I am a lifelong Californian, and it honestly breaks my heart to say this, but th
e Golden State has started to feel less like a paradise and more like a very expensive group project. Nobody read the instructions, everyone wants credit, and Gavin Newsom somehow still found time for a photo shoot. So, on June 2nd, the question for California really is, Steve Hilton vs Chad Bianco?
I know I am personally blessed. I live in a rural alpine forest town in Southern California, where my daily hikes smell like wild sage, pine sap and the occasional adventure dog who discovered something suspicious behind a Jeffrey pine. I spend my days as Big Bear Lake’s premier outdoor adventure guide, leading visitors from Los Angeles, San Diego and beyond through the San Bernardino Mountains on hiking tours and Jeep tours.
Up here at over 7,000 feet, I get pine trees, donkeys, snowstorms and tourists who think flip-flops are hiking shoes. We also adore those colorful Big Bear mountain sunsets that make you briefly forget you live in California and pay six dollars for gas.
But my guests from the cities below remind me constantly what is happening in the concrete jungles they call home. They tell me about crime, homelessness, open drug use, needles, filthy streets and the general sense that walking to your car now requires the situational awareness of a Navy SEAL and the prayer life of a nun. This is not the California I grew up in.
I grew up in a small California town back in the 1990s, where people actually knew their neighbors and nobody treated locking the front door like preparing for a hostage negotiation. Kids sat through D.A.R.E. assemblies in school without parents emailing teachers demanding little Brayden be allowed to “opt out” because hearing that meth is bad might somehow damage his creative journey.
We said the Pledge of Allegiance every morning. We went to Sunday School. We respected teachers, coaches and adults because if you mouthed off to another grown-up, your own parents would somehow find out before you even made it home. Terrifying times. Character-building times. Soap in your mouth kind of times.
And no, life was not perfect. There were absolutely kids sneaking around behind the football field smoking weed in the late ’90s while insisting it was “totally harmless, bro.” But somewhere along the way, California stopped pretending drugs were destructive and started acting like every bad decision is just part of somebody’s wellness journey.
Now we live in a world that sometimes feels less like the Golden State and more often like a dystopian Stephen King side plot where nobody is responsible for anything, every social problem gets explained away by therapy jargon, and accountability has disappeared faster than affordable beachfront parking.
And yes, before someone gets offended, I know not everybody who smoked weed in high school became a “Super Meth Monster roaming Santa Monica.” Some of them became yoga instructors with podcasts. California is a land of diverse outcomes. Before anyone starts warming up their keyboard to call me a hard-right lunatic, let me stop you right there. I used to consider myself a lifelong Republican. These days, I feel more like a middle-of-the-road conservative woman standing alone in a bright blue state. I’m holding a dog leash, a hiking pole and the last remaining coupon for common sense.
This is not Ronald Reagan’s Republican Party. It is not even the Republican Party I grew up with. While I am still conservative, I am also tired of the rage machine. I want a governor who can fix things, not just yell into the wind while Sacramento catches fire and then blames climate change, capitalism, Donald Trump, leaf blowers and probably your gas stove.
Now, if you are the type to stand on Freedom Corner with your little blue head here in Big Bear Lake on a chilly May day, freezing your ass off in a kaftan, then perhaps this is not the blog for you. But if you are a conservative voter and you just don’t know who to vote for before June 2nd, I hope I can send some helpful, if not sarcastic and humorous, info your way.
Here in California, the clock is ticking on Governor Hair Gel’s Sacramento era faster than Gavin can slick back his hair for another French Laundry photo op and ask Auntie Pelosi if the artisanal gelato is organic.
Which brings me to the big question in the California governor race 2026:
Steve Hilton vs Chad Bianco: Which Republican Actually Has a Chance?
California has a crowded governor’s race, and under our top-two primary system, the two candidates with the most votes move on to November regardless of party. That means, best-case scenario, two Republicans could theoretically advance, or they could split the vote just enough to create the political version o
f watching your sourdough starter die after three weeks of pretending you were a pioneer woman. CalMatters notes that the crowded Democratic field has helped two Republicans poll near the top, and the top two candidates move on, no matter their party.
For conservative voters in California, the real conversation right now is Steve Hilton vs Chad Bianco.
Steve Hilton vs Chad Bianco: California’s Conservative Fork in a Road Full of Potholes
Both are Republicans. Both are running against the one-party-rule disaster that California has become. Both talk about cost of living, taxes, crime, regulations, energy and the very basic idea that California should maybe stop punishing people for living here. But they are very different candidates.
Steve Hilton is the polished policy guy. He is a former Fox News host and former adviser to British Prime Minister David Cameron. CalMatters describes him as a former adviser to the UK prime minister and former Fox News host, and says his platform includes lowering gas prices, cutting income taxes and opening more natural spaces for housing.
Chad Bianco is the Riverside County sheriff. He has more than three decades in law enforcement and is running as the tough-on-crime, boots-on-the-ground candidate. CalMatters notes that Bianco wants to eliminate the income tax and gas tax, boost oil and gas production and overturn California’s sanctuary law.
So basically:
Hilton is the policy binder. Bianco is the sheriff’s badge.
One says, “Here is my structural reform agenda.”
The other says, “Give me the keys and point me toward the dumpster fire.”
Both messages have appeal when you live in a state where potholes have developed their own ecosystems.
Sacramento’s Hair Gel Era Is Finally Getting Term-Limited
I think most Californians can agree that the Newsom years have been exhausting. I say this as a Californian who has watched our state go from “beaches, mountains and opportunity” to “Is that a used needle, or just another reason my property taxes feel like a hostage situation?”
California should be the most functional state in America. We have the coastline, the agriculture, the tech industry, the ports, the mountains, the tourism and the movie industry. We have enough smug weather to make the rest of the country hate us from November through April. Yet here we are, wondering why our roads look like they were maintained by raccoons with a city contract.
I live in the mountains of Southern California, where winter does real damage to roads. I get that. Snow, ice, chains, plows, tourists in rental cars who think “all-wheel drive” means “immortal.” But when Californians pay some of the highest gas prices in the nation and we still bounce over potholes like we’re off-roading to a secret cartel taco stand, something is broken.
The gas tax debate has become one of the clearest dividing lines in this race. During the debates, candidates argued over gas prices, taxes and affordability. The Los Angeles Times reported that Hilton promised to cap gas at $3 per gallon, Matt Mahan said he would suspend the state gas tax, and Bianco argued that Democrats have overregulated and overtaxed Californians.
At least on this issue, I found myself nodding along with the Republicans and, weirdly enough, occasionally with Matt Mahan. No, I am not voting for him. Calm down. Nobody needs to throw organic quinoa at me. However, I would turn it into the best Curried Veggie Lemon Cashew Quinoa Bowl. But Matt Mahan at least sounds like a Democrat who has met a small business owner and did not immediately try to regulate her into a yurt.
CalMatters describes Mahan as a moderate Democrat who opposes new taxes, wants to suspend the gas tax temporarily and tie government leaders’ pay to performance. Imagine that. Government performance tied to pay. In California, that idea is so radical that Sacramento probably had to lie down with a CBD eye pillow.
Gas Tax: Because Apparently Potholes Need a Retirement Plan
For me, the California gas tax issue is not abstract. It is not a debate-stage talking point. It is every trip down the mountain. It is every time I fill up my Jeep and wonder whether I should also apply for financing. It is every pothole that looks like it has been there since the Clinton administration.
Bianco has leaned hard into eliminating the gas tax and cutting government waste. Hilton has put forward broader tax-cut proposals, including eliminating state income tax on the first $100,000 of income and creating a flatter tax structure above that, according to Axios. That matters. Californians are tired of being told that every tax is compassionate, every fee is necessary, every regulation is for our own good and every collapsing road is somehow proof we did not give Sacramento enough money.
The Beach Should Not Require Situational Awareness and a Taser
A few weeks ago, I was walking my dog near Huntington Dog Beach, trying to have a normal California beach day. You know, ocean breeze, wet dog smell, sand in places no dermatologist wants to discuss.
Instead, I found myself playing a very 2026 Southern California game: beach hippie, RV tourist or unhoused person high on that SuperMeth. I had the leash in one hand and my taser in the other because apparently, this is wellness now.
One mile south of the dog beach, I noticed rows and rows of older motorhomes parked in lots. As an RV owner myself, I was curious. Could you actually camp there? Was this some secret Orange County RV hack I had somehow missed? So I inquired at the kiosk.
The answer, according to the attendant, was that the majority of those vehicles belonged to unhoused people who leave when the lot closes at 10 p.m. and return when it opens at dawn. So here is the question no one seems to want to ask on the evening news: Where are all those RV tanks being dumped?
Black Tank Blues: The California RV Crisis Nobody Wants to Discuss
As an RVer, I know one sacred truth: when the black tank is full, civilization gets very honest very quickly. As a lover of everything outdoors, I do love this beautiful state and it is literally being turned more into a toilet every day. It disgusts me to think this one beautiful Golden State is looking more like a Third World Country every day. And sure, come at me; Call me racist for referring to California as a Third World Country, but when you are dodging human feces, used needles and mountains of discarded trash in fields that used to house colorful orange poppies, I dare you to say I’m unhinged.
But pretending that open-air encampments, illegal dumping, public drug use and unsafe streets are compassion is not compassion. It is a policy failure wearing a hemp poncho. And I am personally very fucking tired of smelling weed in public at 8 a.m.
Or worse, playing the California beach town version of Minesweeper, where one wrong step near the boardwalk and suddenly you’re wondering whether that was dog poop or human poop squishing beneath your hiking shoes.
Homelessness Is Not Just a Housing Problem
This is where I disagree with a lot of California Democrats. Yes, housing costs matter. Of course it matters. Housing in California is so expensive that a 1970s shed with raccoon damage can be listed as “rusti
c indoor-outdoor living” for $789,000. But homelessness is not only a housing issue. It is also an addiction. It is mental health. It is public safety. It is failed enforcement. It is decades of politicians treating consequences like they are offensive.
Katie Porter has framed homelessness heavily around housing and prevention. CalMatters says Porter supports denser housing near transit and wants to cut income taxes for middle-income earners while raising corporate taxes on large businesses.
That may appeal to progressive voters. But as a conservative voter looking at what is happening in beach communities, parks, downtown corridors and highway underpasses, I want a governor who will say the thing out loud: housing is part of the problem, but addiction and untreated mental illness are also part of the problem. If we cannot say that, we cannot fix it.
Katie Porter debates with the energy of a woman one minor inconvenience away from throwing a slow cooker through a drywall partition. I’m sorry, but after hearing about the infamous boiling potato water incident. I cannot unsee “Mrs. Potato Head Goes to Sacramento.” Somewhere between the whiteboards, the aggressive note-taking and the permanent “manager would like to see you immediately” energy, Porter manages to sound less like a future governor and more like the angriest substitute teacher at a middle-school science fair.
Steve Hilton: The Policy Guy
With a Chance to Talk to the Middle
Here is what I like about Steve Hilton.
He is polished. He can speak in complete sentences without sounding like he is trying to win a county fair arm-wrestling contest. He understands media. He understands messaging. He seems capable of appealing to Republicans, independents and maybe even a few Democrats who secretly hate what California has become but are not ready to say it at brunch.
That matters in California.
This is a blue state. Republicans cannot win here by only talking to Republicans. They need independents, frustrated Democrats, parents, small business owners, law enforcement families, rural voters, suburban voters and people who voted Democrat for 20 years but now carry pepper spray to buy oat milk. Hilton has Donald Trump’s endorsement, which helps him consolidate Republican support but could hurt him with some moderates.
This is the complicated part. Trump’s endorsement is gold with many conservatives, but in California, it can also become a giant flashing sign for Democrats who have not even listened to Hilton’s platform. They hear “Trump endorsed” and immediately faint into a compostable napkin. I’m talking to you, Katie-Fuck-Trump-Porter.
Still, Hilton may be the better general-election communicator. He sounds like someone who has thought about systems. Taxes. Regulations. Energy. Housing. Cost of living. Government dysfunction. He is the candidate most likely to walk into a room of independents and say, “California is too expensive, too unsafe and too broken — and here is how we fix it,” without sounding like he is auditioning for a militia podcast. That right there is important to me. And I believe it is important for how the rest of the nation views California.
Chad Bianco: The Sheriff in a State That used to have laws
Here is what I like about Chad Bianco.
He sounds like a man who has seen the consequences of California’s bad policies up close. Not in a think tank. Not from a cable news desk. Not from a donor dinner where the salmon is sustainably sourced and the valet guy is the only working-class person in the room.
Bianco comes from law enforcement. He is blunt. He is direct. He talks about crime and disorder like someone who knows victims are real people, not inconvenient footnotes in a progressive policy paper. For many conservative voters, especially those furious about crime, fentanyl, homelessness, sanctuary policies and the feeling that nobody is in charge, Bianco is going to feel like the obvious choice.
The risk is tone. California is not Alabama with better tacos. This is not the wild west anymore. A Republican running statewide here has to win more than the base. Bianco’s strength is that he sounds tough. His weakness is that he sometimes sounds only tough. I say that as someone who craves more law and order. I just also want someone who can win.
There is no point having the perfect conservative candidate if he cannot get through the top-two primary or persuade enough Californians in November. I do not need a candidate who makes me cheer for five minutes and then loses by twenty points while Sacramento keeps doing interpretive dance with my tax dollars.
The Top-Two Primary: Political Musical Chairs, But Everyone Brought a Chainsaw
The wildest part of the California governor race 2026 is that Hilton and Bianco are not just competing against Democrats. They are competing against each other, while also needing each other not to collapse.
California’s top-two system creates bizarre math. If Democrats split their votes across multiple candidates and Republicans consolidate around Hilton and Bianco, two Republicans could advance. But if one Republican crushes the other too hard, or if the conservative vote fractures in the wrong places, Democrats could still dominate the field.
It is like political musical chairs, except the chairs are on fire and everyone is blaming Trump for the smoke.
California Governor Race 2026: Gas Taxes, Homeless RVs, and Republican Math
The Los Angeles Times reported that Republicans Hilton and Bianco have led numerous public opinion polls while the Democratic field has split the vote, creating fears among Democrats that the party could be shut out of the general election. This is why conservative voters have to think strategically. Do you vote for the candidate who best matches your outrage? Or the candidate who has the best chance to win?
In my case, I am trying to decide whether California needs Hilton’s policy-and-persuasion approach or Bianco’s sheriff-with-a-broom approach. Honestly, some days I want both. I want Hilton to rewrite the tax code and Bianco to stand at the edge of Sacramento holding a clipboard and asking, “Who authorized this nonsense?”
The Democratic Debate: Whiteboards, Billionaires and Trump Tourette’s
Watching the debates as a conservative woman in California was not exactly relaxing. It was more like hot yoga for my eye muscles because I rolled them so often. But instead of walking away with toned calves, I was aggressively shoveling Strawberry Muffins in my face as I contemplated four more years of this California dumpster fire if Katie Porter actually wins.
There were moments when the Democrats sounded less like they were running for governor and more like they were competing in a group project titled “How Many Times Can We Shit on Donald Trump Before Someone Asks About Gas Prices?”
You’ve Got Gas — Unfortunately, California Taxed That Too
Becerra seems to believe that nearly everything wrong with California — from sky-high gas prices to the general feeling that your bank account gets mugged every time you visit a Chevron — somehow traces back to Donald Trump and turmoil overseas.
Meanwhile, at least Matt Mahan, despite being a Democrat, occasionally sounds like a man who has personally pumped gas into a vehicle before. Mahan called for suspending the California gas tax and reforming it so it is “no longer the most regressive tax in California.” Honestly? That is probably the most reasonable thing I have heard come out of Sacramento-adjacent politics in years.
Then there is Chad Bianco, who went even further and called for eliminating the gas tax entirely, arguing infrastructure maintenance should instead be funded by cutting government waste and fraud. At this point, I would settle for roads that do not feel like I am driving a covered wagon through the Oregon Trail. This is 2026 after all; is that too much to ask?
I live in the mountains, where winter weather absolutely destroys roads. I understand that snowplows, chains and ice do damage. But I am also paying nearly six dollars a gallon for gas while dodging potholes large enough to qualify as seasonal fishing ponds. Our roads in Big Bear were barely restriped after winter. Some stretches feel less like California highways and more like an obstacle course designed by raccoons with a Caltrans budget.
And before anyone says, “California does not have the worst roads in America,” let me stop you there. I have driven in both Minnesota and New Mexico. I have seen things. But California roads are uniquely frustrating because we are paying luxury-pricing for discount-bin infrastructure.
This is not some struggling third-world nation. This is California — one of the wealthiest economies on Earth. Why are we all paying Gavin Newsom’s ridiculous gas taxes while our highways still resemble an abandoned Walmart parking lot after a zombie apocalypse?
As Bianco bluntly put it:
“Don’t say gas tax is funding our roads, because we have the worst roads in the entire country.”
Honestly, at this point, every time Sacramento says “infrastructure investment,” I assume they mean another press conference explaining why the pothole that just destroyed my suspension is somehow Donald Trump’s fault, too.
Becerra leaned heavily on his record fighting Trump as California attorney general. The Los Angeles Times debate analysis noted that Becerra repeatedly relied on having sued Trump more than a hundred times. Okay, we get it. Fighting Donald Trump is apparently not just his political résumé; it’s also his favorite hobby, cardio routine and probably what he would put under “special skills” on LinkedIn.
Mrs. Potato Head for Governor: Now With Extra Boiling Rage
Katie Porter brought back the whiteboard energy — or in this case, aggressive substitute-teacher-with-a-grudge notebook energy. I’m sorry, but absolutely nothing on earth is convincing me to vote for Katie Porter, a woman who somehow gives off the energy of Tina Fey if Tina Fey had been trapped inside an hours-long PTA meeting fueled by iced lattes, hot boiled mashed potatoes rage.
Honestly, Katie Porter has almost ruined my enjoyment of Tina Fey. That is a sentence I never thought I would type as a woman who practically considers Saturday Night Live reruns a personality trait.
Now, to be fair, Tina Fey was legendary playing Sarah Palin on SNL. But to play Katie Porter, she would need less Alaskan accent work and significantly more “angry HOA president confronting you about your trash cans” energy.
Porter argued during the debate that California’s homelessness crisis is directly tied to the housing crisis and that, as governor, she would focus heavily on homelessness prevention. Yes, housing costs absolutely matter. California housing prices are so insane that people are charging $2,700 a month for what is essentially a refurbished garden shed with “rustic natural lighting.” But let’s stop pretending addiction is not a gigantic part of this disaster too.
At some point, California went from “Just Say No” to “Please do not smoke meth directly outside the Trader Joe’s.” Does anyone else remember D.A.R.E. assemblies back in the ’90s? Back when adults at least attempted to pretend drugs were a bad idea instead of acting like being permanently high is some kind of personality-enhancing wellness journey?
Now we live in a state w
here half the drivers look spiritually unavailable at red lights, fentanyl is everywhere, and teenagers are terrified that buying what they think is Adderall could turn into a chemistry experiment with deadly consequences. That is not compassionate progress. That is societal chaos wearing a “Coexist” bumper sticker.
Tom Steyer, meanwhile, is running as a billionaire climate crusader, which is a fascinating lane. It is like watching a Whole Foods receipt run for office on an affordability platform. Porter attacked Steyer over fossil fuel profits used to fund his campaign, while Steyer argued he is a change-agent candidate opposed by special interests.
I understand why Democratic voters have their favorites. I really do. Some of these candidates are smart. Some have real experience. Some are probably lovely at dinner parties where everyone pretends hemp tastes normal. But I am looking for someone who will stop treating California’s failures like branding challenges.
And Then There Is Spencer Pratt, Mayor of Gotham
I know Spencer Pratt is not in the governor’s race, but apparently, we live in a timeline where reality TV personalities, AI commercials and Gotham City energy now overlap with civic life. Spencer Pratt may genuinely want to help Los Angeles, and honestly, I do think his heart is probably in the right place. But I saw him on Fox News last week and good lord, the man talks like someone accidentally gave a motivational podcast a triple espresso and a ring light.
Sure, the AI commercials are interesting. Very dystopian. Very “Batman villain launches a startup.” But AI is not going to fix Los Angeles traffic, clean up encampments or explain to a guy on Venice Beach why he cannot store three shopping carts and a broken lava lamp in the bike lane.
A lot of my conservative friends in Los Angeles absolutely adore Spencer Pratt. They talk about him like he is some kind of crystal-powered Gotham City reformer sent to save Southern California from itself. Me? I still see a former reality TV star from The Hills who happens to have a political science degree from the University of Southern California and enough confidence to run a TED Talk from the passenger seat of a Lamborghini.
And listen, confidence is great. California could actually use more people who care enough to speak up. But fixing Los Angeles requires more than viral AI ads and chaotic podcast energy. It requires policy, leadership and somebody capable of speaking in public without sounding like they are live-streaming from inside a protein powder hallucination.
What I Actually Want From California’s Next Governor
I want a governor who remembers that California is not just San Francisco fundraisers, Los Angeles donor circles and Sacramento press conferences.
California is also Big Bear Lake. Bishop. Barstow. Bakersfield. Riverside. Redding. Fresno. Mammoth. Small towns. Working families. Ranchers. Guides. Contractors. Nurses. Teachers. Cops. Firefighters. Parents. Dog owners who would like to walk on the beach without doing a needle scan like they are clearing a crime scene.
I want clean beaches. Safe parks. Roads without potholes large enough to hide a Prius. Gas prices that do not make you get Tourettes at the pump. Forest management that understands trees are beautiful but unmanaged fuel loads are not a personality trait.
I want compassion that includes accountability.
I want an environmental policy that does not turn into economic punishment.
I want law enforcement that protects normal people.
I want a state government that remembers taxpayers are not an endless ATM in hiking boots.
And yes, I want California to feel like California again.
So Who Am I Leaning Toward: Hilton or Bianco?
Right now, if I am being honest, I think Steve Hilton may be the stronger statewide candidate.
Not because Bianco is wrong about crime. I think Bianco is right about a lot. California desperately needs law and order. We need accountability. We need someone willing to say the current system is failing residents, business owners and the unhoused people it claims to help.
You may just need this shirt for June 2nd and beyond
But Hilton may have the better chance to build a bigger coalition. He is more polished, more policy-focused and more likely to speak to independents and frustrated Democrats without immediately sending them into partisan cardiac arrest.
Bianco is the stronger emotional vote.
Hilton may be the stronger strategic vote.
And in California, strategy matters.
Because if Republicans blow this chance by splitting votes, fighting each other or nominating someone who cannot grow beyond the base, then we get another round of progressive leadership telling us everything is fine while we pay six dollars a gallon to dodge potholes on the way to a beach where shoes are now protective equipment.
For this middle-of-the-road conservative woman in a bright blue state, the question is no longer whether California needs change.
The question is whether conservative voters can choose the candidate who can actually deliver it. California does not need another slogan.
California needs a governor who can clean up the mess, lower the cost of living, restore public safety and make this state feel golden again.
And if that fails, on June 2nd, I still have my “Welcome to the Shit Show” shirt ready for civic engagement, obviously.
Frequently Asked Questions About the California Governor Race 2026
Who are the main Republican candidates in the 2026 California governor race?
The two Republican candidates getting the most attention are Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco. Hilton is the polished policy-focused candidate, while Bianco is the Riverside County sheriff running heavily on law and order, crime, taxes and public safety.
What is the difference between Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco?
Steve Hilton comes across as the policy guy, focused on taxes, regulations, cost of living, housing and broader government reform. Chad Bianco is the sheriff’s badge candidate, focused more directly on crime, homelessness, fentanyl, public safety and law enforcement.
Why does the California top-two primary matter?
California’s top-two primary means the two candidates with the most votes move on to the general election, regardless of political party. That means two Republicans could advance, but they could also split the conservative vote and accidentally help Democratic candidates.
What issues matter most in the 2026 California governor race?
For many California voters, the biggest issues are the high cost of living, gas prices, homelessness, crime, drug addiction, public safety, taxes, road conditions and whether California can become functional again.
Who is the best choice for California governor in 2026?
That depends on what kind of conservative candidate voters want. Chad Bianco may be the stronger emotional vote for law-and-order conservatives, while Steve Hilton may be the stronger strategic vote for voters looking for a candidate who can appeal to a broader statewide audience.
