A Republican candidate in California’s gubernatorial race is dominating the fundraising field, raking in more than $4 million in the past six months alone.
“We are leading this race and building a grassroots political revolution,” wrote Steve Hilton, the 56-year-old GOP hopeful and former Fox News contributor, on X on Monday.
Former Fox News contributor Steve Hilton is looking to replace Gavin Newsom as California governor in 2026. MediaNews Group via Getty Images“We will keep fighting to kick out the failed, corrupt Democrat machine and save California!”
Hilton’s campaign has now raised $5.7 million in total, the most of any candidate from any party, excluding self-funded Dem billionaire Tom Steyer.
Hilton’s fundraising is largely credited to more than 30,000 individual donors, according to his campaign.
He also loaned $100,000 his own campaign, Politico reported.
Hilton, a UK native who became a naturalized US citizen in 2021 and describes himself as a political outsider, called his latest funding haul “especially strong,” saying he finished well ahead of “establishment machine politicians like Eric Swalwell and Katie Porter.”
“This is truly a fantastic result and shows how much people are sick of Newsom and 16 years of one-party Democrat rule,” Hilton told The Post, referring to current lefty Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who can’t run again because of term limits on the office.
“We built this from scratch, in record time,’’ Hilton crowed of his campaign.
Hilton was leading among a scarce pack of GOP opponents in a poll last month.
The Democratic field is much more crowded and was being led by Hollywood A-lister fave and current US Rep. Swalwell, followed by former Rep. Porter and then Steyer and everyone from ex-Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, according to Civic Lens Research.
Swalwell — whose Tinseltown fans include Sean Penn and Robert DeNiro — received a $10,000 donation from Rob Reiner just six days before the famed tragic Hollywood director was murdered along with his wife in their mansion.
The Reiners’ drug-addled son Nick allegedly killed his parents.
The donation to Swalwell was one of Rob’s final political acts as a staunch Democrat.
After the Reiners’ slayings, the candidate posted, “Politicians always boast about how much they love this country.
“Few people I know loved this country more, rooted for it harder than my friends Rob and Michele Reiner.
“Anyone who knew them will agree there are no two people who are going to be missed more.”
