Steve Hilton Edges Out Contenders in California Governor Primary as Republican Victory Looms
By James Morley III | Thursday, December 18, 2025 at 4:07 PM EST
Author and former television personality Steve Hilton has moved into a small lead in the primary race for California governor, in a state where the top two finishers, regardless of party, advance to the general election.
According to a recent FM3 poll commissioned by the California Issues Forum—an organization aligned with moderate Democrat interests—Hilton leads by 1 percentage point over Republican Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., who are tied at 17%.
If Hilton and Bianco finish first and second in the primary, both Republicans would advance to the general election, benefiting from the wealth of Democrat candidates watering down their party’s vote.
Such an outcome would put California on track to elect a Republican governor for the first time since Arnold Schwarzenegger left office in 2011.
Swalwell entered the governor’s race in late November, quickly overtaking former Democrat Rep. Katie Porter as the Democratic front-runner after Porter faced a series of unflattering videos that appeared to show her berating junior staff members and struggling to answer follow-up questions from a journalist.
The FM3 Research poll was conducted from November 30 through December 7 among 821 likely voters. A margin of error was not provided.
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
