Print
Close
Steve Hilton blasts Democrats for making California unaffordable after 16 years of unchecked power
By Taylor Penley
Published June 07, 2026
California Republican Steve Hilton blamed Democrats Sunday for turning the Golden State into a place where residents can no longer afford to live. He blamed soaring costs, crushing taxes and government dysfunction for driving families and businesses out of the state.
"California today is what you get when Democrats get everything they want," Hilton told "Fox & Friends Weekend."
Pointing to high taxes and rampant homelessness, Hilton criticized the Democratic-controlled state legislature, executive leadership and state Supreme Court, highlighting their claimed failure to resolve some of the state's most pressing concerns.
"They've had 16 years to show us that their ideas can work, and they've had nothing stopping them," he said.
Steve Hilton, Republican candidate for governor in California, speaks during an affordability town hall at Hotel Zessa in Santa Ana on March 18. (Leonard Ortiz/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
"They've had all the statewide offices. They have had both chambers of the state legislature with a two-thirds majority. They can literally pass anything they want. They run all the big cities, all the big counties. They had the state Supreme Court, 6-1 Democrat majority, and yet still they can't do it," he added.
Hilton's frustrations come as he attempts to upend the Democratic Party's stronghold in the state.
Former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate, speaks during a roundtable discussion with representatives from the Child Guidance Center in Santa Ana on Tuesday, Mar. 31. (Leonard Ortiz/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
Votes are still being counted in the governor's race, with early indicators suggesting Hilton could secure the second spot on November's ballot, facing Democrat Xavier Becerra.
Billionaire Democrat Tom Steyer currently sits in third place.
Hilton said he is confident he will secure the second spot for the November runoff, telling Fox News that Californians are "desperate for change" and he is prepared to deliver.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
"People look at California and think, 'How's a Republican going to win?' Actually, I'm very confident we can win once I'm officially in the top two, and I think that is gonna happen," he said. "I think there's no way realistically that Tom Steyer, the billionaire climate fanatic, is going to catch up. I've been leading for most of the last three days, right up until last night. It's still incredibly close, me and Xavier Becerra. I'm very confident I'll be there in the final."
https://www.foxnews.com/media/steve-hilton-blasts-democrats-making-california-unaffordable-16-years-unchecked-power