Trump Makes Much-Anticipated Endorsement In Key Race

President Donald Trump is jumping into California’s governor race, throwing his weight behind Republican Steve Hilton in a move that could scramble an already crowded field to replace term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom.

“With Federal help, and a Great Governor, like Steve Hilton, California can be better than ever before!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post early Monday. “Steve Hilton has my COMPLETE & TOTAL ENDORSEMENT.”

Trump praised Hilton as a “fine man,” saying he has known and respected him for years.

Hilton’s campaign quickly leaned into the endorsement, posting: “With President Trump’s full backing and federal support, we are going to take California back and make it better than ever before!”

A former Fox News host, Hilton is running in the June 2 primary alongside Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and a crowded slate of Democratic contenders. Under California’s system, the top two finishers advance to the November general election regardless of party. Newsom is barred from seeking another term.

That setup has Democrats on edge. With multiple candidates splitting the vote, there’s a real risk two Republicans could advance, shutting Democrats out of the general election in a deep-blue state that hasn’t elected a GOP governor in nearly 20 years.

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Hilton has been making the case that California voters are fed up with one-party control. In a November interview with CNN’s Elex Michaelson, he pointed to rising costs and economic pressure on working families.

“On and on through every issue I’ll be making the case that it’s 15 years of one-party rule that have brought us to this point, where working families can barely afford to pay the bills, where we have the highest unemployment. That’s all the result of Democrat policies, not Donald Trump,” Hilton said, defending the president.

Hilton, a British immigrant, studied at Oxford University and cut his teeth in politics with the U.K.’s Conservative Party during Margaret Thatcher’s era, according to his campaign. He later served as a senior adviser to former Prime Minister David Cameron before relocating to California in 2012 and moving into media and business.

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