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Trump puts political muscle on the line in high-stakes governor primaries
President Donald Trump’s extremely firm grip over Republican Party voters once again faces key tests in crucial gubernatorial primaries in California and Iowa.
Trump on Tuesday re-upped his support in California for GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton, a one-time British political strategist turned American conservative commentator and former Fox News Channel host whom the president recently endorsed in the race to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Pointing to Hilton, Trump wrote in a social media post, “He will work with me and the Federal Government, the money will flow because I have confidence in him (but not any of the others!), and we will MAKE CALIFORNIA GREAT AGAIN. Steve Hilton will NEVER let you down. VOTE NOW!”
California holds what’s known as a jungle primary, where all candidates regardless of party affiliation appear on the same ballot, with the top two finishers advancing to the general election.
There are a whopping 61 candidates on the ballot but only a handful of contenders have a good chance of making the cut.
Among the top three in the race are Hilton, and Democrats Xavier Becerra – a former longtime congressman and California attorney general who later served as a Cabinet secretary in former President Biden’s administration, would become the first Latino Golden State governor in modern history – and Tom Steyer, a billionaire hedge fund founder turned environmental activist who unsuccessfully ran for his party’s 2020 presidential nomination and who’s dished out over $200 million of his own money on his gubernatorial bid.
Also in the race is Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican. Bianco has argued that he’s the most conservative candidate in the race but has seen his support deteriorate after Trump backed Hilton.
Hilton, in a primary-eve interview with Fox News Digital, argued that “every vote for him [Bianco], I’m afraid to say it’s nothing personal. I have a good relationship, and I’d love to work with Chad. I’d love him to join my team. We can work together to save California. But every vote for him right now is actually a vote for a Democrat, A Democrat top two for the general election, which is a disaster.”
Hilton and Bianco are both hoping to become the first California Republican in the Democrat-dominated state to win a gubernatorial election since then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 2006 re-election two decades ago.
Democratic candidates former Rep. Katie Porter, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, are among the other better-known contenders.
Trump’s other big test comes in right-leaning Iowa.
The president late last week endorsed Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra in the competitive GOP gubernatorial nomination race in the battle to succeed retiring longtime Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds.
Feenstra is one of the front-runners in primary ballot box showdown that also includes entrepreneur and private school co-founder Zach Lahn, who is backed by the influential conservative group Turning Point USA, as well as state Rep. Eddie Andrews, former state Rep. Brad Sherman and former state administrative services director Adam Steen.
The winner will face Democratic state Auditor Rob Sand, who is unopposed in his primary. Sand is the only Democrat currently elected to statewide office.
The brute force of the president’s endorsement power and the immense grip he has on the Republican Party has been on display in GOP primaries the past month, with candidates Trump backed ousting incumbents he targeted in showdowns in Indiana, Louisiana, Kentucky, and Texas.
Iowa, once a key general election battleground state, shifted to the right over the past decade. Trump carried the Hawkeye State by 13 points in his 2024 presidential election victory and Republicans control the governor’s office, the legislature, and hold both U.S. Senate and all four U.S. House seats.
But with Republicans facing a very rough midterm political climate, Democrats are optimistic about their chances in Iowa this autumn.
