Overview
- Hilton formally opened his general campaign in Boyle Heights this week with full‑page ads in the Los Angeles Times and San Francisco Chronicle that ask readers if they can be anti‑Trump and still vote for him.
- The campaign released a 30‑second television spot and a two‑minute AI‑generated ad called “Machine” that dramatizes Democratic leaders producing Xavier Becerra as part of a Sacramento 'machine.'
- Hilton is leaning on policy promises to win crossover voters, pledging to cut gas to $3 a gallon, halve utility bills, and exempt the first $150,000 in state income from taxes.
- Xavier Becerra holds durable advantages in polls and money, with recent PPIC figures showing roughly 61% for Becerra to about 36% for Hilton and fundraising since the primary that heavily favors Becerra.
- Analysts and reporters note steep structural hurdles for Hilton in California, where Democrats outnumber Republicans nearly 2‑to‑1 and a Democratic legislature would limit what a Republican governor could deliver on gas, utilities and taxes.