Want to see an ongoing demoralization campaign in real time? Look to the California governor’s race.
Polls show Democrat Xavier Becerra leading Republican Steve Hilton by double digits, and some Republicans already seem to have decided the race is over.
Friends and acquaintances keep asking me, “Dex, what do you think of the governor’s race?” My answer is simple: ignore the polls, get out and vote.
That question is rarely about the candidates themselves. They’re really asking, “Is Steve Hilton done?” The only useful response is to reject that premise and show up.
Hilton is not a full-throated MAGA supporter. Despite President Trump’s endorsement, Hilton has deliberately downplayed that support to reach undecided and moderate voters.
Given Trump’s supposed weak numbers in California, the strategy is understandable, even if it frustrates conservatives who want a more aggressive fighter. Whether that tightrope walk ultimately helps or hurts Hilton remains to be seen.
Hilton’s performance in the Sept. 30 debate with Becerra is beyond doubt. If you missed it, you can watch the full debate on YouTube. Hilton dominated.
He hit Becerra with hard facts, including his failure as HHS Secretary to account for hundreds of thousands of missing migrant children during the Biden border surge. He also reminded voters that Becerra once gave Gavin Newsom an “A” for how he handled California’s homelessness crisis.
Becerra largely stuck to the familiar script: Trump will take away abortion rights, and Trump’s policies will close clinics, and so on. He stayed on message and avoided major stumbles, which is why liberal pundits declared him the winner. But Hilton landed sharper blows and refused to play defense.
Afterward, a quiet media effort seemed to bury the debate. For a major gubernatorial matchup, it drew surprisingly little sustained discussion. Becerra has also declined a second debate and limited his public appearances: an approach that feels familiar to anyone who watched Joe Biden in 2020.
None of this changes the fundamental point. Polls and media narratives routinely suppress conservative turnout by convincing people the outcome is already decided. That is the real trap.
Hilton may not be the MAGA candidate many California Republicans prefer. However, Hilton is the first serious chance, in over a decade, to begin breaking Democratic control of the state. That is worth fighting for.
Patriotic Californians cannot afford to sit this election out. Give the finger to the narrative that your vote is worthless because the polls say Hilton cannot win.
To quote Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe’s reply to the Germans’ demand for American surrender at Bastogne: “Nuts!”
Whenever we read or hear about demoralizing poll numbers aimed at conservatives, our response should be: “Nuts!”
Americans never quit when it all seemed lost at the Battle of the Bulge during World War II. Their weapons were artillery and small arms fire.
Now, the weapons are our votes. With that said, do everything you can to defeat the enemy. Get out and vote, whether by mail or in person!
What happens when a state engages in such blatant election manipulation that no one, even in their own party, is surprised anymore? When the pattern is so predictable and mechanical that citizens shrug and wait for the inevitable reversal?
I’d argue we’re witnessing the death rattle for California’s entrenched, one-party ruling class and perhaps a broader signal to the national political establishment.
As I write this, it’s four days after California’s June 2, 2026, primary election. Election officials are still counting votes. According to the latest updates, only about 57% of the gubernatorial ballots have been tallied, and the process is still underway.
And here’s the familiar story unfolding in real time: The more conservative-leaning candidates (Steve Hilton for Governor and Spencer Pratt for Los Angeles Mayor) have been steadily losing ground as additional waves of mail-in ballots are “counted.” As of Saturday, June 6, Republican Steve Hilton has lost his lead and is now trailing Xavier Becerra for the top spot in the gubernatorial primary, while battling Tom Steyer for the second advancement position. In the Los Angeles Mayor race, incumbent Karen Bass continues to lead, but Spencer Pratt’s second-place standing is eroding as third-place finisher Nithya Raman gains ground with more mail ballots.
President Trump has directly called out the situation, accusing Democrats of trying to steal the gubernatorial and Los Angeles mayoral primaries. He has publicly stated that there is “BIG cheating by the Dumocrats in California,” highlighted the suspicious delays, and confirmed that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles has launched multiple election-fraud investigations into the matter.
The Mail-in Magic Trick
Why is it that mail-in ballots so consistently break dramatically in favor of Democrats? In race after race and election after election, the in-person votes lean one way on election night, only for the narrative to flip as absentee and mail ballots roll in over the following days and weeks.
Coincidence? Or a feature of a system that rewards delayed, less-observable voting and has minimal verification safeguards?
This isn’t paranoia; it’s pattern recognition. Californians have seen this movie too many times. The state’s top-two primary system was supposed to foster competition and moderation. Instead, it has delivered one-party dominance and policy failures on housing, crime, taxes, homelessness, and energy costs, along with a slow-motion vote-counting spectacle that erodes public trust with every passing hour.
Steve Hilton, the former Fox News host and conservative reformer with bold ideas to make California “Califordable” again by slashing regulations, cutting taxes for working families, and tackling the housing crisis head-on, was performing strongly in early returns. Similarly, Spencer Pratt, the outspoken reality TV star-turned political disruptor, shook up the LA mayoral race by challenging the establishment.
Yet as more mail ballots are processed, the momentum shifts. Sound familiar?
Rigged Isn’t a Conspiracy: It’s the System Working as Designed
Let me be direct: This election process is rigged in favor of the incumbent power structure, California Democrats. This, through a deliberately opaque, drawn-out system that advantages its control over the bureaucracy, the counting process, and the narrative.
Democrats have mastered the mechanics of prolonged vote counting. They know the psychology: Initial shock on election night gives way to exhaustion and resignation as “updates” trickle in. By the time the final tally arrives (sometimes weeks later), the public has moved on.
But here’s what the ruling class doesn’t seem to understand: People are waking up. The apathetic fence-sitters, the low-information voters, and even many traditional Democrats are reaching their limit.
The Universal Law They’ve Violated
Even if Democrats manage to pull off another “miracle” and deny Hilton and Pratt victory, they will have only hastened their own demise.
Why? Because they’ve violated something far more powerful than partisan loyalty: the deep human belief in fairness.
“Cheaters never win.” This isn’t a right-wing talking point. It’s a moral intuition shared across cultures, ethnicities, religions, and political affiliations. Parents teach it to their children. Societies build institutions around it. When leaders flagrantly flout this principle, when elections feel predetermined by mail-in sorcery rather than the will of the voters, it doesn’t just create political opponents. It creates enemies of the system itself.
The ruling class has spent years dismissing concerns about election integrity as “baseless.” They’ve mocked skeptics, censored discussion, and doubled down on mechanisms that maximize opacity. Now, in deep-blue California, even their own voters are noticing the emperor has no clothes.
Steve Hilton and Spencer Pratt
Steve Hilton and Spencer Pratt represent something dangerous to the establishment: outsiders who speak bluntly and tap into widespread frustration with failing governance. Their strong showings, despite the headwinds, reveal cracks in the blue wall.
The Awakening Has Begun
This primary isn’t just another election. It’s a catalyst.
Every suspicious ballot drop, every delayed count, and every smirking dismissal from officials further awakens the apathetic. The fence-sitters who tuned out are paying attention now. The normies who just wanted a competent government are realizing the game is fixed.
And once that realization spreads, it’s incredibly difficult to reverse. Democrats, you’ve built a machine that delivers short-term victories at the cost of long-term legitimacy. You’ve governed California into crisis after crisis while insulating yourselves from accountability. The bill is coming due.
The collapse of your unchallenged rule isn’t inevitable because of any single election. It’s inevitable because you’ve offended the most basic human sense of justice. People will tolerate a lot, higher taxes, failing schools, visible decay, but they won’t forever tolerate feeling like their voice has been systematically stolen.
The ruling class’s endgame is approaching. With the Trump Administration watching closely, their repeated claims of safe and secure elections will now face real scrutiny through federal investigations by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
No longer can people simply shrug and look the other way. Not with a bang, perhaps, but with the quiet, unstoppable momentum of millions who realize the system no longer serves them.
Depending on the outcome of these investigations, the question isn’t whether the corruption will continue. It’s how much longer Americans will tolerate it before they demand and enforce real change. In the meantime, pray for California and America.
___________________________________________________________ What do you think? Is California’s vote-counting process broken beyond repair, or is this just how “democracy” works in one-party states? Share your thoughts below.
