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Republican California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton rallied Sunday in Pacific Palisades, a Los Angeles neighborhood devastated by the January 2025 wildfires, blaming Democratic leadership for the destruction and slow recovery just days before voters will choose the state’s next governor.
“I’m so sorry. And it’s so sad about what happened because it could and should have been avoided,” Hilton told supporters and residents. “This place is a symbol of 16 years of Democrat failure.”
The Palisades Fire burned more than 23,000 acres and destroyed roughly 6,800 structures, many of them homes. Fueled by powerful winds and dry conditions, the blaze displaced tens of thousands of residents and devastated large sections of the community, leaving a massive rebuilding effort in its wake.
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California Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton holds press briefing on homelessness during a campaign event on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Villegas)
Hilton argued that the disaster and its aftermath reflected broader failures of California’s Democratic leadership, from wildfire prevention and emergency response to rebuilding efforts.
“These are not random, disconnected events,” Hilton said. “These are what has gone wrong in the state of California over 16 years of one-party rule.”
Democrats have held California’s governorship for the past 16 years. Hilton faces Democrat Xavier Becerra, a former state attorney general and Health and Human Services secretary under President Joe Biden, in Tuesday’s election to succeed term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom.
A split image of California Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra (Getty)
Hilton, a former Fox News commentator who previously advised British Prime Minister David Cameron, has made criticism of the state’s Democratic leadership a central theme of his campaign.
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At the rally, he accused state and local officials of failing to adequately prepare for the fires and help residents rebuild, blaming what he called a combination of “incompetence, ideology and corruption.”
He also criticized environmental and land-management policies, arguing that inadequate brush clearance contributed to the destruction.
“The ideology that for years and years and years not just failed to clear the brush that could have prevented these fires here and in Altadena … but deliberately chose not to do that,” Hilton said.
Flames from the Palisades Fire burn a building on Sunset Boulevard amid a powerful windstorm on January 8, 2025 in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. (Apu Gomes/Getty Images)
Hilton pledged to appoint a recovery CEO to oversee rebuilding efforts if elected, arguing that residents had waited too long for their communities to recover.
“I spent the time, I’ve listened, and I can tell you right now, when I’m governor, I will appoint a recovery CEO to finally get things done, to finally get what you deserve,” Hilton said.
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He closed by urging voters to reject the idea that California must remain under Democratic control.
“This is not a blue state. It is not a red state. It’s the Golden State,” Hilton said. “And we are going to fight with everything we’ve got.”