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I live in Southern California and have lived here since just after college. I have seen profound changes from the eras of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan to Arnold Schwarzenegger, and in recent years the changes haven't been good.

I volunteered to guard the US/Mexican border for 2 years, standing guard at posts 142 to 144, and witnessed horrible things, not to mention that most of those people could not be stopped by Border Patrol. Now some of those people are running California! 

Now, under Democrat rule, the state government is run by an oligarchy of woke misfits, homelessness out of control, illegal aliens voting, and astronomical taxes!

Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton argues that these strengths have been systematically undermined by decades of expansive government rather than by any inherent decline in the state’s people or resources.

In an exclusive interview, Hilton described the problem as a “bloated nanny state” that charges some of the nation’s highest taxes while directing residents on how to run businesses, raise children, choose vehicles, and even select tires. The result, he contends, is higher costs, reduced opportunity, and frustration across communities that once thrived on innovation and self-reliance. He maintains the remedies are straightforward: reduce bureaucratic control, lower taxes, and let the state’s existing advantages reassert themselves.

Hilton has tied his campaign to concrete proposals aimed at immediate relief. These include making the first $150,000 of income free from state taxation, targeting $ 3 per gallon on gasoline, and capping vehicle registration fees at $73. He presents these steps not as abstract ideology but as practical measures that would improve daily life for working Californians. He says achieving them begins with shifting the political balance.

But here's the catch. Democrats hold a two-thirds majority in the legislature after roughly sixteen years of one-party control. While legislative change will take longer, Hilton argues that winning the governorship would enable faster executive action and signal that continued one-party rule is no longer inevitable.

He acknowledges that Republicans cannot prevail on their own votes. Success requires persuading Democrats and independents who are weary of high costs and regulatory friction.

His pitch is simple: after years of the same approach, voters should try a different direction for four years and judge the results.

Hilton has campaigned across all 58 counties, emphasizing that the frustration he hears is widespread and that California’s underlying assets remain intact.

Hilton’s case rests on a clear premise: the damage is largely policy-driven and therefore reversible if government steps back and allows California’s climate, land, talent, and culture of enterprise to operate with fewer constraints.

What do you think? Can a state run into the ground be salvaged, or is it trashed beyond repair?

Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.