California Governor’s Race: Tensions Rise Between Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco Polling in the 2026 California governor’s race has placed former Fox News host Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco at the top of the Republican field, with some surveys indicating they could potentially advance to the November runoff against the Democratic candidates. Despite both being conservative Republicans aligned with former President Donald Trump, the two candidates have openly criticized each other over key issues, including law enforcement policies, immigration, and their responses to the Black Lives Matter movement. Bianco has accused Hilton of undermining the possibility of two Republicans winning by adopting a “destructive” strategy against his opponents. During an interview with ABC7 political reporter Josh Haskell, Bianco claimed that Hilton’s tactics have “ruined that chance,” arguing that the former Fox News host’s approach has focused on attacking his rivals rather than addressing the broader challenges facing California. Bianco emphasized that Hilton’s actions have contributed to the unrest in Riverside, where he was involved in a controversial incident during the George Floyd protests in June 2020. Hilton, however, has dismissed Bianco’s claims as false. He criticized Bianco for allegedly “buckling in the face of pressure” during the protests, referencing a moment when Bianco called on Black Lives Matter protesters to collaborate with him. Hilton created a website called BLM Bianco to highlight this incident, which he claims shows Bianco’s supposed alignment with the movement. Bianco responded by calling Hilton a “liar,” insisting that he was the first law enforcement leader in the country to “stand up to BLM” and use “an overwhelming show of force” to disperse protesters.#steve_hilton #chad_bianco #josh_haskell #george_floyd_protests #gavin_newsom
Tom Steyer’s intentions are righteous, but his ideas don’t add up On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to speak to gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer about his campaign. Steyer is a billionaire environmentalist with a long history of political activity. In 2020, he sought the Democratic presidential nomination. He spent millions during President Trump’s first term on an ad campaign to have Trump impeached. As a citizen, he has held fundraisers for Democratic candidates such as President Obama and Hillary Clinton and championed numerous environmental policies. Today, he’s among the top polling candidates to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom, offering a progressive message to Californians. Steyer is running heavily on making corporations “pay their fair share” and has publicly stated he would like to hold a special election to modify Proposition 13, the landmark initiative that caps property tax increases. He has proposed modifying Prop. 13 to allow the state to assess commercial property taxes based on market value. When I asked him why he thought these tax hikes wouldn’t increase prices and slow economic growth, Steyer clarified that the changes would distinguish between large and small businesses. He argued that charging people fairly for commercial real estate doesn’t seem like an unfair thing to do. He also claimed that a 1% property tax is not dramatically different from what others charge and that it wouldn’t be a big drag on business. He called the current system an “actual honest to God tax loophole” and insisted it’s a “completely just thing to do.” Unfortunately, that was the extent of his answer. Typically, increasing the cost of doing business, as such a modification would undoubtedly cause, leads to higher prices and slower economic growth.#california #gavin_newsom #tom_steyer #prop_13 #rent_control
