CA Governor Candidate Steve Hilton on Why California is Destroying Itself & How a Republican Can Win

Steve Hilton, a British-born naturalized American citizen and former senior policy adviser to UK Prime Minister David Cameron, appears on the All-In Interview Show to discuss his Republican candidacy for California governor. He opens by sharing his personal background: his parents were Hungarian refugees who fled communism, and his stepfather literally ran across the border during the 1956 Soviet invasion at age 14. Hilton credits this upbringing with shaping his deep appreciation for freedom, opportunity, and the dignity of work. He moved to California in 2012 when his wife Rachel Whetstone took a senior role at Google, later worked at Facebook and Uber. Hilton has since renounced his UK citizenship to be, in his words, 'all in' on America.

On taxes, Hilton's signature proposal is eliminating state income tax entirely for Californians earning under $100,000 — a threshold he notes is officially classified as 'low income' in many California counties — and replacing the current complex rate structure with a flat 7.5% tax for those earning above that threshold. He argues this would require approximately an 18.5% reduction in state revenue, equivalent to about $60 billion, which would simply return the budget to roughly pre-pandemic levels. He notes the state budget has nearly doubled in the last decade and grown 75% in five years. He also references his 'Cal DOGE' (California Department of Government Efficiency) initiative, which has published four fraud reports estimating approximately $80 billion per year — around 20% of the state budget — is lost to fraud, waste, and abuse. Specific examples include $928 million of a $1 billion climate fund being diverted to Democrat-aligned nonprofits instead of solar panel installation, $350 million in cannabis tax revenue going to activist nonprofits instead of substance abuse prevention, and $3.8 billion in the Project Homekey homelessness program largely enriching developers.

On housing, Hilton identifies three structural forces driving unaffordability: union power, litigation, and climate dogma. He explains that California's building codes — requiring EV charging infrastructure, solar panels, and enhanced insulation — add significant cost compared to neighboring states. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and specifically its private right of action, enables unions to file lawsuits as leverage to force project labor agreements mandating union-only workforces at prevailing wages two to three times market rate. He attempted to qualify a ballot initiative capping impact fees and eliminating CEQA's private right of action but failed to raise sufficient funds, and when he pursued it legislatively, a sympathetic Democratic legislator told him privately 'the unions run this place.' He contrasts California's roughly $30,000 per-door in government fees with Texas's under $1,000, and notes Texas produces three times as many new housing units per capita.

On energy, Hilton explains that California now imports nearly 80% of its oil, with Iraq as the top supplier, despite having significant in-state reserves. He attributes this to regulatory suppression of permits by the California Department of Geologic and Energy Management (CalGEM) rather than legislation, meaning a governor could reverse course by simply appointing pro-energy regulators. He notes the climate policy rationale is counterproductive: oil is shipped via bunker fuel tankers — the most polluting form of transportation — and California's Air Resources Board only counts carbon emissions starting 12 miles offshore. Approximately $2 of California's gas price premium over other states is regulatory rather than tax-based.

On education, Hilton highlights that California spends roughly $27,000 per student per year — near the highest in the nation — yet only 47% of students meet basic English standards and only 35% meet math standards. He points to Mississippi as a model, which achieves far better outcomes at one-third the per-student cost through phonics-based reading instruction and a strict policy of holding back third-graders who cannot pass basic reading tests. He proposes assigning visible public grades to every school and every teacher to enable accountability and reward high performers.

On crime, Hilton argues the core problem is enforcement failure rather than lack of laws. He supports Prop 36, which reversed some of Prop 47's theft decriminalization and passed with 70% of the vote, but notes it is not being properly implemented. He identifies the prison closure program — which reduced California's prison population from 165,000 to 93,000 — as a primary driver of crime, as it has overloaded county jails and created a 'catch and release' dynamic that demoralizes law enforcement and discourages crime reporting.

On homelessness, Hilton outlines a three-part plan: first, enforce existing laws against encampments now that the Supreme Court's Grants Pass ruling has removed the legal excuse for inaction; second, mandate drug and alcohol recovery treatment — rehab or jail — rather than making it optional; third, redirect money from the 'homeless industrial complex' into large-scale mental health facilities, using the Medicaid IMD waiver (which California has not applied for) to fund facilities larger than 16 beds.

On his path to victory, Hilton notes he is leading in polls, has Trump's endorsement, and argues the votes are mathematically available: Trump received 6.1 million votes in California in 2024 without campaigning there, more than the roughly 5.9 million needed to win a midterm gubernatorial race. He believes a multiracial working-class coalition can be assembled around his affordability platform — $3 gas, halved electric bills, no income tax on the first $100,000, and attainable homeownership — targeting voters hardest hit by California's high cost of living.