California Governor Gavin Newsom’s Leadership Under Fire as Republican Candidate Steve Hilton Denounces State’s Inefficient Governance

By Sam Barron | Thursday, 11 December 2025 07:50 PM EST

Steve Hilton, who is running for the Republican nomination for California governor, did not mince words in an interview regarding how poor a leader Gov. Gavin Newsom has been.

Hilton mocked Newsom for asserting that California was among the first to implement government efficiency reforms, claiming the state serves as the model for streamlined operations.

“What are you talking about?” Hilton said.
“It’s literally the worst in the country. The highest taxes for the worst outcomes anywhere of all 50 states.”

Hilton, speaking from the Central Valley, described California as filled with bridges that go nowhere, tons of money spent on combating homelessness while homeless populations continue to rise, and a high-speed rail system that has built no tracks.

He noted that in Newsom’s first budget, he vowed to modernize California’s antiquated 911 system.
“He spent half a billion dollars,” Hilton said. “They just announced last week it’s going to be scrapped because it never worked.”

“This guy wants to be president, and he can’t organize a phone line in seven years with half a billion dollars,” he added. “It’s unbelievable.”

“The level of lying and gaslighting we get from him now is just utterly pathological,” Hilton continued. “Almost everything he says, he is doing the exact opposite of what he says.”