The Golden State is on life support after decades of Democrat domination turning it into a socialist dumpster fire. Gavin Newsom’s finally term-limited and will leave office in early 2027, and the left’s clown car of candidates is so packed they’re tripping over each other, splitting their vote like amateurs. That opens the door for real Americans to charge in and fix this mess. Republicans haven’t snagged a statewide win since 2006, but with the primary on June 2, 2026, and the general on November 3, 2026, the nonpartisan top-two system could lock out the Dems entirely if the reds play smart. An Emerson College poll from February 2026 has Steve Hilton pulling 17% and Chad Bianco at 14%, with a whopping 21% undecided—meaning the race is wide open for warriors who actually love this country. But it’s not just those two; a couple of underdogs are in the mix, all bringing the heat on issues that matter to Californians and real Americans: crushing crime, slashing taxes, securing the border, housing that’s not a joke, education without the woke poison, energy that doesn’t bankrupt you, water that flows, and wildfires that don’t roast entire towns. Let’s break down where these fighters stand—no more limp-wristed policies from the Sacramento swamp.
Steve Hilton: The Brit-Born Brawler Ready to Gut the Bureaucracy
This guy’s a former Fox News firebrand and advisor to a conservative UK prime minister, and he’s surging because he talks straight about ditching the Democrat disasters. On crime, Hilton’s had enough of the 23% violent crime spike and arrest rates plummeting to 30%—he wants full enforcement on shoplifting, drug markets, and violent thugs, backing cops to the hilt. “We will never have Great Jobs, Great Homes and Great Kids without public safety.” Homelessness? He blasts the $24 billion flushed down the toilet with zero results, vowing to enforce laws and cut wasteful spending while pointing to Florida’s cheaper successes.
Economy-wise, California’s got the highest taxes in America, pushing a third of folks into poverty—Hilton’s fix is no tax on income under $100,000, a 7.5% flat rate above that, and ironclad protection for Prop 13 on property taxes. He’d fund it by rolling back the budget to pre-pandemic levels, adjusted for inflation, after it ballooned 50%. Businesses fleeing? End the regulatory nightmare with sunsets, budgets for rules, and permit paybacks. Energy? Stop the ideological idiocy causing sky-high gas and blackouts; make it abundant and affordable. Education’s a disaster with only 35% meeting math standards—Hilton demands 100% proficiency, grading schools and teachers, firing the duds, rewarding stars, expanding charters, school choice, and ditching indoctrination for basics. “Schools that teach, not indoctrinate.” Protect parental rights on gender and sports nonsense.
Immigration? Enforce laws on illegals tying into crime and homelessness. Housing? Cap hidden fees at 20% of home prices, slash regs like Idaho did by 95%, stop lawsuit abuses under CEQA, and end the war on single-family homes—restore the dream of a yard for every family. Water? Abundant and affordable, not mismanaged. Wildfires? Blame Democrat incompetence for the blazes. This guy’s America First all the way, prioritizing results over the left’s feel-good failures.
Chad Bianco: The Cowboy Sheriff Who’ll Lock Up the Lawlessness
Riverside County’s top lawman since 2019, Bianco’s a Trump loyalist who’s already proven he won’t bow to Newsom’s nonsense—like refusing vaccine mandates for his deputies back in 2021. Polls have him neck-and-neck with the Dems’ darlings, and his platform screams common sense. Public safety first: Reopen prisons shuttered by the left, beef up penalties, fully fund Prop 36 to hammer theft and fentanyl. Homelessness ain’t compassion in tent cities—he’d shut down Skid Row-style disasters and force real solutions. “Allowing tent cities to continue is not compassionate and not acceptable.”
On the economy, Bianco rips the $335 billion budget as bloated; he’d slash it to $250-260 billion, ax regulations strangling businesses, and wipe out state income tax entirely. Abolish CEQA and the Coastal Commission to unleash growth. Cost of living? That’s his top priority—make California affordable again for families. Immigration? Reverse the sanctuary state stupidity, work with feds to halt illegal crossings, let local cops team up on criminal aliens, but offer a citizenship path for law-abiding workers paying taxes. No more coddling invaders.
Education and infrastructure follow safety in his hierarchy—fix the basics without details, but he’s all about accountability. Wildfires? Not climate hoax, but fuel mismanagement; pump resources into thinning and hardening, ditch green regs putting bugs over people. Energy and water? Implied in cutting regs for affordability. Bianco’s the no-nonsense enforcer who’d put families over the Sacramento special interests, restoring balance to a justice system gone soft.
Ché Ahn: The Pastor Prophet Calling for a Biblical Beatdown on the Blue Mess
This Korean-American evangelical heavyweight founded Harvest Rock Church in Pasadena back in 1994 and battled Newsom’s COVID tyranny all the way to the Supreme Court, winning $1.35 million in fees and equal treatment for worship. He’s running on divine orders, no poll blips yet, but his “Compassionate Justice” vibe is pure fire for faith-first folks. Crime? Restore order with equal justice, slamming selective enforcement where believers get persecuted but rioters skate. “A just society needs order and equal justice before the law.” Reopen prisons as rehab centers, not just lockups.
Homelessness and housing? Major crises; reform CEQA to stop blocking builds. Economy? Lower costs by ditching overregulation. Energy? Oppose destructive high-cost policies. Education? School choice, protect parental rights against trans sanctuary laws. Immigration? Compassion for legal sojourners, but invaders despising laws get no pass—cite Exodus for one law for all.
Big on pro-family: Redirect abortion tax dollars to prenatal, delivery, postnatal care, and adoption; fight extreme laws like Prop 1. Against spiritual attacks on kids via abortion and suicide. Wildfires, water? Not specified, but infrastructure’s crumbling under the high-speed rail boondoggle. Overall, Ahn’s about faith, family, freedom—honoring biblical values, pro-Israel to boot, and smashing Marxist humanism that weakened churches during the pandemic. He’s the spiritual warrior aiming to renew hope without the left’s moral rot.
Brandon Jones: The Business Bulldozer Vowing to Obliterate Taxes and Restore Sanity
Iowa-born entrepreneur and vet who built companies in SoCal, Jones founded the RESTORE California movement and dropped his book “California’s Comeback” in February 2025. No poll traction yet, but his solutions hit hard on affordability. Crime? Top priority—enforce laws, back police, end catch-and-release for crooks. “Californians deserve to feel safe in their homes, neighborhoods, and businesses.”
Homelessness? Real fixes over waste, tied to affordable housing: Cut red tape, incentivize development. Economy? Nuke state income tax completely, slash corporate rates like Florida and Texas—make California thrive without driving folks out. Education? Overhaul failing schools with parent power. Healthcare? Reform access. Environment? Protection without overreach, implying balanced wildfire and water policies.
Jones frames it as seven reforms: Crime down, housing affordable, economy strong, homelessness tackled, schools fixed, healthcare revamped, environment guarded. Cut government waste, prioritize families over politics. He’s the problem-solver Christian who’s all about unity across lines, but zero tolerance for the policies turning the state into a exodus magnet.
The Red Reckoning: Time for California to Choose Fighters Over Frauds
These GOP gunslingers aren’t perfect, but they’re light-years ahead of the Dem horde peddling more taxes, open borders, and woke indoctrination. Hilton and Bianco lead the pack because they’ve got the name recognition and brass to call out the failures—high crime, insane costs, border chaos—that hit Californians and Americans hardest. Ahn brings the moral spine, Jones the biz savvy. With voters fed up after Newsom’s reign of ruin, 2026 could be the year the red wave crashes the blue beachhead. If these guys hammer unity on America First basics—secure borders, low taxes, safe streets, real education—they could pull off the upset. California’s worth saving, but only if we ditch the commie playbook and get back to winning. The choice is yours, Golden State—keep sinking or start swinging.