Republican Steve Hilton has won one of the two tickets to the November California gubernatorial election, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday. Hilton, a one-time British political strategist turned American conservative commentator and former Fox News Channel host, will advance to the general election.
California’s Jungle Primary
Democrat-dominated California holds what’s known as a jungle primary, in which all candidates, regardless of party affiliation, appear on the same ballot, with the top two finishers advancing to the general election. Hilton’s top two rivals heading into primary day were Xavier Becerra, a former California attorney general, and Tom Steyer, a billionaire hedge fund founder turned environmental activist.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican, as well as Democratic candidates former Democratic Rep. Katie Porter, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, were among the 61 candidates on the ballot. Hilton is hoping to become the first California Republican to win a gubernatorial election since then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 2006 re-election.
A Competitive Race
The race was overshadowed for much of last year, as the devastation from the Los Angeles-area wildfires and President Donald Trump’s immigration raids grabbed headlines in California. But the showdown for governor entered the spotlight earlier this year when one of the leading candidates, Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, dropped out of the race and then resigned from Congress following a political implosion after facing multiple allegations of sexual assault and misconduct that he continues to deny.
Steyer, who unsuccessfully ran for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, spent more than $200 million of his own money to blanket the airwaves and the internet with ads. Meanwhile, more than $80 million in outside money has also been spent on the race. Bianco, who launched his campaign for governor in April of last year, was among the top contenders in the race until Trump’s endorsement of Hilton in early April blunted his momentum.
Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
