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California Republican gubernatorial front-runner Steve Hilton blasted Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom for “frightening” after the governor suggested he has a contingency plan if Democrats appear to be in danger of being shut out of the general election.
California’s primary election is just two weeks away, and under the jungle primary system — where the top two vote-getters advance regardless of party affiliation — Democrats and Republicans fear they won’t be represented in the general election.
Newsom expressed his concern about the Republican shutdown last Thursday during a press conference, explaining that he “broke the glass” to ensure that Democrats were “locked out.”
“There are a lot of people who have a deep understanding of what it would look like if Democrats were shut out, and we’re going to do everything we can to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Newsom said. “I’ll leave it there.”
JOY REID BLASTS CA DEMS FOR ALLOWING GOP ALLIES TO LEAD FOR GOVERNOR
Former MSNBC anchor Joy Reid is warning California Democrats of the risk of losing ground in the governor’s race, saying the situation is critical to the national party’s political future. (Getty Images)
Fox News Digital has reached out to Newsom’s office for further comment.
Hilton said Newsom’s comments were a ploy to divide Republican voters between him and running mate Chad Bianco.
“He’s not trying to stop a ‘top two Republicans’ outcome because that’s impossible and never has happened,” Hilton said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Chad Bianco is far behind in polls and fundraising, and has no chance of being in the top two.”
GOP’S TWO NAMES BIANCO’S TWO NAMES JAB AT KATIE PORTER PAGES PAGES FROM CALIFORNIA CONTEST
Gov. Gavin Newsom signs an executive order to increase women’s access to money and opportunities to build wealth during a news conference at San Lorenzo High School in San Lorenzo, California, on March 18, 2026. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
RealClearPolitics polls show Hilton leading the field, with Democratic candidate Xavier Becerra a close second. Meanwhile, Bianco follows in fourth place.
Hilton said it would be a “great situation” for Newsom to have the two Democrats face off, saying it would take attention away from Newsom’s “dismal record” as he looks to run for president in 2028.
“Newsom and the Democrats fear an R vs R matchup in the general election to encourage Republicans to split their votes, thus ensuring a top two Democratic Alliance,” Hilton said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
In a video posted to X on Tuesday, Hilton called on her Republican rival Bianco to drop out of the race, in an effort to ensure the Republican vote.
Political strategists say there is a palpable fear among Democrats and Republicans that their party could be shut out of the national election because of the jungle primary, which took effect after voters approved it in a 2010 national referendum.
Former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate, speaks during a panel discussion with representatives of the Child Guidance Center in Santa Ana on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (Leonard Ortiz/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
“This is the first gubernatorial election where there is no winner, and that’s why it’s so intense,” Richard Winger, owner of Ballot Access News, told Fox News Digital.
Winger and former Democratic State Sen. Dario Frommer pointed to other races where the seat was open and two candidates from the same party were competing in the general election.
“Republicans were shut out in the California Senate primary in 2018 where the top two vote-getters were Kamala Harris and Rep. Linda Sanchez, and there have been other races where Republicans or Democrats have been shut out in the general election because of the top two,” Frommer, now a legislative strategist, told Fox News Digital.
“I think at the beginning there was real, real concern on the part of the Democratic Party, because there were so many Democratic candidates that Hilton and Bianco were going to be the two front-runners,” Fromer told Fox News Digital. “Now that has changed a bit.”
Fromer said that, based on current polls, the top two candidates are likely to be Hilton, Becerra, and Tom Steyer of the Democratic Alliance.
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But at the same time, Frommer said Democrats are not transparent.
“Normally, there’s a lot of people voting at this point, and they’re not, so I think that concern is true for Democrats, that people are waiting a long time to fill out their ballots, and only two people are voting for a Republican,” Fromer told Fox News Digital.
Fears that either party will be shut out of the general election this fall have prompted Democratic Alliance strategist Steven Maviglio to plan a ballot campaign to end the jungle primary, which could appear in the 2028 election.
“I think if two Republicans do a vote, or if two Democrats do a vote, then voter anger will be high, and that will only focus on what this failed test is,” Maviglio said of the forest primary.
