President Trump waded into the upcoming primary race for California’s next governor with a full-throated endorsement of conservative commentator and policy analyst Steve Hilton.
“I have known and respected Steve Hilton, who is running for Governor of California, for many years. He is a truly fine man, one who has watched as this once great State has gone to Hell,” wrote Trump on his Truth Social account Monday morning. “Gavin Newscum and the Democrats have done an absolutely horrendous job. People are fleeing, crime is increasing, and Taxes are the highest of any State in the Country, maybe the World.
“Steve can turn it around, before it is too late, and, as President, I will help him to do so!” Trump added. “With Federal help, and a Great Governor, like Steve Hilton, California can be better than ever before!”
The president closed with: “Steve Hilton has my COMPLETE & TOTAL ENDORSEMENT. He will be a GREAT Governor and, importantly, WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!!!”
Hilton’s primary Republican opponent is Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.
California’s June 2 primary is not a normal primary that chooses one Republican and one Democrat. Instead, all the candidates land on the same primary ballot and, regardless of party, the top two move on to the general election. This means you could have two Republicans or two Democrats competing in the general election.
Poll after poll shows that the two Republican candidates hold the top two spots. This has led to the hope that Hilton and Bianco would end up in the primary, edging out all Democrats, which would result in a major upset for California Democrats who have ruled (and ruined) the Golden State unopposed for two decades.
But…
Taken together, Hilton and Bianco only pick up about 30 percent support. They have benefitted from the split of support among all the Democrat candidates, including Rep. Eric Swalwell, former Rep. Katie Porter, businessman Tom Steyer, and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
For those who hoped California’s dumb open primary system would backfire on Democrats and ensure the next governor of California is a Republican, Trump’s endorsement is a splash of cold water. The endorsement could elevate Hilton and rob support from Bianco. This means Bianco would slip below number two, a Democrat would take his place at number two, and in a Democrat v. Republican general election it is difficult to see the Democrat losing.
Trump’s endorsement also allows Democrats to train their fire on one candidate instead of splitting all their money between Hilton and Bianco.
The flipside of that argument is this…
Democrats would have never allowed the two Republicans to make it to the general election unopposed. Eventually, prior to June 2, Democrats would’ve pressured their candidates with no chance of winning to drop out, which would boost an Eric Swalwell or Tom Steyer into the top two.
In fact, if enough Democrats were encouraged to drop out, two Democrats might have earned enough support to knock both Republicans out of the top two.
Trump likely fears this and hopes his endorsement will at least allow one Republican to enter the general election. Even if Hilton loses the general, his presence will eat up a lot of the Democrat Party’s time and resources.
And who knows? Maybe California voters will someday get tired of voting for failure.
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