Trump says he called California prosecutor to save Steve Hilton’s race

Trump the president told a Pennsylvania crowd he asked a U.S. attorney to examine the governor's contest, and Hilton won ballot access within an hour of the call.

First Published: July 14, 2026, 7:12 AM ET

WASHINGTON D.C. — Donald Trump said he intervened to keep Steve Hilton on the ballot in California’s governor’s race, claiming the state tried to steal the contest.

Here is the full post on truthsocial: “Trump says he stopped California from rigging the gubernatorial race against Steve Hilton: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house/4.6 million/trump-stop-california-rigging-gubernatorial-race-against-steve-hilton/”

The president told a crowd in Macungie, Pennsylvania, that he phoned a federal prosecutor to review the election on Hilton’s behalf (see washingtonexaminer). Hilton, a former Fox News host, will now face Xavier Becerra, the former Health and Human Services secretary under Joe Biden, in California’s gubernatorial contest, Trump said (see washingtonexaminer).

“I called up the very powerful, very good U.S. Attorney in California, and I said, “Do me a favor, take a look, they’re trying to steal that election too,”” Trump told the audience Tuesday (see washingtonexaminer).

Trump said Hilton secured a spot “an hour after the call.” “Had I not made that call, Steve Hilton would right now be looking, watching the election from home,” he added. “He would have a great chance, but the election is totally rigged. California is totally rigged. All mail-in ballots. We got to pass the SAVE America Act” (see washingtonexaminer).

The stakes reach beyond one campaign. A sitting president urging a federal prosecutor to examine a state-run election raises questions about the line between the White House and independent state balloting. Hilton would benefit from federal attention, while California officials who administer the vote face fresh accusations of misconduct.

Trump has repeatedly criticized California’s vote-by-mail rules and the pace of its count. State election law counts ballots as valid if they arrive up to a week after Election Day, provided they carry a postmark by that Tuesday, and the count must conclude within 13 days (see washingtonexaminer). Trump raised similar complaints about Spencer Pratt, a former reality television personality who sought to become mayor of Los Angeles, saying Pratt led before losing (see washingtonexaminer).

For the average reader, the dispute touches how votes are counted and when results become final. California’s slow tabulation, driven by its mail-ballot deadlines, often leaves races unsettled for days, a pattern that shapes national narratives about election integrity.

Has this happened before? This has happened before. Trump has questioned the outcome of multiple contests since 2020 and has pressed officials to scrutinize results, most notably in Georgia, where he asked the secretary of state to “find” votes after the 2020 election.

The next decision rests with California’s electoral machinery and any prosecutor Trump referenced, though no office has confirmed an inquiry. A date for any decision on the matter has not been announced.

Presidential pressure on election administration isn’t the first time a chief executive has clashed with a state over ballots. In 1876, the disputed presidential contest between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel J. Tilden turned on contested returns in three states, and a 15-member commission awarded Hayes all 20 disputed electoral votes by a single vote, 185 to 184. Hayes entered the White House under a cloud that shadowed his single term.