Steve Hilton remains firmly in the California governor race as ballot counting continues, with the Republican candidate still holding second place behind Xavier Becerra and ahead of Tom Steyer in the battle for the two November spots. California’s official results page says vote-by-mail, provisional and other ballots will continue to be processed during the canvass period, and the count will keep changing until certification.
That matters because Hilton is no longer just part of a convention story or a Trump endorsement headline. He is now one of the candidates shaping the likely November 3 contest to replace Gavin Newsom. SFGATE reported Sunday that Becerra had already secured one general-election place, while Hilton led the fight for second with 26.1% of the vote, or 1,763,414 votes, compared with Steyer’s 21.3%, or 1,439,865.
California’s count is still far from finished. SFGATE reported that about 3 million ballots remained unprocessed as of Saturday evening, with more than 6.3 million already counted. State law gives election officials until July 10 to certify the results.
Hilton has used that delay as a campaign issue in its own right. An ABC7 report said he called for faster ballot counting and urged Gov. Gavin Newsom to deploy more resources to speed up the process. That lets Hilton stay in the news while the count continues and keeps pressure on a system both parties say moves too slowly.
Steve Hilton Moves From Convention Politics to a Live California Governor Race
The shift matters because Hilton’s campaign is now moving beyond the earlier California GOP convention drama. In an earlier California GOP convention report, NewsBlaze looked at the wider slate the party endorsed even as it left the governor’s race unresolved. The count has now pushed Hilton into a more serious phase of the contest.
AP reported that Hilton has pitched himself as a disruptor in a state where voters are struggling with the cost of living and where Republicans have not won the governorship since Arnold Schwarzenegger left office in 2011. AP also noted that Hilton, a former Fox News host and former adviser to British Conservative leader David Cameron, moved to California in 2012 and became a U.S. citizen in 2021.
His message has stayed consistent. On his official campaign site, Hilton says California once stood for opportunity but now suffers from high housing costs, the worst business climate in America, high gas and electricity prices, regular power outages, and almost a million people without clean drinking water. He says he wants to “make California Golden Again” by ending one-party rule, lowering taxes, restoring the dream of single-family home ownership, and lifting school standards.
AP said Hilton has also promised to lower prices on gas and housing, reduce income taxes, create a loan program for first-time homebuyers, and freeze in-state tuition at public colleges. That gives him a policy frame broader than simple party identity, and one aimed at Californians who feel priced out of the state’s old promise.
Those themes land in a state already fighting over spending, deficits and priorities, with Republicans also pushing back on California’s fiscal direction in debates over California budget pressures.
Trump Endorsement Helped in The Primary, but November Is a Different Test
Hilton’s rise has come with a built-in complication. AP reported that President Donald Trump’s endorsement likely helped Hilton consolidate Republican support in the primary, but could become a liability in a Democratic-heavy state in November. Hilton has responded by stressing practical gains a Republican governor could make with a friendly White House, especially on gas prices, spending and taxes.
That makes the next phase of the campaign more interesting than the first. Hilton no longer needs only to prove he can lead the Republican lane. He now needs to show he can stay ahead of Steyer in the count and then make a broader case to Californians in the general election. Reuters reported on election night that Hilton and Becerra were leading the field and that California’s open primary system would send the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, into the November 3 contest.
SFGATE’s latest count suggests Hilton is still on that path. The remaining ballots could still shift margins, but no other candidate is close to the top three, with Chad Bianco and Katie Porter trailing well behind.
A Longer California Governor Race Begins If Hilton Holds Second
If Hilton holds second place, the race changes again. Instead of fighting mainly for Republican recognition, he would enter a long statewide contest against a veteran Democrat in Becerra. AP said Hilton believes Californians are ready to judge Democrats on the state’s record rather than on party labels alone.
That is the real significance of the continuing count. It is not just delaying a result. It is determining whether Hilton’s message on affordability, housing, taxes, energy and one-party rule gets a full statewide test through November 3. For now, he remains in position to keep his California governor race alive.
