Tensions remain high between the top two Republicans in the California governor’s race as Tuesday’s primary looms.

Candidate and former Fox News host Steve Hilton recently called on Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco to drop out of the race, saying that splitting the Republican vote could lead to two Democrats facing off in November’s election.

The top two candidates in Tuesday’s nonpartisan jungle primary will advance to the Nov. 3 general election.

The latest Real Clear Politics polling average shows former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra leading with 24.6 percent, followed by Hilton with 23.3 percent. Billionaire Tom Steyer, who’s running on a progressive platform, is at 21 percent. Bianco is in fourth place at 10.9 percent.

The rest of the 61 candidates listed on the primary ballot show less than 10 percent voter support.

“If you have two Democrats in the top two, then you don’t have any chance for change,” Hilton told The Epoch Times. “A vote for Bianco is a vote for a Democrat because he can’t get himself into the top two, but he can split the Republican vote.

“It’s nothing personal,” Hilton said. “It’s not any kind of criticism or commentary on his qualities or anything other than the reality of the math in an election like this one with a top-two system—which I hate, by the way.”

The top-two jungle primary puts too much focus on “this nonsense,” rather than on plans and preparations for saving California, he said.

As of June 1, about 3.6 million ballots—or about 16 percent of more than 23 million mailed out to California voters for the June 2 primary election have been returned, according to Political Data, Inc.’s early voting tracker.

So far, 21 percent of the returned ballots were from Republicans, 16 percent were from Democrats, and 11 percent were from No Party Preference and Other voters.

Bianco Vows to Stay On

The latest polls in the California governor’s primary, Bianco told The Epoch Times, are intended to sway Democrats to consolidate their vote under Becerra as the leading Democrat and “prop up” Hilton as the top Republican endorsed by President Donald Trump.

Bianco said that Democrats are elevating Hilton’s campaign through political action committee advertising.

“It’s a psychological ploy to pick who they want in November,“ Bianco said. ”They know that Becerra will beat Hilton.”

California gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra speaks during a campaign event in Los Angeles on April 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Hilton agrees that Democrats would like to see a Republican in the top two.

“They’re arrogant,” he said. “They assume it’s a one-party state, and they’ll keep winning.”

Although many Californians are desperate for change and believe the state is going in the wrong direction, “they believe they’ve got this state locked up … and that will be their undoing,” Hilton said.

“The crime, the chaos, the homelessness, school results—the worst in the country. Literally, everything is a total calamitous failure,” he said.

Democrats don’t understand how angry people are in California, Hilton said. They’re unaware of the momentum behind Republican campaigns such as his and Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt’s, he said.

“They don’t see the energy that we were seeing,” Hilton said.

Hilton brushed off Bianco’s criticisms that Democrats are aiding his campaign.

To win the governorship, Hilton says he must appeal to a broader base.

“So, I’m, of course, happy that I’m getting support right across the board from independents and Democrats, because that’s how you have to win,” he said. “You can’t win just with Republican votes.”

Platforms and Policies

“We started already finding and exposing the fraud in different areas,” he said, noting that initial estimates of overall fraud in California are $425 billion dollars in the last five years alone.

Circular funding between nongovernment organizations and political parties is “a huge part” of the problem, he said.

Hilton said he will tackle the homeless crisis by getting drug addicts and the mentally ill into treatment facilities; first meeting with local politicians to determine a reasonable amount of time—months, not years—to clear the encampments. If it’s not done within that time frame, he will use “state law enforcement resources” to do so.

Hilton has also promised Californians state income tax breaks. “If you earn less than $100,000 you pay no state income tax and if you earn more your first $100,000 is still tax-free,” he states on his campaign website.

California needs to reduce taxes, regulation and litigation risks to revive its business sector, which is “under assault,” Hilton said.

“It’s the number one reason we have the highest poverty rate, highest unemployment rate, and so on,” he said. “Everything else depends on the thriving business sector in California.”

Both the Becerra and Steyer campaigns declined requests for interviews and did not respond to subsequent inquiries by The Epoch Times.

Becerra has staunchly defended the Newsom administration, carrying the California Democratic establishment’s flag. He gave Newsom an “A” during a CBS-hosted debate in April when asked to grade  Newsom on the state’s homeless crisis.

Becerra vows “to protect and lead our state against Trump and his attacks,” and lists “Fighting Donald Trump” as a top priority on his campaign website.

Becerra also showcases his record of suing Trump 122 times when he served as California’s attorney general: on everything from “defending Dreamers” to “environmental justice” and “reproductive rights.”

Steyer made the national media spotlight in mid-April when he unveiled his immigration plan, including by accusing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of “acting like a criminal organization, carrying out indiscriminate racial profiling” and imposing fear.

He promised to “abolish ICE” in a plan outlined in an April 14 Substack article and has threatened to prosecute ICE officers.

Steyer has promised to “close corporate tax loopholes,” to raise more than $20 billion a year in new tax revenue to fund education, healthcare, childcare, and homecare, “without charging working people a penny” according to his campaign website.

Tom Steyer speaks during a gubernatorial candidate forum in Sacramento, Calif., on April 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

He also promises to lower electric bills and gas prices, as well as provide free college and universal healthcare.

Bianco’s campaign website lists restoring public safety as a top priority. He pledges to fully support and fund law enforcement, strengthen penalties for repeat offenders and defend victims’ rights.

On immigration, he vows to secure the southern border, stop illegal border crossings, end sanctuary policies, “remove violent criminals and end sanctuary for those who break the law,” and dismantle drug and trafficking networks, as well as support lawful immigrant workers through “fair programs and pathways that keep industries strong.”

Bianco has proposed to combat homelessness by clearing unsafe encampments, fast-tracking emergency shelters and providing supportive housing. He aims to expand treatment and mental health response, including mandatory care when needed, and audit spending on homelessness programs, funding “only those “proven to deliver real results.”

He supports nuclear energy as a clean, reliable energy source, and promises to modernize the power grid to prevent blackouts and hold regulators accountable to lower costs.

Bianco vows to defend agriculture by protecting water rights and eliminating regulations that are “crushing California farmers.” He pledges to expand water storage by modernizing infrastructure.