Trump endorses Republican Steven Hilton for California governor, reordering wide-open race

LOS ANGELES (AP) — President Donald Trump has endorsed Republican Steve Hilton for California governor, reordering a crowded, wide-open race to lead the nation's most populous state.

Trump posted late Sunday on his social media platform Truth Social that he has known Hilton for years and called the conservative commentator “a truly fine man” who could turn around a state beset with notoriously high taxes. California, Trump wrote, “has gone to hell.”

“With Federal help, and a Great Governor, like Steve Hilton, California can be better than ever before!” Trump added.

The endorsement — coming about a month before mail ballots go to voters in advance of the June 2 primary — will help Hilton coalesce conservative support in a race with no clear leader. However, Trump is widely unpopular in heavily Democratic California outside his conservative base and Trump's backing would become a liability if Hilton faces a Democrat in the November election.

With a large field, Democrats have been fearful that a quirk in the state's unusual “top two” primary system could allow only two Republicans to reach the November general election ballot — Hilton and GOP rival Chad Bianco, the Riverside County sheriff. Trump's decision — a strong signal to undecided conservative voters — will make that outcome less likely by helping Hilton lure additional support.

There are more than 50 candidates on the ballot — including eight established Democrats and along with Hilton and Bianco, the two leading Republicans. An all-GOP general election is possible in California, which puts all candidates on one primary ballot and only the top two vote-getters advance to November, regardless of party.

Polling in early February by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California found the field had broken into two distinct groups, with Bianco, Hilton and three Democrats — U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, former Rep. Katie Porter and billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer — in close competition, with other candidates trailing.