Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton rallied supporters in the Los Angeles area Wednesday, just days before the election, while his Democratic frontrunner opponent stayed away from public events.
Hilton had two appearances scheduled in Southern California. He held a press conference in fire-ravaged Altadena with HPP Cares, a nonprofit community organization that has helped families rebuild their lives after last year’s devastating Eaton Fire.
His schedule also called for a rally in Van Nuys with Democratic and independent supporters. Hilton argued that 16 years of one-party rule in California have driven up costs for the state’s average residents.
The former Fox News host has spent recent weeks courting Democratic voters with a provocative, six-figure advertising campaign. One ad teased a lesbian sexual encounter under the slogan, “Just try it, California.”
Becerra had no public events scheduled Wednesday. He campaigned around the Bay Area on Tuesday, attending a morning meeting with Asian American leaders and an anti-Prop. 39 rally in San Francisco. He later crossed the bay for a reception with Black community leaders and a phone-banking event with SEIU Local 2015 in Oakland.
Newly released polling shows the former Health and Human Services secretary holding a wide lead over Hilton.
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A Public Policy Institute of California poll released Wednesday found Becerra ahead of Hilton among likely voters, 61% to 37%—a 24-point margin. The survey of 1,068 likely voters was conducted from Oct. 16 to 22.
Becerra’s advantage grew from the 22-point lead recorded in the institute’s September poll, when he led Hilton, 60% to 38%.
Becerra, a longtime Democratic politician who previously served as a California congressman and attorney general before joining President Joe Biden’s administration, has criticized Hilton’s endorsement by President Donald Trump and presented himself as a fighter against the federal administration.
Hilton, also a former Fox News host, has portrayed Becerra as the embodiment of California’s failed political status quo.
At a campaign event Tuesday in Newport Beach, Hilton criticized waste in California’s “Broadband-for-All” program. The initiative was launched in 2021 with $3.25 billion in federal COVID relief, but has produced only one completed project so far, according to Hilton’s campaign.
Hilton has argued that the broadband program is just one example of broader failures in California government.
