Scott MacFarlane said about Steve Hilton, in Scott MacFarlane Reports on October 22, 2026.
MacFarlane was running through the day's campaign developments in his daily editorial note.
Steve Hilton
Things People Say About Steve Hilton
Steve Hilton is a political commentator, a former adviser to UK Prime Minister David Cameron (2010-2012) and a former Fox News commentator. He was the Republican candidate for governor of California in 2026, facing Democrat Xavier Becerra in the general election.
What People Say About Them
Mike Solana said about Steve Hilton, in Pirate Wires on October 13, 2026.
From Pirate Wires' San Francisco and California voter guide, published October 13, 2026, in which Mike Solana explains his choice for governor. Solana acknowledges the race is probably a long shot.
Jack Ohman’s You Betcha! said about Steve Hilton, in Jack Ohman's You Betcha! on October 8, 2026.
From the weekly newsletter of San Francisco Chronicle editorial cartoonist Jack Ohman, published October 8, 2026, accompanying a cartoon of the California governor debate between Steve Hilton and Xavier Becerra.
Where to Find Them
Steve Hilton has been a guest on All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg (2 times) , Decoder with Nilay Patel (2 times) , Energy News Beat , The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show , Make It Make Sense , Open Book with Anthony Scaramucci , The Rubin Report , On with Kara Swisher , Big Take , Joe Lonsdale: American Optimist , The Interview , Mark Levin Podcast , The Charlie Kirk Show , Mixed Signals from Semafor Media , The Latest from KQED , Guy Benson Show , UNWON , The Sean Hannity Show and Brian Kilmeade Show .
Recently: “Is The Senate In Jeopardy? Explosive Battleground Races & New Iran War Showdown” on Brian Kilmeade Show (October 2026); “Hour 1 - Buck Experiences the Future ” on The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show (October 2026); “The Left's Plan if They Win” on The Charlie Kirk Show (October 2026); “10/26/26 - Mark Levin: Ignore the Polls! Vivek Ramaswamy & Steve Hilton Sound Off on 2026 Elections” on Mark Levin Podcast (October 2026); “What Cali Politicians Admitted Behind Closed Doors Will Shock You | Steve Hilton” on The Rubin Report (October 2026); “California at a Crossroads: Steve Hilton Makes His Case” on The Sean Hannity Show (September 2026).
What They Said
Hilton in a Q&A interview in The Oracle by Polymarket, published October 23, 2026, when Polymarket gave him roughly a 3.5% chance of winning. He was asked what the market is missing about his support.
Hilton, the Republican nominee for California governor, on The Sean Hannity Show on September 25, 2026, about a week before his debate with Democratic nominee Xavier Becerra.
The Sean Hannity Show
Around 04:13 into the episode
Steve Hilton
It is. It is. And here's the real number. Right. We assume that based on turnout in the last two midterms, real turnout. And what we saw in the primaries in California, our estimate is that I will need six million votes to win.
Speaker 2
Right.
Steve Hilton
…come up to me wherever I am and they're coming to our events. We're doing town halls up and down the state. We're mainly promoting them to Democrats and independents. They are coming in there hundreds and hundreds. The other day we had one with a thousand people. They're saying the same thing. I'm a lifelong Democrat, but I'm going to vote for you this year because we can't go on like this. But even if we don't get any of those, literally, if everybody in California who voted for President Trump two years ago votes for me in this election, I'll win. It's all about the turnout. And if we all show up and vote, we can win this election. And by the way, last point, this guy Becerra, I mean, he's worse than Newsom. He's worse than Newsom because he's a 36-year career politician. As HHS secretary, not only the scandal of all the migrant kids that he sent into the clutches of child sex traffickers. I mean, Bobby Kennedy puts it this way. He says Becerra turned HHS into the…
Sean Hannity
I've been to Bakersfield many times. Do you remember the Bakersfield Business Conference? I used to speak at that fairly often. And I was also, I did a show out there a number of years ago, Steve, and it was dealing with the fact that farmers can't get water. And I mean, the ground was dry and arid…
Steve Hilton
Exactly. I mean, look, I've got a very clear plan. As we go into this final stretch, it's very simple. Lower tax, cheaper gas. And we can get that done. And it's very specific plans. Your first $ 150, 000 tax-free, no state income tax. The governor writes the budget and sends it to the legislature.…
Sean Hannity
It is so ridiculous.
Speaker names come from our own diarization. The position is estimated from where the line sits in the episode.
Hilton at a live All-In Podcast taping in Los Angeles in September 2026, after describing a family-owned shoe store whose block is lined with unlicensed street vendors.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Around 17:55 into the episode
Steve Hilton
Can I just tell, I'm going to be.
Chamath Palihapitiya
It's called the side quest in our industry.
Steve Hilton
…about it. You've got, and Langers, you've got food stands there that are pouring their grease into the drain right in front of their store. You've got rats, you've got all of it legalized. And what does it tell you when you take that into account? And then what you see in MacArthur Park with the drugs. You know what you guys should do? Can I just tell you what this lesson is from this? That we've become a state where if you do the right thing, you're punished. And if you do the wrong thing, you're rewarded. That is upside down. But that's the story beneath everything. And that's what we need to turn around. That's what this election is actually about.
Chamath Palihapitiya
No, I really think it's important for you guys to be able to tell the stories of these specific laws because it doesn't matter your political persuasion. When you hear that, if it is as accurate as you say, it's functionally one of the stupidest things I've ever heard. And if there's a 20 or 30 of…
Speaker 4
The craziest part about this, so there's, they say there's 50,000 food vendors, 50,000, and they made it more affordable. So most of them don't even have the permit that costs $21. But our city council, Green Lit, and they already did this. They gave these food vendors $500,000 to give them an…
Chamath Palihapitiya
What does it say, Spencer, if this city elects Karen Bass again? And what does it say in terms of lessons about your campaign that you can't beat somebody that incompetent?
Speaker names come from our own diarization. The position is estimated from where the line sits in the episode.
Hilton, then a candidate in California's governor primary, on the All-In Podcast in late April 2026. He was asked for his path to victory under the state's top-two primary system.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Around 1:01:26 into the episode
Steve Hilton
…a lot of people look at California and say, well, it's impossible for a Republican to win. And Jason was pointing out we've had Republicans in the past, but that was a long time ago. And you could say special circumstances because Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected in a recall election and so on.
Jason Calacanis
And he was a celebrity who was highly loved in Los Angeles, half the state.
Steve Hilton
Exactly. All of those things are true. But so I've always said from the beginning of this that it's not going to be easy to win. It's going to be very difficult because of the structural factors in California, but it's not impossible. And given the seriousness of our predicament and how much I think the whole country depends on a successful, growing, thriving, leading California, then we should go for it because getting things back in a common sense direction is just a really important thing. I always say California means to America what America means to the world. And so this matters. If you look at the numbers, some people look at their voter registration numbers and they say Democrats outnumber Republicans two to one. And that is true. But when you look at actual voting, the gap is a little bit closer. Over the last 20 years where you haven't had Republicans elected, pretty much the average Republican vote has been just over 40%. So it's been like a 60-40 split. Obviously, that's not close, but the gap is perhaps not as wide as some people might think. But then you look at a couple of factors that I really think are different this year. First of all, there's a dissatisfaction with the way things are going that…
Chamath Palihapitiya
They get to vote directly for no taxes, no state income taxes.
Steve Hilton
Exactly, because that's my tax plan. I mean, I just put this out there just the other day, which is no, and no tax on tips. That's the other part, I mean, which has been implemented at the federal level, but California won't do it at the state level. Just my whole plan is geared toward a $3 gas. I…
Chamath Palihapitiya
Steve, on behalf of all in, I just want to say thank you for being so incredibly candid and open with us. We're wishing you the best of luck. Thank you. Thank you so
Speaker names come from our own diarization. The position is estimated from where the line sits in the episode.