Longtime Fox News Host Considering Gubernatorial Bid

A longtime Fox News Channel host is contemplating a run for governor in the predominantly Democratic state of California. He’s unafraid to address the "uncomfortable" realities of life under Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state legislature's Democratic supermajority.

According to The National Pulse, Steve Hilton, who once served as the director of strategy for British Prime Minister David Cameron, is seriously considering a gubernatorial bid in 2026. Sources close to Hilton indicate his interest is growing.

Hilton, who was Cameron's advisor from 2010 to 2012 and hosted Fox News’s “The Next Revolution” from 2017 until June 2023, has recently turned his attention to California's local political landscape. His primary concerns include the state's homelessness crisis and its staggering $145 billion debt.

“He is thinking very seriously about running for governor, and he is doing it in a very organized way,” said Jim Brulte, former California Republican Party chairman, in an interview with Politico.

Brulte, who also served as the Republican leader in the State Senate, added, “I know he’s talking to a lot of the right people because I have heard from a lot of the right people that he’s talking to them.”

Hilton has drawn significant interest from supporters in Silicon Valley, largely due to his public policy positions. Although Democrats have maintained control of the governorship since 2011, the deteriorating quality of life and increasing cost of living have created an opening for unconventional candidates like Hilton.

“He is a no-BS person who cuts to the heart of issues no matter how uncomfortable the truth is,” said tech billionaire Chamath Palihapitiya to Politico. He added, “I think that that could be really refreshing at the right moment in California.”

On the other hand, the Democratic race to succeed Gov. Newsom is expected to be competitive.

Among those likely to run are former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, former Controller Betty Yee, and state Senator Toni Atkins. Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis has already announced her intention to run.

Throughout his time at Fox News, Hilton consistently focused on policy issues. During a segment in May 2022, he criticized President Joe Biden's handling of the baby formula shortage, arguing that it was a clear sign of Biden’s "unfitness for office" and his “obvious inability to perform the duties of president properly,” suggesting that the "incapacitated" leader should have been removed.

“Have you ever heard a weaker expression of resilience than that? That is the President of the United States of America, can’t even say the most basic thing without reading it off of a piece of paper,” Hilton remarked.

He went on to say, “Biden, mumbling and bumbling his way around Asia while here at home inflation soars, the stock market crashes, the border’s wide open, and the baby formula crisis is now expected to last for months.”

Hilton continued, “More than Biden’s border crisis, more than Biden’s inflation crisis—both of those, the consequence of deliberate ideological choices—the Biden baby crisis proves beyond any doubt that this Biden regime, the whole rotten crew of Obama retreads, swamp time servers, and juvenile activists is totally unserious and completely incompetent.”

Reflecting on the administration’s response, he stated, “Their response to a sudden massive interruption to the supply of one of the most vital products imaginable for America’s families wasn’t to get the Michigan factory up and running... it wasn’t to get extra supply from other U.S. producers, it wasn’t to try and find replacement supply from other countries, they continued to block imports for months, with massive tariffs and pointless regulations.”

Hilton concluded, “The Biden regime’s response they tell us was working diligently for months, and this is the result: panic, and despair for millions of families.”