GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Hilton Pledges Democratic Senate Appointee If Vacancy Opens

The pledge tests whether California voters will reward a Republican candidate who explicitly defers to Democratic electoral preferences in a state where Democrats hold a roughly 22-point...

Republican California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton stated on September 15, 2026, that he would appoint a Democrat to fill a United States Senate vacancy if elected governor and if one of California's two sitting Democratic senators left office during his term. The statement was made during an appearance on the podcast "Pod Save America," as reported by the New York Post.

Hilton's exact words, as quoted by the Post, were: "I just think you've got to honor the vote that people took." He was responding to a hypothetical scenario posed by host Jon Lovett involving either Sen. Alex Padilla or Sen. Adam Schiff vacating their seat.

Both Padilla and Schiff are Democrats currently serving in the United States Senate representing California. Padilla was appointed to the seat in January 2021 by then-Gov. Gavin Newsom following Vice President Kamala Harris's departure, then won a full term in November 2022 (California Secretary of State, certified election results, November 2022). Schiff won his Senate seat in the November 2024 general election, defeating Republican Steve Garvey (California Secretary of State, certified election results, November 2024).

Under California law, when a U.S. Senate vacancy occurs, the governor holds the authority to make a temporary appointment to fill the seat until a special election can be held. The relevant statute is California Elections Code Section 10720, which governs Senate vacancy appointments. A governor's appointment does not require legislative confirmation.

The pledge by Hilton is notable in the context of California's partisan registration numbers. As of the most recent California Secretary of State report, Democratic registrants outnumber Republican registrants in the state by approximately 22 percentage points, with Democrats holding roughly 46 percent of total registrations and Republicans holding approximately 24 percent. No-party-preference voters account for most of the remainder.

Hilton, a British-born former Fox News host and one-time advisor to former British Prime Minister David Cameron, has sought the California governorship as a Republican. He announced his candidacy in the 2026 race. The California gubernatorial election is scheduled for November 2026. Newsom, the current governor, is term-limited and cannot seek re-election.

The political context of the pledge is relevant for two reasons. First, it places Hilton to the left of standard Republican Party strategy on Senate control, since a Democratic appointment would leave the Democratic Party's Senate caucus intact rather than potentially flipping a seat. Second, it is directed at an audience, the "Pod Save America" listenership, that skews heavily Democratic, according to publicly available podcast demographic surveys cited by the show's producer, Crooked Media, in prior advertising materials.

No Republican National Committee or California Republican Party response to Hilton's statement was publicly available in official party statements or press releases as of the date of this report. The extent to which this pledge affects Hilton's standing in the Republican primary field is unknown. What public record would clarify the field's position is any formal response filed by competing candidates or the California GOP through official party communications.

Hilton's Democratic opponents in the governor's race have not issued documented public responses to the pledge as of September 16, 2026. The full list of declared candidates in the 2026 California gubernatorial race, and their campaign finance totals, are available through the California Secretary of State's campaign finance database and Federal Election Commission filings, which would provide the most complete picture of where Hilton stands relative to the broader field.

What remains unknown is whether Hilton intends the pledge to apply to any Democratic senator, including potential future appointees, or only to Padilla and Schiff specifically. The "Pod Save America" interview in full has not been independently transcribed in public records as of this report. A full transcript of the interview would clarify the precise scope of the pledge.