08-05-2025
GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton hits it off with Bakersfield residents
Bakersfield residents were pleased with — though still undecided — as Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton stopped by on his newly-minted campaign.
A former Fox News host and adviser to U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, Steve Hilton spoke to more than 100 local residents Wednesday night in a hot and packed room at Hodel's Country Dining.
"Working people have been hammered to the bone by these extreme forces from the Democrats, and they can barely survive," Hilton told the crowd as they nodded in agreement.
"It's outrageous what they've done in what they brag about being the biggest economy in the world," he said.
Hilton, a businessman and former television host, first moved to California in 2012 after serving as Cameron's senior adviser and working for the U.K. Conservative Party. He became as U.S. citizen in 2021.
Hilton excoriated Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic rule of California, blaming an overly burdensome and ideologically driven bureaucracy for driving businesses away from the state.
"That's not what it's about for them," Hilton said of state environmental policies. "It's about an ideology of telling everyone how to live and what to do and what car to drive and all that kind of stuff."
Attendees liked what they were hearing, with many of Hilton's replies earning enthusiastic applause.
Hilton's policy proposals include no taxes for those making less than $100,000 and a 7.5% flat tax for those making more than that amount.
The loss in state revenue would be made up largely by reductions to the state's bureaucracy, Hilton said.
Richard Haskew of Bakersfield called the event "wonderful."
"He's a good guy. And he made a lot of sense," Haskew said. "Just the way that he talks about California, we got to get it back."
But attendees also said they were keeping an open mind. With several other Republicans already running and more expected to join the race in the run-up to the 2026 election, locals said they hadn't settled on a candidate.
Hilton, who just declared his candidacy last month, faces an already packed field for governor, even among Republicans. He is one of several Republicans to have officially declared their candidacy, as have several prominent Democrats.
Several other prominent people, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, have expressed an interest in running for the office.
The last Republican governor of California was Arnold Schwarzenegger from 2006 to 2011, and no GOP politician holds statewide office.
Carol Arana said she was going to hear Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco speak soon, and wanted to hear what Hilton had to say. She liked Hilton's message but said she didn't know enough about other candidates to make a good comparison.
Whether or not Hilton is the candidate, Arana and others said they felt the right Republican could win the governorship of California.
"I think it's possible because I think Trump's given the U.S. population a lot of momentum to get behind the Republicans," Arana said. "I think if Trump can continue to keep his campaign promises, that that will help any of the Republicans that are running for state offices to increase our chance of winning."
