Conservative commentator and former Fox News personality Steve Hilton is vying to become the first Republican governor of California since 2006. He's among the leading candidates, based on the latest polling, and just picked up the endorsement from President Donald Trump on Monday. KTLA's Annie Ros e Ramos talked to Hilton, who launched his campaign in Huntington Beach, about his platform and plans for the Golden State. Gas Prices Hilton said he's running as a candidate that can bring about positive change for California, things like $3 a gallon for gas. When asked how he will do this, Hilton said, "We used to produce most of the oil and gas that we use in California right here in state, but the Democrats have been shutting that down. All of these things can be changed by a governor who really understands how to make that happen." Education Ramos: As governor, you say you'll commit to every child in California being able to read by the end of third grade. If not, you say they should repeat the grade. Hilton: This is a disaster for our kids. How are they going to succeed in life if they don't get the basics right? Now other states are showing us how it's done. Mississippi, for example -- they actually call it the Mississippi Miracle -- used to be way behind California on school results, now they're way ahead. Homelessness Ramos: L.A. County 2024 count (is) estimating more than 75,000 people are experiencing homelessness. You say you would prioritize enforcing the law, specifically moving people off the street. But when it comes to L.A. County, which is already seeing a housing crisis, just logistically speaking -- where would you put all those people? California gubernatorial candidate and former Fox News personality Steve Hilton speaks to KTLA's Annie Rose Ramos. (KTLA) Hilton: Homeless encampments are illegal, so we've got to start enforcing the law. You don't see this in other states. You're right, though, that you can't just move people off the street and then that's the end of the problem. You've got to get people into drug and alcohol treatment. And the third part of the plan is you've got to get mental health treatment expanded. We are way under capacity for mental health beds. Immigration Ramos: What would you do with the millions of undocumented immigrants who are already here in California with no real pathway to gain citizenship? Hilton: I hear that term "pathway to citizenship." Well, we have one. It's called legal immigration. I just took it. It took nine years. Ramos: So the message for those roughly, you know, 2.5 million who are living in California. They're not criminals. They haven't been criminally convicted. Hilton: Well, you broke the law to come here. So I think that we've got to have some honesty about that. The trigger for the scenes that we saw in L.A. was a specific enforcement operation where there was a dangerous, violent criminal who local authorities didn't actually hand over to immigration enforcement, was protected by the sanctuary law. That's why ICE had to go into a working environment to find this person. Ramos: But if you go back to the way things played out, the National Guard coming in and what happened, what we saw on the streets of Los Angeles, throughout the county, what is your reaction to what happened there? Hilton: That was total avoidable. I would argue that Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass picked that fight. The Inside California Politics governor's debate is Wednesday, April 22, 2026 on KTLA and other Nexstar stations. The primary is June 2, at which point the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, will advance to November’s general election. KTLA's Annie Rose Ramos will be speaking with all of the top polling candidates over the next few weeks. Top candidates to face off in California governor debate April 22 on KTLA “Debate Night in California: The Race for Governor” will air live at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 22 and will be moderated by Inside California Politics host and FOX40 News anchor Nikki Laurenzo and KTLA 5 Morning News anchor Frank Buckley. It will be broadcast live from KRON’s broadcast studios in San Francisco. The top polling candidates, U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell (D), conservative commentator Steve Hilton (R), Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco (R), billionaire activist Tom Steyer (D) and former U.S. Representative Katie Porter (D) have all accepted the invitation to appear. To qualify, candidates had to reach at least 5% in the most recent Emerson College Inside California Politics survey. ...read more read less