents emigrated from Hungary to Britain during the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, initially claiming asylum, according to Wikipedia. He launched his gubernatorial campaign on April 21, 2025, in Huntington Beach.

Experience and public service

Hilton served as director of strategy for British Prime Minister David Cameron from 2010 to 2012. He hosted "The Next Revolution" on Fox News from 2017 to 2023.

He co-founded Crowdpac. He also co-founded Golden Together, a bipartisan research institute, in 2023. In academia, he has held positions as a visiting fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, an instructor at Stanford's Hasso Plattner Institute of Design and a scholar at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies.

On the issues

Taxes and budget: Hilton proposes eliminating California state income tax on the first $150,000 of income, according to his campaign website. In an Oct. 6 interview with Axios, he proposed an 8% flat state income tax rate on income above $150,000. He has called for cutting the state budget, which he said has grown 50% after inflation over the past decade.

Housing: The candidate says he would target what he calls the main causes of California's housing crisis: hidden housing taxes, anti-housing regulations and anti-housing lawsuits. He has argued that only about 5% of California's land is developed and that the state has space to build if bureaucratic obstacles are removed, according to his campaign website.

Energy: Expanding oil production and refinery capacity in California to reduce gas prices is central to Hilton's platform, according to an ABC7 interview. He argues California imports nearly 80% of the oil it uses despite having reserves, which he says increases costs and carbon emissions.

Criminal justice: Hilton says he would enforce the law on homelessness, open-air drug markets, shoplifting, illegal immigration and violent crime.

Education: On schools, Hilton says he would push for higher academic standards, expand charter schools and introduce school choice over time. He has called for restoring and expanding "parent trigger" laws that let parents initiate reforms at low-performing schools.

Endorsements

President Donald Trump and Vivek Ramaswamy have endorsed Hilton, according to Wikipedia. U.S. Reps. Tom McClintock and Kevin Kiley also back his campaign, according to State Affairs Pro. Organizational endorsers include the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, the California Congress of Republicans, the Bay Area GOP and the Santa Clara County GOP, according to BallotReady data. Those endorsements are claimed by the endorsing organizations.

Policy positions in this profile reflect the candidate's own statements and campaign materials. Santa Monica Wave did not interview the candidate for this article.