A former key adviser to David Cameron has announced he is running for governor of California in 2026.
In a video announcement posted to X, Steve Hilton highlighted his past growing up in London and working in 10 Downing Street. The businessman, author and media personality criticised the leaders who have long held power in the famously Democrat-voting “blue state”.
“This is not just any other state. California means to America what America means to the world”, Hilton said. “Let’s make California the land of opportunity again. Great jobs, great homes, great kids.”
“There’s only one way to do that”, he added. “We’ve got to end the one-party rule that got us into this mess. It’s time to end the years of Democrat failure.”
Hilton, author of Califailure, said in his campaign launch video that he was inspired to work with former UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher after leaving university (New College, Oxford).
He went on to serve as director of strategy for David Cameron, and was seen as a driving force behind the former Conservative leader’s bid to modernise his party.
Hilton, famous for padding around Downing Street in bare feet, was satirised by the BBC comedy The Thick of It as the herbal-tea drinking publicist Stewart Pearson.
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Hilton is the second prominent Republican to enter the 2026 gubernatorial race. No member of the GOP (Grand Old Party) has won the governor’s race since Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006.
Speaking to Fox News on Monday, Hilton said that California “really reminds me of Britain in the 1970s.”
He said: “The UK was called the ‘sick man of Europe’. There’s no other way of looking at California today than the ‘sick man of America’.”
Gavin Newsom, the incumbent governor, is termed out of the race. Media reporting in the United States suggests Kamala Harris, the former vice president, is among the Democrats considering running to replace Newsom.
Hilton and his wife moved to California in 2012, while she worked for Google and he taught at Stanford University. He hosted “The Next Revolution”, a weekly show on Fox News from 2017 to 2023, and is the founder and former CEO of Crowdpac, a tech startup.
Hilton is an ardent supporter of president Donald Trump and called for an investigation into the 2020 presidential election when Trump lost to Joe Biden.
Hilton has already been endorsed by former presidential candidate and current Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
“Steve Hilton represents American excellence. He’s a great entrepreneur & communicator, and he’ll be a dominant Governor of California”, Ramaswamy posted to X on Monday afternoon. “I’ve known him for years [and] enjoyed welcoming him to Ohio for our launch in Feb. He has my full endorsement.”
Hilton responded: “An incredible honor to be endorsed for California governor by my friend [Vivek Ramaswamy] who will be a fantastic governor of Ohio! We both believe so deeply in the strength and energy of our people, and this great nation. Winners not whiners!!”
Josh Self is Editor of Politics.co.uk, follow him on Bluesky here.
Politics.co.uk is the UK’s leading digital-only political website. Subscribe to our daily newsletter for all the latest news and analysis.
Source: Politics
