Former Fox News Host Says He’s ‘Seriously Considering Running’ for Governor of California

Former Fox News host Steve Hilton said he is “seriously considering running” for governor of California, which would make him the first Republican to lead the Golden State in a decade and a half.

The commentator and political adviser said in a Friday interview with “2Way Tonight” host Mark Halperin that he would soon be making a decision on whether to run during the 2026 cycle, during which former Vice President Kamala Harris could be an opponent.

“The way I’m putting it right now is, Kamala Harris is telling us that she is too, almost using that exact same language, and that she’ll make a decision by the end of the summer,” Hilton said.

“I’ll make mine much sooner than that,” he promised.

There has not been a Republican chief executive in the state since California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger left office in early 2011.

Since then, former California Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown served two terms from 2011 to 2019, decades after serving two other terms from 1975 to 1983.

Incumbent California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has served since 2019, even surviving a recall election in 2021, but he will be term-limited in the next cycle.

But Hilton informed Halperin that “there are some interesting signs that should give optimism for Republicans in California.”

Winning a statewide election as a Republican in California would be an uphill battle largely dependent on turning out the large minority of Republican voters.

“If you look at November last year, not even the of the vote, the number of votes that Donald Trump got, over 6 million — that number, if you project forward the turnout in a midterm election in California based on the past two midterms — the number of votes that Trump got in California, without really campaigning in California, is higher than what you would need to win in 2026,” Hilton suggested.

“I should tell you that I’m seriously considering running,” says the political commentator and former Fox News host Steve Hilton about the California governor’s race. “The way I’m putting it right now is, Kamala Harris is telling us that she is too, almost using that exact same… pic.twitter.com/sCVTfcmvuX

— 2WAY (@2waytvapp) March 28, 2025

Hilton, who hails from England and served as a strategy director for former British Prime Minister David Cameron, would not be the first Republican, or even the first Republican with a media background, to pursue statewide office in recent years despite the odds.

Conservative radio host Larry Elder won a 48.4 percent plurality of votes among other candidates to replace Newsom during the 2021 recall contest, but some 61.9 percent of voters chose to keep Newsom in office.

Former MLB player Steve Garvey was the Republican nominee for the open Senate seat this year, but he lost to California Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff with a vote of 41.1 percent to 58.9 percent.

Hilton once more suggested in an opinion piece for Fox News that he could deliver a win, and that such a win is necessary for the future of California.

“President Donald Trump did better in California than any Republican presidential candidate for decades,” he wrote. “Republican voter registration has also been increasing while Democrat registration has been falling.”

“On Newsom’s watch, California has gone from being America’s crown jewel to its worst-run state. No fair-minded person could come to any other conclusion,” Hilton added.

“So, there you are: this could well be Gavin Newsom’s greatest legacy: flipping California red!”

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