Steve Hilton's Lieutenant Governor pick: All we know about Gloria Romero as voting gets underway in California
As Republican Steve Hilton campaigns to become California’s next governor with President Trump’s full backing, he also has a clear preference for who should serve alongside him as lieutenant governor, a former Democratic state senator turned Republican Gloria Romero.
Who is Hilton’s lieutenant governor pick
While Hilton is battling for the governor’s seat, he has a preferred candidate for the lieutenant governor’s race too. Gloria Romero, the most high-profile Republican in the lieutenant governor race, is a vocal supporter of Hilton.
Romero is no stranger to California politics. She served in the California Legislature from 1998 to 2010, helped shape education policy and was the first woman to serve as majority leader of the state senate. She switched her party affiliation from Democratic to Republican in 2024, per Fox 40.
Romero holds an associate degree from Barstow Community College, a bachelor’s degree from California State University, Long Beach, and a PhD from the University of California, Riverside. Her career background includes working as an educator, per reports.
The lieutenant governor’s job is mostly ceremonial, but it has often helped politicians move on to the governor’s office. Current Governor Gavin Newsom previously served as lieutenant governor. The current lieutenant governor, Eleni Kounalakis, cannot run again because of term limits, according to Fox 40.
Trump and Vance back Hilton on primary day
Just hours before polls closed, Trump took to Truth Social to urge California voters to support Hilton. “Vote today for Steve Hilton for Governor,” Trump wrote.
Trump also promised that California’s relationship with the federal government, currently tense under Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom would dramatically improve under Hilton. “He will work with me and the Federal Government, the money will flow because I have confidence in him (but not any of the others!)” Trump said. “We will MAKE CALIFORNIA GREAT AGAIN. Steve Hilton will NEVER let you down.”
Vice President JD Vance also weighed in on X, wishing Hilton good luck and encouraging voters to support him. “He’s a good guy and I encourage everyone to get out there and support him,” Vance wrote. “California is such a beautiful state, it just needs better political leadership!”
Trump had originally endorsed Hilton back in April, calling him “a truly fine man” who would turn around the state’s “horrible direction” under “Newscum” which is his nickname for Governor Newsom, according to the New York Post.
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Who is Steve Hilton?
Hilton, 56, is not a typical American political candidate. Born in Britain to Hungarian immigrant parents whose original surname Hircsak was changed to Hilton and he grew up in the coastal city of Brighton and won a scholarship to the prestigious Christ’s Hospital School before going on to Oxford University, according to the New York Times.
He began his political career working for David Cameron at Conservative Central Office in Britain and became Cameron’s right-hand man, serving as one of his most influential advisers. He was known for walking the corridors of Downing Street shoeless and in shorts and for proposing unconventional ideas that regularly made headlines.
In 2012, he moved to California to follow his wife, Rachel Whetstone, a fellow Conservative strategist who went on to hold senior communications roles at Google and Netflix. Hilton became a US citizen in 2021 and later built a following as a Fox News host.
His 2024 tax records show his wife earned $6.7 million that year. Hilton himself earned $250,000, though a media production business he set up lost nearly $227,000.
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Among his biggest donors are Rupert Murdoch, founder of Fox News’s parent company and Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who not only donated the maximum amount allowed to Hilton’s campaign but also poured $66 million into a group opposing a proposed billionaire tax, as per New York Times.