Hilton pitches anti-Trump voters in California governor race

Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton launched his general election campaign in California on Wednesday, targeting voters who oppose President Donald Trump but are dissatisfied with the state's Democratic leadership. Hilton, endorsed by Trump, framed his campaign as a solution to California's high cost of living and governance issues, promising to lower gas prices to $3 per gallon, cut utility bills in half, and eliminate state income taxes on the first $150,000 in earnings. He blamed Democrats for the state's challenges, including homelessness and low student test scores, calling them a "rotten regime that has abandoned the working class." In a full-page ad in major California newspapers, Hilton asked voters, "Can you be anti-Trump and still vote for me?" He argued that his campaign focuses on state-level issues rather than national politics. Hilton, a British-born conservative commentator and former Fox News host, faces an uphill battle in the Democratic stronghold, where Republicans are outnumbered nearly 2-to-1 by Democratic voters. The last GOP candidate to win a statewide election in California was in 2006.