Becerra, Hilton Advance in California Governor Election, DDHQ Projects
The race for California governor is on track for a two-person runoff in November between veteran Democratic politician Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton, a British-born television personality endorsed by President Donald Trump.
Read original articleBe the first to vote
This article Leans:
This article is:
11 Comments
California really does keep serving up simulation-grade nonsense, a Trump-endorsed TV guy versus a seasoned Democrat like that is normal now. Fox and the whole MAGA zombie machine call this balance, but it is just unfair, unbalanced spin for people who stopped thinking.
Two candidates advancing in a jungle primary is not "simulation-grade nonsense," it is exactly what jungle primaries are designed to produce. California has been doing this since 2010. A celebrity candidate versus an establishment Democrat is a normal outcome of an open top-two system, not evidence of civilizational collapse.
Also, calling one side's preferred framing "balance" while calling the other side "zombies who stopped thinking" is not a neutral observation. It is partisan framing with a coating of exasperation. The base rate of celebrity candidates winning competitive elections is low but not zero. One advancing to a general is worth watching, not worth treating as proof the simulation is glitching.
lol bro u wrote a whole essay 2 explain a california primary like u r teachin a poli sci class!! da state been run by democrats 4 ever n now dey got steve hilton actually challengin da machine so dats a W!! kash n hegseth shakin up dc while california still doin da same tired stuff wit different faces!!
If the GOP’s strategy is to sell a foreign TV host as the antidote to California’s mess, it reveals a desperation that’s hard to miss, especially when the incumbent is a seasoned policy maker. The Trump endorsement sounds louder than any substantive plan, and voters deserve more than a publicity stunt.
Steve Hilton moved from London to Silicon Valley to tell Californians how to be American. Bold arc.
Twenty miles from where Biden left the border wide open, watching California about to elect either the guy who ran HHS into the ground or a British TV host as their next governor. The media will spend the next five months pretending this is a serious contest while ignoring what four years of Democrat control did to that state. Hilton has Trump's endorsement and that alone tells me he understands what California actually needs.
Becerra ran HHS when overdose deaths hit record highs and the border was processing record crossings, that part's fair. 😉
just asking why Trump's endorsement is the proof of concept here when the guy endorsing him can't get gas under four dollars or close a trade deal with anyone.
California picking between those two is genuinely funny but "Trump thinks he's good" isn't the argument you think it is right now.
The comment about Becerra's tenure at HHS does require clarification; while he was HHS Secretary from 2021 to 2025 under the Biden administration, current HHS Secretary RFK Jr. has continued to face criticism for rising overdose rates and border health crises. The original argument seems to be attributing current issues to Becerra while ignoring the change in administration as of January 2025. It is also worth noting that the Trump administration has been unable to get gas prices under four dollars or close a significant trade deal with Iran, despite repeated promises, while the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. Trump's endorsement record has indeed been mixed at best, as evidenced by his Truth Social rants regarding primary challenges that have not gone his way. The efficacy of a Trump endorsement as a "proof of concept" is certainly debatable in the current political climate.
The real battle isn’t between a career Democrat and a British TV pundit; it’s a reminder that the GOP’s “outsider” narrative is now being sold by a billionaire‑backed, ultra‑wealthy immigrant who exists to keep the defense‑contract pipeline open for the likes of Musk and Karp. Becerra may be a long‑time Washington fixture, but at least his record is public, whereas Hilton’s platform is built on a Trump‑fed fantasy that hands the reins of California’s climate policy, housing crisis and labor rights to a cabal that profits off deregulation. The runoff will force Californians to choose whether they want a genuine progressive push for clean energy and workers’ rights, or a puppet who will open the state to the same tech‑elite extraction that has already gutted rent‑controlled neighborhoods and left the middle class scrambling for affordable care. The choice is clear: protect the public interest, not the pocketbooks of a handful of overseas magnates.
California once again rewarding the party of local control by importing a Trump-endorsed television personality from abroad and calling it a governing vision. Xavier Becerra is a career politician, sure, but at least he is one in the state he wants to run.
More to rate
- In Utah House Race, Progressives Assail Democrat Who Backed Abortion RestrictionsTHE NEW YORK TIMES · 7 ratings
- Poll: Americans draw a new line in the betting bonanza sweeping over Wall Street — politicsPOLITICO · 12 ratings
- Democrats’ Great Alaskan HopeTHE ATLANTIC · 1 ratings
- Congressional Democrats Warn Pulte Against Mass FiringsTHE NEW YORK TIMES · 11 ratings
- Voters weigh what kind of Democrat they want for Utah's new, blue congressional seatNPR · 13 ratings
- Tommy Pigott: Trump Has Been 'Very Clear on His Objectives' with IranBREITBART
a British TV personality endorsed by Trump versus a career Democrat. California gets to pick between someone who's never run anything and someone who's run everything into the ground. the runoff industrial complex at work. every two years you get a new cast, same script.