Steve Hilton is a Hungarian born, British raised (his unanglicized original family name was Hircsák), politically conservative, former strategy consultant for then-British Prime Minister David Cameron, then analyst/commentator at Fox News, who is now the Republican candidate for Governor of California.
His Democrat opponent is former California Attorney General, then Secretary of Homeland Security in the Biden administration, Xavier Becerra.
Shouldn’t be much of a contest, should it? This is California, Becerra is a Democrat. And Hilton is a conservative Republican (the daily-double of loser status in California state elections).
So what about the latest poll, taken after Becerra’s apparently disastrous debate performance against Hilton last Wednesday, which shows him leading 45.7% to 40.1% – just a 5.6% apart – with Hilton surging?
Well, before you get too excited about this in one direction or the other, please be advised that the poll, conducted by veteran pollster David Wolfson, was commissioned by heavily Republican/conservative leaning Fox News.
But, before you dismiss this as an outlying poll conveniently benefiting the candidate Wolfson’s client was probably rooting for, please be advised that Wolfson’s previous poll, also commissioned by Fox News, showed Becerra ahead by 15% – 52% to 37%.
And then there is the fact that Becerra suddenly dropped out of the next debate – even though it was sponsored by the heavily left-leaning Los Angeles Times.
Was Becerra’s sudden drop-out because of how poorly he presented himself in the Fox News debate/fear that Hilton would take him apart a second time? Was it because, despite Becerra’s years’ long claim that his father came to this country with just $12 in his pocket, it has come out that his father was born in Sacramento, California – which would certainly be brought up in the next debate? Was it both?
In my view, the bottom line is that there is still an excellent likelihood Xavier Becerra will win this election and – god help the state – become California’s next Governor. But it is not a lock. The upset would be major, but it could happen.
I’ll try to stay on top of this as it continues to develop. And, believe me, it will continue to develop.
