Hilton calls ad ‘provocative’ and ‘satirical’ in video response
The Republican nominee for California governor, Steve Hilton, is facing heavy criticism from within his own party over a campaign ad critics have described as “creepy” and filled with sexual innuendo, with weeks remaining before the November midterms.
The video, entitled “Just Try It, California,” was released last week and depicts two young women with brightly colored hair sitting on a bed in front of a pride flag in low lighting, The Guardian reported. In the ad, one woman nervously says “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” while another strokes her hair and coaxes “don’t be nervous, it’s not that bad” before guiding her to fill out a ballot for Hilton and aggressively commanding “lick it.”
The backlash has come from within the Republican Party itself. Sonja Shaw, the party’s nominee for California superintendent of public instruction, called the ad “creepy, weird, disturbing garbage” in a social media post.
“This is a clear example of exactly why good people are walking away from the Republican party,” Shaw wrote. “As a mother and someone who has fought to protect the innocence of children, this crosses a line. We have lost our way.”
Michael Gates, the Republican nominee for state attorney general, also condemned the advertisement, stating that he “emphatically [denounced] the use of young women as a political tool.”
In a video posted shortly after the ad was launched, Hilton said the spot had largely been positively received but that he recognized some viewers were offended, and that was not his campaign’s intention.
“We were trying to make a point in a provocative way, in satirical way,” Hilton said. “It grieves me that you’ve been upset by this. But I also want to ask you to understand what we are doing, why we’re doing it and to ask for some grace as well as understanding as we fight this campaign.”
The controversy comes as Hilton fights a longshot bid against Xavier Becerra, the former health secretary who is the Democratic nominee. Polls have consistently shown Becerra with a significant lead over Hilton. California has not elected a Republican governor since 2004, and Hilton has been trying to rally the state’s Republicans while converting Democrats and independents frustrated with the cost of living in California.
Hilton, a British former political adviser to David Cameron, is also a Fox News host.
Becerra was quick to jump on the controversy, posting an article about his own support for Medicare for All with a line directed at his rival: “Steve, just try it!”