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Focus → deliver → America
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pieces → publish → picture
You can find our full list of In Focus pieces here.
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You → find → pieces
Steve Hilton has a lot to say about California.
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Hilton → have → California
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The former Fox News host and onetime adviser to former British Prime Minister David Cameron thinks Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) is not much of a leader; Democratic gubernatorial nominee Xavier Becerra is a career politician with little to show for his years in public service; and California voters are increasingly ready to break with the Democratic establishment that has governed the state for decades.
He also thinks he can win in November.
That may sound like a long shot in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans by millions of voters and no Republican has won the governor’s mansion since 2006.
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Republican → think → 2006
But Hilton, the Republican nominee endorsed by President Donald Trump, argues that California’s affordability crisis has created an opening large enough to overcome its deep-blue political identity.
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crisis → endorse → identity
“All the things that make life so expensive in California, way more expensive than the rest of the country, these are all policies that we control in our state,” Hilton told the Washington Examiner in an interview.
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Hilton → make → interview
His diagnosis is sweeping: California is overtaxed, overregulated, and badly governed.
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California → overtax → ?
A native of Britain, Hilton rose through the Conservative Party to become one of Cameron’s most visible advisers before moving to California in 2012 to follow his wife, a technology communications executive who has held senior positions at Google and Netflix.
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who → rise → Google
Hilton eventually became a Fox News host, using the platform to criticize the state he would later seek to govern.
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he → become → state
Now, five years after becoming a U.S. citizen, Hilton is asking voters to put him in charge of California.
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Hilton → become → California
His June primary victory set up a November showdown with Becerra, a former California attorney general and Biden administration Cabinet official.
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victory → set → Becerra
Hilton has seized on Becerra’s long political career as proof that the state no longer needs it.
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state → seize → it
He calls Becerra an “empty suit,” accuses him of avoiding reporters and ducking debates, and portrays him as the embodiment of the status quo.
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He → call → quo
Becerra’s camp has hit back.
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camp → hit → ?
“He seems to have mistaken his campaign for a cable news audition,” Becerra spokesman Jonathan Underland told the Washington Examiner.
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Underland → seem → Examiner
“More ranting and raving from a guy who sold his soul to Donald Trump for a slot on Fox News.”
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who → sell → News
Though the incumbent governor is barred from seeking a third term and is widely expected to consider a 2028 presidential bid, Hilton argues that the state’s problems are inseparable from the leadership Newsom has provided over the past seven years.
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Newsom → bar → years
He claims the governor is more fixated on his political future than on fixing the state he leads.
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he → claim → state
Why do Californians keep electing Democrats?
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Californians → keep → Democrats
Hilton attributes Democrats’ long dominance to what he calls a powerful Sacramento political machine.
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he → attribute → what
“There’s a very corrupt machine at work here,” Hilton said.
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Hilton → ’ → work
“The Sacramento machine — there’s a billion dollars a year the government unions get.
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unions → ’ → ?
They use it to control power across the state.
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They → use → state
And then you have the nonprofits that are taxpayer-funded that are very powerful in terms of their role in ballot harvesting, voter registration, and so on.
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that → have → harvesting
“Secondly, I think it’s 16 years of one-party rule.
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it → think → rule
A poll conducted for Hilton’s campaign indicated that he is narrowing the gap with Becerra, although the Democrat remains ahead.
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Democrat → conduct → Becerra
Becerra led Hilton 49.2% to 41% among 912 registered voters, with 9.8% undecided, according to the Aug. 14-16 survey commissioned by Hilton’s campaign and conducted by David Wolfson, a pollster and faculty member in Columbia University’s Political Analytics graduate program.
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Becerra → lead → program
The poll had a 3.3-point margin of error.
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poll → have → error
“[Becerra] thinks he’s going to coast to victory as part of the corrupt Sacramento machine, but this poll shows that Californians have had enough and are now rising up to throw out the insiders and vote for the change we so desperately need,” Hilton said.
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Hilton → think → change
The survey contrasts with a University of California, Berkeley, Institute of Governmental Studies poll conducted Aug. 3-9 among 2,310 likely voters in partnership with the Los Angeles Times that found Becerra ahead 55% to 37%.
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Becerra → contrast → Times
‘Empty suit’ and ‘lazy’
Hilton has little patience for Sacramento Democrats, accusing lawmakers of being “completely arrogant” and assuming “that this race is already over.”
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race → have → lawmakers
He claims Democrats across California privately describe Becerra as “lazy,” “arrogant,” and an “empty suit.”
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Democrats → claim → lazy
“That’s what everyone says about him everywhere you go in the state,” Hilton said.
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Hilton → ’s → state
Anyone who’s worked with him says he’s lazy, he’s arrogant, he’s an empty suit.
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he → work → him
Hilton also cited an Axios report about tensions inside the Biden administration, saying former national security adviser Susan Rice had referred to Becerra in derogatory terms during internal disagreements over border policy.
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Rice → cite → policy
She purportedly called him an “idiot” and a “b**** a**,” something the Washington Examiner hasn’t been able to independently verify.
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Examiner → call → him
“He’s just a puppet of the machine,” Hilton then said about his political opponent.
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Hilton → ’ → opponent
“He’s a complete nonentity.”
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He → ’ → ?
California-based veteran political strategist Garry South dismissed Hilton’s approach.
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South → base → approach
…and 40 more, not listed.
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