President Donald Trump has waded into the race for California governor, backing Republican candidate Steve Hilton.
The president, in a Truth Social post late Sunday night, April 5, said Hilton has his “complete and total endorsement” in a gubernatorial contest that has seen two Republican candidates polling toward the top of a crowded field.
“I have known and respected Steve Hilton, who is running for Governor of California, for many years,” Trump’s post said.
Trump called the former Fox News host “a truly fine man” before lambasting California under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s leadership, pointing to high taxes and crime rates.
“Steve can turn it around, before it is too late, and, as President, I will help him to do so,” Trump wrote. “With Federal help, and a Great Governor, like Steve Hilton, California can be better than ever before.”
Hilton, like several of the other candidates in the race, has leaned into affordability issues while holding town halls around the state leading up to the primary election. He also recently started going on the offensive, attacking fellow Republican, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a strategy meant to boost Hilton in the upcoming election.
Trump’s backing comes about a month before ballots are mailed to registered voters in California, with Election Day on June 2.
In a race where the top two vote-getters will advance to the general, Democrats have not yet seen a clear frontrunner among the several candidates vying for the office under their party’s banner, and there is speculation that Hilton and Bianco could both advance through the primary.
In all, 62 people have qualified for the ballot in the race for California governor, including former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, former Rep. Katie Porter, billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer, Rep. Eric Swalwell, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former state Controller Betty Yee on the Democratic side.
Hilton led a recent UC Berkley Institute of Governmental Studies poll of likely voters, with 17% of support among those surveyed online in mid-March, followed by Bianco at 16%. Swalwell and Porter both had 13% each, Steyer clocked in at 10% and Becerra at 5%.
Nearly 45% of registered voters in California are Democrats, while only 25% are Republicans and 23% are no party preference.
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