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‘Blue-sky thinker’ and former Fox News host moved to the US state after his time in Downing Street
A former spin doctor to Lord Cameron is reportedly laying the groundwork to run as a Republican candidate for California governor.
Steve Hilton, who was Lord Cameron’s director of strategy in Downing Street from 2010 to 2012, is seen by local Republicans as a serious candidate to replace Gavin Newsom, according to Politico.
Mr Hilton acquired a reputation for “blue-sky thinking” at No 10 for proposals that provoked exasperated exchanges with Whitehall mandarins and Andy Coulson, the director of communications.
His ideas included abolishing maternity leave to boost productivity, replacing hundreds of government press officers with a handful of bloggers, and getting rid of job centres while handing out money to community groups.
While the Conservatives were in opposition, he reportedly suggested investing in a “cloud-busting” machine to provide Britain with more days of sunshine.
People close to Mr Hilton said he is now focused on tackling California’s biggest problems, including the high cost of living and education, and a lack of affordable housing.
A future platform would likely involve embracing the tech sector – Mr Hilton having worked to win over Silicon Valley billionaires who have become disillusioned with the direction of the state.
“He is thinking very seriously about running for governor and he is doing it in a very organised way,” said Jim Brulte, a former California Republican Party chair and lead of the state Senate. “I know he’s talking to a lot of the right people because I have heard from a lot of the right people that he’s talking to them.
“He’s focused on policy and my sense is his campaign would be a policy-driven agenda. He’s a positive and optimistic guy.”
Mr Hilton, who is believed to have been the inspiration for the herbal tea-drinking spin doctor Stewart Pearson in the BBC sitcom The Thick of It, moved to the wealthy town of Atherton in California after leaving No 10.
He became a Fox News host in 2017, hosting “The Next Revolution” on Sunday nights until last year, and took US citizenship in 2021.
The 55-year-old, who was known for walking around Downing Street in his bare feet, raises chickens and is said to be known locally for ditching formal shirts in favour of “canary-yellow henleys”
Chamath Palihapitiya, a billionaire tech venture capitalist, praised Mr Hilton as a “no-BS person who cuts to the heart of issues no matter how uncomfortable the truth is”.
He added: “I think that that could be really refreshing at the right moment in California.”
Local Republicans believe the fate of Mr Hilton’s candidacy will depend on what happens in the presidential election in November.
If Donald Trump returns to the White House, they believe there will be little room for a fellow Republican such as Mr Hilton to break through.
However, if Kamala Harris becomes the US’s first female president, then California voters are expected to be more receptive to an anti-establishment candidate.
Mr Hilton has been a strong supporter of Trump since his election run in 2016, while the former president is known to watch his Fox News programme and has previously posted clips of it on social media.
California has not had a Republican governor since Arnold Schwarzenegger, the actor and bodybuilder, left office in 2011.