Steve Hilton Urges Chad Bianco to Quit 2 Weeks Before California Primary as Newsom Warns Democrats
Updated
Updated · Fox News · May 20
Steve Hilton Urges Chad Bianco to Quit 2 Weeks Before California Primary as Newsom Warns Democrats
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · May 20
Two weeks before California’s primary, Republican frontrunner Steve Hilton accused Gov. Gavin Newsom of “fear mongering” and said Newsom’s warning about a Democratic lockout was meant to split GOP votes.
Hilton argued a two-Republican general election is “not possible,” citing polling that shows him leading and Chad Bianco running fourth, while Democrat Xavier Becerra sits in a close second.
In a Tuesday video on X, Hilton called on Bianco to drop out, saying a divided Republican vote could instead produce an all-Democrat top two under California’s jungle primary system.
Newsom said last week he had a “break the glass scenario” if Democrats risked being shut out, reflecting broader anxiety in a race strategists say has no obvious winner.
The top-two system, approved in 2010, has shut out major parties before — including Republicans in the 2018 U.S. Senate primary — and has already spurred a push to scrap it by 2028.
Could ranked-choice voting be the key to solving the complex strategic dilemmas now facing California's voters and candidates?
Do 'top-two' primaries truly empower voters, or do they create strategic chaos that limits general election choices?