California doesn't always have to stay under the control of Democrats, Steve Hilton, a GOP gubernatorial candidate, told Newsmax, Sunday.
"I think the thing that people have to imagine is the sense in California that after 15 long years of this one-party rule, there's a sense that well, this is just the way it is, and it's always going to be like this," Hilton, a former adviser to British Prime Minister David Cameron, told Newsmax's "Sunday Report." "I'm here to say, No, it doesn't have to be this way."
California doesn't have to be a state with the highest rate of poverty in the country, said Hilton.
"One-third of people here in California can't meet their basic needs for food and shelter and housing and gas and electricity," he said. "The typical house price is nearly $1 million. Under half of the kids in the public schools meet state standards in English, and for math, it's a third. It doesn't have to be like this. We can change. We can be better."
Under Gov. Gavin Newsom, Hilton added, the "one-party rule" has resulted in a "terrible combination of really bad ideas, ideological extremism on everything from climate change and the climate extremism that has pushed up costs for everything."
The Los Angeles fires, he added, were so bad because of the state's "climate extremism," which meant the areas were not managed properly, and because of the "total incompetence" from Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
"I think it's that combination of ideology, ideology and incompetence that has caused the problems," said Hilton.
Newsom, he added, is "not interested" in dealing with problems that people have.
"That's why we've got to get back to common sense, positive, practical policies," said Hilton. "That's really the heart of my campaign. It's not exactly partisan because everyone can see we've got to cut taxes for working people, get rid of the insane bureaucracy that makes it impossible to build a home, run a business, or do anything in California. Real standards of academic performance in our schools. Those are practical things that everyone can agree about."
Hilton said he launched his campaign in Huntington Beach, which has shifted to being Republican-led.
"In the last two weeks, it was rated the best-run city in California," said Hilton. "In the elections last November, President [Donald] Trump got more votes in California than any Republican candidate for a generation. Ten counties flipped from blue to red. So the signs are there that change is coming. And what we've now got to do is really accelerate that and be out there with a positive vision that people can get behind. That's why I'm running, and that's why I want everyone to support me."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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