Republican pledges to halve utility bills, target $3 gas
Steve Hilton launched his general election campaign for California governor Wednesday in Los Angeles with a direct appeal to voters who loathe President Donald Trump. “Even if they loathe President Donald Trump,” he said, voters should consider supporting him. Speaking against the backdrop of a stinking, scorched food warehouse he described as a symbol of the state’s political incompetence, Hilton argued that even voters who oppose Trump should consider backing him.
Hilton called Democrats a “rotten regime that has abandoned the working class.” He blamed Democrats, who hold every statewide office and supermajorities in the Legislature, for the state’s problems including homelessness and low student test scores.
The Republican rolled out a slate of policy promises aimed at residents buckling under the state’s high cost of living. He vowed to bring the price of gasoline down to $3 a gallon, about half the current cost. He pledged to cut residents’ utility bills in half, which he noted are among the nation’s highest. He also proposed eliminating state income taxes on the first $150,000 in earnings.