One-Party California: The Bill, The Fires, And The Ballots

Introduction

Seven weeks before California's 2026 gubernatorial election, Steve Hilton — Republican candidate, British-born immigrant, and former Silicon Valley entrepreneur — sat down with the All-In hosts, followed by Spencer Pratt, fresh from an independent run for Los Angeles mayor that he says was decided after the polls closed. The two hours that followed doubled as an indictment of one-party rule and an argument, from inside two campaigns, about whether the state's ballot system is rigged, legal, or both. The discussion ranged from the price of gasoline to a class-action lawsuit over the Palisades fire, and it ended with the season's central wager: that seven weeks of voting, and two years of pressure, can break a machine.

Hilton opened with the frame that carried his whole appearance: California is not just the largest state but the richest state in the richest country on Earth, and, as he put it, "California means to America what America means to the world." Steve Hilton 00:32 “California means to America what America means to the world.” Direct Audio Anchor Listen from 00:32

Sixteen Years Of One-Party Rule

Hilton's state-of-the-state argument was blunt: after 16 years of one-party control, California has the highest poverty rate, the highest unemployment rate, and by far the highest cost of living in the country. U.S. Census Bureau With Caveats 2026-09-15 States With Highest Poverty Rates Clustered in the South Verified Media Report Read Source Article He cited Chief Executive magazine, which he said has ranked California 50th out of 50 for business climate for over a decade. Steve Hilton 03:24 “And that's right, Chief Executive magazine has ranked California 50th out of 50 for business climate in its annual survey of business leaders for over a decade in a row.” Direct Audio Anchor Listen from 03:24 The mechanics, in his telling, are volume: last year the legislature passed 1,118 bills that nobody reads before signing. Steve Hilton 05:42 “year, the Sacramento legislature passed 1,118 bills.” Direct Audio Anchor Listen from 05:42 His remedy is a first-term pledge to cut the state's regulations from over 420,000 to fewer than 200,000. Steve Hilton 06:24 “that we're going to reduce the number of regulations in California from the current over 420,000 to less than 200,000 by the end of my first term, which will make” Direct Audio Anchor Listen from 06:24 Listen · 03:03

The reason he thinks this lands now is arithmetic: a 30-point partisan gap on primary night has narrowed, poll by poll, to 8 points. Steve Hilton 08:03 “few months. From a 30-point gap on primary night to 25, 18, 14 points. The latest poll is an 8-point gap. We are” Direct Audio Anchor Listen from 08:03 Behind the polling is the household math he recites on the trail — an average home price approaching a million dollars against an average individual salary of $65,000. Steve Hilton 10:07 “The average home price in California is now approaching a million dollars. The average salary in California for an individual is $65,000. I” Direct Audio Anchor Listen from 10:07

A Cost-Of-Living Pitch For Persuadable Voters

The campaign's own early survey, Hilton said, shows 33% firmly for him, 41% firmly for his opponent Xavier Becerra, and 26% undecided — mostly former Democratic working people without college degrees on the financial edge. Those 33/41/26 numbers are the whole strategy: the path to victory runs through persuadable Democrats, not base mobilization. Steve Hilton 13:18 “these numbers. 33% are firmly with me, 41% are firmly with Becerra, 26% are undecided. Now,” Direct Audio Anchor Listen from 13:18 The offer to them is concrete: no state income tax on the first $150,000 of income. Steve Hilton 14:32 “state income tax. Your first 150k is tax-free, no state income tax; this leaves” Direct Audio Anchor Listen from 14:32 On energy, he blames about $1.50 a gallon in hidden fuel levies — the low-carbon fuel standard and cap-and-trade — for gas at roughly $6, promising $3. Steve Hilton 15:24 “trade program. That's about $1.50 more than the price of gasoline.” Direct Audio Anchor Listen from 15:24 And he would cap vehicle registration at $73 a year, with the DMV as the symbol of the nanny state he is running against. Steve Hilton 15:54 “tax. Well, we're going to cap the vehicle registration fee at $73 per year,” Direct Audio Anchor Listen from 15:54

The Case Against Becerra

On his opponent, Hilton quoted Democrats rather than Republicans: Susan Rice, he said, described Becerra as an "idiot" after four years working with him. Steve Hilton 16:56 “years. Her description of Becerra is — and I quote: "idiot."” Direct Audio Anchor Listen from 16:56 He recalled Becerra's own CNN answer before the primary, when asked what he would change about homelessness and poverty: California is the fourth largest economy in the world, people still come to Disneyland and the beaches, so things must be going well. Office of Governor Gavin Newsom Corroborates 2025-04-24 California is now the 4th largest economy in the world Verified Media Report Read Source Article A host added Peter Thiel's old remark that Silicon Valley is a "resource curse" for California — so much wealth and tax revenue that good government is unnecessary — which is how a one-party state hardens. Episode discussion 18:57 “Silicon Valley is like a "resource curse" for the state of California, because it” Direct Audio Anchor Listen from 18:57 Listen · 19:35

Pratt's Message And The Mathematically Impossible Flip

Spencer Pratt arrived with a different tone. Where Hilton says "machine," Pratt says "a corrupt criminal mafia cartel" that launders taxes while people die on the sidewalks. Spencer Pratt 22:04 “calling it a machine. I prefer to call it a corrupt criminal mafia cartel. You know, the "machine"” Direct Audio Anchor Listen from 22:04 His independent mayoral campaign became known for AI-generated viral videos; he insisted the technology was not the point. "It wasn't the AI, it was what was in those videos" — truth, spoken in his own voice, that most of his voters were Democrats responding to. Spencer Pratt 23:51 “through everything. It wasn't the AI, it was what was in those videos, I was speaking in” Direct Audio Anchor Listen from 23:51 He said he would have won outright had 200,000 registered Republicans in Los Angeles actually voted. Spencer Pratt 24:27 “Raman and Bass if 200,000 registered Republicans in Los Angeles had actually voted. And that's” Direct Audio Anchor Listen from 24:27

His account of election night is the episode's rawest passage. He was celebrating a clear second place while his opponent cried on camera — and then, in his words, "the most mathematically impossible thing in the history of politics happened," as the third-place candidate overtook both leaders on late mail ballots. Spencer Pratt 25:28 “was losing 10%, and then the most mathematically impossible thing in the history of politics happened.” Direct Audio Anchor Listen from 25:28 The design detail he keeps returning to: under California mail-ballot rules, a witness can sign with an emoji, and witnesses are not checked. Spencer Pratt 26:34 “a witness can sign with an emoji, x. This” Direct Audio Anchor Listen from 26:34

The Street-Level Evidence

Hilton grounded the indictment in two street scenes. At MacArthur Park on a Tuesday mid-morning, he said, four nonprofits come in every day, handing out crack pipes, needles, and drugs — paid for by taxpayers. Steve Hilton 28:16 “every day four nonprofits come in, handing out crack pipes, needles, drugs. Who pays for it?” Direct Audio Anchor Listen from 28:16 And in South Central, a spotless 14-year-old family shoe shop is going bankrupt because street vendors cover every inch of the sidewalk outside; Sacramento legalized street vending statewide in 2018, and cities and counties can no longer do anything about it. Steve Hilton 30:54 “studied this issue. Eight years ago, in 2018, Sacramento passed a law legalizing street vending in California. All across the” Direct Audio Anchor Listen from 30:54 Pratt's version of the same ledger was blunter: the city found $500,000 to buy vendors carts while his neighborhood burned because a $200,000 tank cover went unfixed. Spencer Pratt 32:37 “they gave these vendors $500,000 to provide them with carts. My city burned down, because Mayor Bass and LADWP didn't fix the tank cover, which cost $200,000. So they have” Direct Audio Anchor Listen from 32:37 Hilton closed his own appearance on the upside, releasing a plan that day for 10 new cities for California. Steve Hilton 36:08 “state. I have a plan that we're releasing today: 10 new cities for California.” Direct Audio Anchor Listen from 36:08

Fraud, Or Legal By Design?

The strongest exchange of the episode is the one the two guests and the hosts could not settle. Pratt walked through what he found when he hired law firms to investigate: at the counting site, ballots are separated from their envelopes. Once separated, "they separate them from the envelopes" — no signature can be matched, the chain of custody is broken, and a recount just recounts the same ballots. Spencer Pratt 39:43 “"They separate them from the envelopes. So,” Direct Audio Anchor Listen from 39:43 A host countered that President Trump filed 60 such lawsuits claiming the same thing and lost all 60. Episode discussion 40:56 “President Trump filed 60 of these lawsuits when he lost last time, and he claimed the same thing. He lost all 60 of them. You” Direct Audio Anchor Listen from 40:56 Asked point-blank whether he claims he lost to fraud, Pratt answered: "Without evidence, I would say no." Spencer Pratt 41:18 “trick question. I... Without evidence, I would say no.” Direct Audio Anchor Listen from 41:18

David Friedberg's rebuttal set the terms of the disagreement: "This is not fraud, Jason. It's that they're following a law that was created to allow them to do what they're doing. It's legal." David Friedberg 41:49 “This is not fraud, Jason. It's that they're following a law that was created to allow them to do what they're doing. It's legal.” Direct Audio Anchor Listen from 41:49 Pratt's counterexample: wearing a campaign hat near a ballot is illegal campaigning, but it is legal for DSA organizers to bike into apartment buildings, collect ballots, and pitch their candidate door to door. Spencer Pratt 42:32 “illegal. But it's not illegal for the DSA communists to ride their bikes, go into your apartment building, knock on your door and say, "Hey,” Direct Audio Anchor Listen from 42:32 He pointed to downtown voter rolls sending hundreds of ballots to an empty parking lot. Spencer Pratt 45:28 “Angeles, there's an empty parking lot where hundreds of ballots are being sent,” Direct Audio Anchor Listen from 45:28 His bottom line is procedural, not prosecutorial: "we need voter IDs. People should put this to a vote." Spencer Pratt 45:58 “The bottom line is that we need voter IDs. People should put this to a vote. Therefore.” Direct Audio Anchor Listen from 45:58

The Palisades: Empty Tanks And A Class Action

The final movement moves from ballots to fire. A year after the Palisades fire took his house, Pratt says the empty water tank is still empty, and the one across the street too; a hose from Topanga now supplies the neighborhood. Spencer Pratt 47:25 “That empty tank is still empty, and the tank” Direct Audio Anchor Listen from 47:25 A brush-clearance specialist told him a 300-yard firebreak around the Palisades would have cost "less than $500,000 to save billions" — but cutting protected dry brush brings fines, and LADWP was fined $1 million for trying. Spencer Pratt 48:16 “He said, "Less than $500,000 to save billions."” Direct Audio Anchor Listen from 48:16 Rebuilding is frozen behind a class action with 10,000 victims claiming negligence. Spencer Pratt 49:13 “This is a class action lawsuit for damages. That's 10,000 victims due to negligence. They” Direct Audio Anchor Listen from 49:13 The claim at its core: a New Year's Eve 8-acre fire was left smoldering by the state park before the known January 6-7 wind event, over photographed objections that "we're not firefighters." Spencer Pratt 49:23 “on New Year's Eve there was a fire in Pacific Palisades, 8 acres. They extinguished it. The state park did not control this fire as required by their manual, and they left it smoldering before a known wind event that was coming on January 6-7.” Direct Audio Anchor Listen from 49:23 Pratt's answer to the experience question is that Los Angeles needs a mayor who enforces the law. Spencer Pratt 50:54 “law? Los Angeles needs a mayor who enforces the law. Neither Mayor Bass” Direct Audio Anchor Listen from 50:54

Seven Weeks And Two Years

What Pratt does next is content: "truth has no sides," he said, declining the Republican label his audience assumes. Spencer Pratt 52:05 “Republican." No, truth has no sides. This, this is so” Direct Audio Anchor Listen from 52:05 He floated turning Skid Row into data centers — private billions for the city, water pipes relocated. Spencer Pratt 52:43 “mayor, because I was going to turn Skid Row into a whole bunch of data centers.” Direct Audio Anchor Listen from 52:43 And the hosts sent him off with a two-year assignment: torture Karen Bass, and be ready when the city calls back. Episode discussion 54:57 “torture them. Torture Karen Bass for the next 2 years.” Direct Audio Anchor Listen from 54:57 Hilton's timeline is shorter: seven weeks, one debate, and a bet that the 26% have stopped believing the machine's story.