Who’s afraid of Kamala Harris?
Not Steve Hilton, the tech founder turned TV commentator running on the GOP ticket for California governor next year, who says the former veep’s aspirations to govern the Golden State are purely self-promotional.
Hilton, 55, the conservative populist Brit who announced his bid for governor of California last week, told The Post in an exclusive interview if Harris does enter the race, her campaign will be all about her — not California.
“It’s always about her — all about her,” he said of the ex-presidential nominee. “She’s intrigued by the idea of being America’s first female black governor, and she’s a machine politician with absolutely nothing to offer in terms of making life better, restoring the California Dream and helping the people of this state who are so desperate for change.”
California is also intrigued at the prospect of a Kamala Harris run — she’s leading the pack of more than a dozen Democrats in an Emerson College poll, with 31% support among likely voters in California’s open primary. But that same poll shows that Californians are split 50-50 on whether she should run at all.
Harris hasn’t yet decided whether to run for governor of California, where she previously served as the state’s attorney general. Politico reported she’ll make the call by late summer.
Hilton has no fear of facing off against the former VP — or any Dem.
“Any Democrat, by definition, is not the change we need in California,” he told The Post, citing 15 years of one-party rule and a slew of other problems facing the state, like high taxes, housing affordability, exorbitant energy costs and a hostile business climate.
“The amazing thing about Kamala Harris is that she’s clearly learned nothing from the defeat of last year,” Hilton said. “Just as the campaign she ran last year was so empty of any substance or seriousness in terms of offering people a better life, it’s the same all over again the way she’s approaching this potential run for governor.”
He said Democrats are in for a rude awakening.
“The arrogant and complacent Democrat Industrial complex, financed by the unions and ruled by activists, has gotten used to having it all their own way,” he said of the state’s machine politics.
“They’re in for a big shock, because Californians are waking up and saying we’ve got to change direction, we can’t go on like this,” he added.
At least one poll shows Hilton could be correct.
A March Sacramento Bee survey showed that nearly half of Californians are strongly considering voting GOP in 2026 — in a state where Democratic voters outregister Republicans nearly 2 to 1.
Hilton was born in the UK to Hungarian parents who escaped communism in their home country. Once a political adviser to British PM David Cameron, he moved to the US in 2012 and became a citizen in 2021, thus allowing him to meet the citizenship requirement to run for governor in California.
After leaving UK politics, he co-founded a Silicon Valley tech startup called Crowdpac, a for-profit website that allows political candidates to raise small-dollar donations.
He parted ways with the company in 2018 after his vocal support for Donald Trump conflicted with its predominantly left-leaning users.
Hilton hosted “The Next Revolution” on Fox News from 2017 until 2023, and remained a paid commentator there until announcing his bid for governor last month.
He’s the second Republican to announce in the race, following Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.
On the Democrat side, the field is crowded — and growing. Former LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, former Orange County rep Katie Porter, and four other state Democrats so far have launched campaigns to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom when he terms out in 2026.
Hilton says the current governor, who has drawn ridicule for his recently-debuted eponymous podcast, is simply phoning it in with two years left on the clock.
“None of it is serious,” Hilton said of the Newsom’s new attempts to diagnose Democrats’ wokism woes and trouble attracting male voters.
“He’s acting as if he’s some political commentator without an actual job that has actual responsibilities, but he’s currently the governor, so he could be taking action on these things,” Hilton continued, adding that he’s hoping to make the opposite career move.
California will hold its open primary race on June 2, 2026.
