{"id":2648890,"date":"2026-08-24T12:12:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T16:12:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hilton-catches-up-to-becerra-in-race-for-california-governor-poll\/"},"modified":"2026-08-24T12:14:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T16:14:10","slug":"hilton-catches-up-to-becerra-in-race-for-california-governor-poll","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hilton-catches-up-to-becerra-in-race-for-california-governor-poll\/","title":{"rendered":"Hilton catches up to Becerra in race for California governor: Poll"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhilton-catches-up-to-becerra-in-race-for-california-governor-poll%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2648890&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A recent poll indicates that Republican candidate Steve hilton is closing the gap against Democrat Xavier becerra in the California governor\u2019s race, with Becerra leading 49% to 41% among likely voters-an 8-point margin, narrower than previous polls. Nearly 10% remain undecided. Becerra\u2019s support has declined from an 18-point lead earlier this month in a University of california, Berkeley poll, and he has now fallen below 50%, risking not securing a majority in November. Hilton, making his first U.S. political run, is confident in his campaign, criticizing Becerra\u2019s record as HHS Secretary and suggesting voters are seeking change.Becerra, a former California attorney general and long-time congressman, previously led by 25 points in a June poll. the upcoming election on November 3 remains competitive, with candidates continuing to appeal to voters. The poll surveyed 912 California registered voters from August 14-16,with a margin of error of 3.3%.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Republican <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4674274\/steve-hilton-xavier-becerra-debate-california-governor-race\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4674274\/steve-hilton-xavier-becerra-debate-california-governor-race\/\">Steve Hilton<\/a> is gaining on Democrat <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/xavier-becerra\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"1719\">Xavier Becerra<\/a> in the race for <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/california\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"60\">California<\/a> governor, according to a new poll released less than three months before the general election.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Becerra leads Hilton 49% to 41% among likely California voters in a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/08\/24\/us-news\/xaiver-becerras-lead-over-steve-hilton-shrinks-in-new-california-governor-poll\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/08\/24\/us-news\/xaiver-becerras-lead-over-steve-hilton-shrinks-in-new-california-governor-poll\/\">survey conducted<\/a> by David Wolfson, a national pollster who works at Columbia University\u2019s Political Analytics graduate program. Nearly 10% remain undecided on either candidate.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4698062\/steve-hilton-catches-xavier-becerra-race-california-governor-poll\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Steve Hilton catches up to Xavier Becerra in race for California governor: Poll<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/technology\/4696354\/shapiro-website-complain-data-center-construction\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Shapiro launches website for citizens to complain about data center construction<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4695147\/poll-firm-scrutiny-fail-ethic-standard-in-favor-florida-candidate-james-fishback\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Two more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/two-more-polling-firms-face-scrutiny-for-failing-to-meet-ethical-standards\/\" title=\"Two more ...ing firms face scrutiny for failing to meet &#039;ethical standards&#039;\">polling firms face scrutiny<\/a> for failing to meet \u2018ethical standards\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Becerra\u2019s 8-point lead is a considerably narrower margin compared to a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2026-08-13\/becerra-holds-strong-lead-over-hilton-in-race-for-california-governor-poll\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2026-08-13\/becerra-holds-strong-lead-over-hilton-in-race-for-california-governor-poll\">prior poll conducted<\/a> by the University of California, Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, which showed him with an 18-point advantage over his Republican counterpart earlier this month.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The latest poll shows Becerra falling below the 50% mark for the first time in the head-to-head race, suggesting the Democratic nominee could fail to secure majority support from California voters come Election Day in November.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hilton\u2019s confidence in his gubernatorial campaign is surely boosted by the new figures, which he <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SteveHiltonx\/status\/2091906076148998463\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SteveHiltonx\/status\/2091906076148998463\">touted on social media<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cXavier Becerra\u2019s support is collapsing as more and more Californians learn about his horrific record as HHS Secretary, sending thousands of Latino kids into the clutches of child sex and labor traffickers,\u201d Hilton told the <em>California Post<\/em>, which obtained the poll.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Becerra led the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/health-and-human-services\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"364\">Department of Health and Human Services<\/a> for four years under former President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"471\">Joe Biden<\/a>. Before his administration role, he served as California\u2019s attorney general for a single term and represented his state in the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/house\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"11272\">House<\/a> for 24 years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, this is Hilton\u2019s first foray into U.S. politics. Previously, the British-American conservative commentator was a Fox News host and a senior strategist for former British Prime Minister David Cameron.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ppic.org\/publication\/ppic-statewide-survey-californians-and-the-environment-july-2026\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.ppic.org\/publication\/ppic-statewide-survey-californians-and-the-environment-july-2026\/\">poll released<\/a> by the Public Policy Institute of California one month after the June 2 gubernatorial primary showed Becerra holding a 25-point lead over Hilton, with 61% to 36%. Hilton has now cut his opponent\u2019s lead by more than half in the new poll.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe thinks he\u2019s going to coast to victory as part of the corrupt Sacramento machine,\u201d Hilton said of Becerra, \u201cbut this poll shows that Californians have had enough and are now rising up to throw out the insiders and vote for the change we so desperately need.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4686933\/hilton-gains-ground-august-survey-california-governor-race-becerra-still-leading\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4686933\/hilton-gains-ground-august-survey-california-governor-race-becerra-still-leading\/\">STEVE HILTON GAINS GROUND IN CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR\u2019S RACE BUT BECERRA MAINTAINS LEAD: POLL<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Until they face off on Nov. 3, the two candidates will have to finish making their cases to voters.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wolfson surveyed 912 registered voters in California from Aug. 14 to 16, with a margin of error of 3.3 percentage points.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Steve Hilton narrows gap with Becerra in California governor race<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2159,"featured_media":2648891,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP26119040886712.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[84589,84590,37666,84588,40635],"class_list":["post-2648890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-becerra-poll","tag-california-governor-election","tag-california-politics","tag-hilton-gubernatorial-race","tag-political-polling"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP26119040886712.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2648890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2159"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2648890"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2648890\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2648894,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2648890\/revisions\/2648894"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2648891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2648890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2648890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2648890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}