But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check

Steve Hilton

Republican · Governor, California
✗From an endorsement

Asked by CalMatters in May 2026 whether the war in Gaza is a genocide, Hilton answered "No… No." He told JNS that using the term to "describe a legitimate act of self-defense is preposterous and offensive". He has not said what America should send the government of Israel.

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Deep Dive

Steve Hilton is the Republican nominee for governor of California. He worked as a senior adviser to U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron and hosted The Next Revolution on Fox News from 2017 to 2023. He finished second in the June 2, 2026 top-two primary with 25 percent of the vote and faces Xavier Becerra on November 3. Governor Gavin Newsom is term-limited, and President Trump has endorsed Hilton.

In a video series released in May 2026, CalMatters put the same question to each leading candidate: "Do you consider Israel’s actions in the war in Gaza a genocide?" His whole answer, as CalMatters transcribed it, was "No… No." In an interview JNS published on May 18, 2026, he said that making that accusation is "offensive," that "it’s obvious that it was a response to one of the most brutal atrocities in the last 100 years," and that using the term "genocide" to "describe a legitimate act of self-defense is preposterous and offensive". He called his Democratic rivals' answers "really shocking" and said they "won’t confront the cancer within their party, which is where the core of anti-Jew hate these days seems to reside in America."

What he has promised Jewish audiences is about California. At the Jewish California candidate forum in Los Angeles on February 26, 2026, he said of California cities that boycott or divest from Israel: "They’re illegal. I will make sure that, as governor, my attorney general, sues these cities to stop them breaking the law". He also said he would resist a ballot initiative to reverse the state law that bars public contracts with companies taking part in such boycotts, and he praised business ties between California and Israel. At the Jewish American Summit in Los Angeles on August 30, 2026, he said: "We cannot have part of our community in California fearing to show their identity in public because of the threat of violence." None of this is a position on what the United States sends.

The Israeli-American Civic Action Network endorsed him on March 30, 2026. In its own description, it is an advocacy organization that unites Israelis and pro-Israel Americans at the state and local level. Its platform says it advocates "enhanced U.S.–Israel defense cooperation, including joint training, technology sharing, and expedited aid" and will "ensure that Israel maintains a qualitative military edge over any adversary". Those are the network's words, not his.

Nothing located as of October 2026 has him saying what the United States should send the government of Israel, or taking a position on U.S. aid to Palestinians. His campaign's plan and its policy pages are about California, and Israel and Gaza did not come up in his one debate with Becerra, on CNN on September 30, 2026, according to the accounts of it published by CalMatters and CNN. His posts on X, and a March 2024 Fox News segment in which he discussed U.S. policy on the war, could not be read or watched here; their addresses are on his research page.

A governor casts no vote on U.S. weapons or aid; Congress and the president decide them. Ask Hilton directly what the United States should send the government of Israel, and send us the reply: it goes on this page in his own words.

The record

Notable actions

• 2026-02-26: Pledged at the Jewish California Governor Candidate Forum that his attorney general would sue California municipalities that boycott or divest from Israel under AB 2844, and that he would oppose the September 2025 ballot initiative to repeal that law.

How this mark works

We track key votes on sending U.S. weapons and money to the government of Israel. A check means every tracked vote they cast came down against sending more, on the side of peace and de-escalation. A question mark means a mixed record: they sided with sending up to half of the time. An X means they voted to send more weapons and money in over half of their tracked votes, even as the way those weapons and dollars were being used became more and more obvious. At exactly half, money this election cycle from a lobbying group we track, or an endorsement from a group that backs sending weapons, makes it an X. Only votes actually cast are counted. Where a candidate has no recorded votes on these bills, the mark comes instead from a reviewed reading of their public record (money from the lobbying groups we track, endorsements, and their own words since January 26, 2024). There an X also covers fully backing the conduct of the war by the government of Israel without significant reservations, and a question mark also covers speaking about Israel without saying clearly where they stand on U.S. weapons and funding. A dash means No Position Found: we found nothing in their own words about Israel, Gaza or the war.

See a dash? Ask the candidate where they stand, then send us their answer and we'll review it and update the mark. Or volunteer to help review candidates.

No recorded votes on the bills we track. Endorsed by ICAN.

In their words

“They’re illegal. I will make sure that, as governor, my attorney general, sues these cities to stop them breaking the law”
Source ↗, 2026-02-26
“that foundation of prosperity and cooperation is how we build a stronger future for Israel and for us here in California”
Source ↗, 2026-02-26
“No… No.”
Source ↗, 2026-05-08
“describe a legitimate act of self-defense is preposterous and offensive”
Source ↗, 2026-05-18
“it’s obvious that it was a response to one of the most brutal atrocities in the last 100 years”
Source ↗, 2026-05-18
Endorsements

ICAN (2026 endorsement)

Research log

The notes behind this card: what we looked at, what we found, and where each item came from.

Every page named below was opened and read on 2026-10-02 unless the entry says otherwise. His campaign site was read in full: it is built as a single application, so its text was read from the files the site loads, about 53,000 words covering the plan, 36 policy pages and the news room, and its plan page was also read as served. Bands: Position (2024-01-26 onward), Reaction window (2023-10-07 to 2024-01-25), Earlier record (before 2023-10-07), Undated. He has not served in Congress, so there is no voting record on this card, and the committees this site tracks do not cover a state office, so there is no funding record either.

U.S. military aid and weapons to the government of Israel

  • Nothing located, at any date. No statement of his on arms transfers, weapons shipments, the May 2024 pause on a bomb shipment, the April 2024 supplemental, conditions on aid, an arms embargo, Foreign Military Financing or the memorandum of understanding appears on his campaign site, in his CalMatters answers, in his JNS interviews, in the coverage of the February 2026 forum, in the coverage of his one general election debate, or in any voter guide read for this card. His posts on X could not be read (see below).
  • [Position, 2026-03-30; an endorsement, not his words] The Israeli-American Civic Action Network listed him first among its endorsements for California's statewide offices, describing its slate as candidates "who have demonstrated a commitment to combating antisemitism and strengthening the U.S.–Israel relationship". Its platform says: "We advocate for enhanced U.S.–Israel defense cooperation, including joint training, technology sharing, and expedited aid." It also says: "We will protect and preserve America’s commitment to Israel’s security and ensure that Israel maintains a qualitative military edge over any adversary." The group describes itself as a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization and a network of Israelis and pro-Israel Americans working at the state and local level. CalMatters' guide to the race lists the endorsement alongside President Donald Trump and the Nisei Farmers League.

U.S. aid to Palestinians

  • Nothing located, at any date. Neither the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, nor humanitarian funding for Gaza, nor the aid pipeline appears in anything of his that could be read.

Characterization of the conflict

  • [Position, 2026-05-08] CalMatters asked each leading candidate, "Do you consider Israel’s actions in the war in Gaza a genocide?" His whole answer, from the CalMatters transcript: "No… No." CalMatters first published the answers in a video on 2026-05-08 (its clip); the transcript page was posted on 2026-05-29. JNS reported his answer as "no" on 2026-05-18.
  • [Position, 2026-05-18] JNS interview by Aaron Bandler. JNS writes that he said making that accusation against Israel is "offensive," and that "it’s obvious that it was a response to one of the most brutal atrocities in the last 100 years," speaking, JNS says, of the government of Israel's response to the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023. Using the term "genocide" to "describe a legitimate act of self-defense is preposterous and offensive," he said. He told JNS that "it’s really shocking to me how deeply anti-Jew hate has infected the left in this country," and of his Democratic opponents: "It’s all because they won’t confront the cancer within their party, which is where the core of anti-Jew hate these days seems to reside in America."
  • [Position, 2024-03-25; video, not watched] Fox News posted a segment from "America Reports" titled "Biden is a 'machine politician' with no principles: Steve Hilton", described as Hilton, then a Fox News contributor, discussing "the U.S. stance on Israel in its war with Hamas": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKlAQTxlV6M . Its words could not be read, so nothing is claimed from it.

Related rhetoric and lobbying

  • [Position, 2026-02-26] Jewish California Governor Candidate Forum, Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles. Jewish Insider reports that all five candidates present said they oppose the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, and that he and San Jose's mayor, citing the state's anti-boycott law, said they would push back on municipal boycotts of Israel. Hilton: "They’re illegal. I will make sure that, as governor, my attorney general, sues these cities to stop them breaking the law". On business ties he said "that foundation of prosperity and cooperation is how we build a stronger future for Israel and for us here in California." J. The Jewish News of Northern California reports that he said he would resist a ballot initiative filed in late September 2025 that would reverse California's law barring public entities from contracting with companies that join political boycotts, including against Israel. The Jewish Federation of the Greater Bay Area says each candidate opposed the movement and affirmed the state's economic and technological partnerships with Israel. The organizers' video of the forum was not watched. These are pledges about California law and trade, not positions on what the United States sends.
  • [Position, 2026-02-26] Speaking to JNS at the same forum, he described learning as a boy that his father, a Hungarian Olympic hockey player at the 1936 Games in Germany, had changed his Jewish-sounding name: "It was the first time I ever really understood about anti-Jewish hate."
  • [Read 2026-10-02] Endorsements of record. The Israeli-American Civic Action Network, above. No endorsement from the Republican Jewish Coalition was found on its September 2026 endorsement release or Ballotpedia's list of its endorsements, and none from any other group that this site tracks on this question.
  • [Not his words] The line "I believe in Israel’s right to exist", which some online summaries attribute to him, belongs to another candidate. In JNS's account of the February 26 forum it comes in a passage about Antonio Villaraigosa, between the paragraph introducing him and one that begins with his time as mayor of Los Angeles. Nothing like it from Hilton was found.

Safety and antisemitism (context, not a position on what America sends)

  • [Position, 2026-02-26] At the forum he described visiting UCLA after the 2024 encampments and called on the other candidates to carry their message against antisemitism to other audiences (Jewish Insider; also the Forward, the Times of Israel, the Jerusalem Post and the Jewish Post and News).
  • [Position, 2026-08-30] At the Jewish American Summit in Los Angeles he told JNS: "As governor, I won’t accept that," and "We cannot have part of our community in California fearing to show their identity in public because of the threat of violence." He told the Jewish Journal that Jewish Democrats worried about antisemitism should "vote for change in this election."
  • [Position, 2024-05-16] Fox News Digital reported him criticizing UC Irvine's handling of campus protests, as founder of a group called Golden Together.
  • [Position, 2026-02-27, a date our research gave and could not confirm; could not be read] A Facebook post whose address describes a visit to UCLA's campus against antisemitism: https://www.facebook.com/TheSteveHilton/posts/i-spent-time-on-uclas-campus-to-stand-against-antisemitism-i-will-always-fight-a/1227737046235512/ . It did not open.

What the campaign site and his own pages say

  • [Position, read 2026-10-02] His campaign site and its plan page, "Two priorities. Eight promises.", cover $3 gas, utility bills, a state income tax exemption on the first $150,000, starter homes, reading by third grade, skills training, government spending and the small business tax. Its 36 policy pages run from abolishing the DMV to wildfire prevention, healthcare, crime, schools, cryptocurrency and Hollywood, and its news room carries his releases on taxes, redistricting, fraud, crime and his opponents. A search of all of it for Israel, Gaza, Palestinian, Jewish, antisemitism, Hamas, genocide, the Middle East, AIPAC, Netanyahu, Zionism and boycott finds nothing. One release concerns Russia, not Israel. The pages carry no date and are recorded on the date we read them.
  • [Read 2026-10-02] Ballotpedia records that he has not completed its 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

The race

  • [Read 2026-10-02] Ballotpedia: "Xavier Becerra (D) and Steve Hilton (R) are running in the general election for governor of California on November 3, 2026. They advanced from the top-two primary on June 2, 2026. In the primary, Becerra received 28% of the vote and Hilton received 25%. Incumbent Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is term-limited."
  • [Position, 2026-09-30] The two candidates' only scheduled debate was on CNN from its Burbank studio, moderated by Jake Tapper and Dana Bash (CalMatters). The accounts read for this card, from CalMatters, CNN's live coverage, CNN's takeaways, CBS Los Angeles and The Hill, cover affordability, taxes, immigration, AI, voter identification and President Trump, and none mentions Israel or Gaza. No full transcript of the debate was found.
  • Voter guides. The CalMatters guide is the only one found that put a question on the war to the candidates. KQED's guide to the race covers neither Israel nor Gaza. iVoterGuide's page for the November race lists both candidates with no profile or answers. Ballotpedia's survey was not completed.
  • Becerra's record belongs on his own card and is not narrated here.

Places that could not be read, so nothing is claimed from them

  • His X account, https://x.com/SteveHiltonx , where he posts often (the profile shows about 45,900 posts): the profile opens, the posts need a signed-in reader. His Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/TheSteveHilton/ , and the post above did not open. These are likely the largest body of his own words, and their addresses are printed here so anyone who can open them may look.
  • The March 25, 2024 Fox News segment above, and the organizers' video of the February 2026 forum, are video and were not watched.
  • Vote411's California guide answers are served only through an address lookup and could not be read.

Not on the card, and why

  • His pledges on the state anti-boycott law, the ballot initiative and California's business ties with Israel: state-level actions, not positions on U.S. weapons or aid. Set out in the deep dive and above.
  • His June 2025 Fox Business remarks on Israel's strikes on Iran (Fox Business; video): Iran is a different question from what the United States sends the government of Israel.
  • His remarks on campus antisemitism and community safety: context, not an answer to what America sends.
  • The "Israel's right to exist" line: another candidate's words.
  • The Israeli-American Civic Action Network's platform: the group's words, quoted as such and not attributed to him.
  • The March 2024 Fox News segment and the February 2026 Facebook post: could not be watched or opened.
  • Becerra's and the other primary candidates' answers to the same CalMatters question: no one else's record is narrated on this card.

Sources retrieved for this card (address; opened or could not open; date)

  • https://calmatters.org/california-voter-guide-2026/governor/videos/transcripts/ (opened; 2026-10-02; page published 2026-05-29)
  • https://calmatters.org/california-voter-guide-2026/governor/videos/ (opened; 2026-10-02; page published 2026-05-14)
  • https://www.youtube.com/shorts/kdukkyAcdP0 (opened; 2026-10-02; the page's own data gives publication on 2026-05-08; the video was not watched)
  • https://www.jns.org/news/u-s-news/dems-running-to-be-next-california-governor-ignoring-jew-hatred-cancer-within-their-party-steve-hilton-tells-jns (opened; 2026-10-02; published 2026-05-18)
  • https://www.jns.org/news/u-s-news/shocking-how-jewish-californians-fear-for-their-safety-says-california-gop-candidate-for-governor-steve-hilton (opened; 2026-10-02; published 2026-08-31)
  • https://www.jns.org/u.s.-news/at-jewish-forum-for-california-governor-candidates-a-range-of-views-on-israeli-gov (opened; 2026-10-02; published 2026-03-02)
  • https://jewishinsider.com/2026/02/california-gubernatorial-debate-israel-antisemitism/ (opened; 2026-10-02; published 2026-02-28)
  • https://jweekly.com/2026/02/27/candidates-for-ca-governor-vow-to-keep-jews-safe-and-israel-ties-strong/ (opened; 2026-10-02; published 2026-02-27)
  • https://jewishfed.org/news/jewish-community-convenes-for-2026-california-governor-candidate-forum/ (opened; 2026-10-02; published 2026-02-27)
  • https://forward.com/fast-forward/808600/antisemitism-emerges-as-a-defining-issue-in-2026-california-governors-race/ (opened; 2026-10-02; published 2026-02-27)
  • https://www.timesofisrael.com/antisemitism-emerges-as-a-defining-issue-in-california-gubernatorial-race/ (opened; 2026-10-02; published 2026-02-28)
  • https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-888238 (opened; 2026-10-02; published 2026-02-28)
  • https://jewishpostandnews.ca/uncategorized/antisemitism-emerges-as-a-defining-issue-in-2026-california-governors-race/ (opened; 2026-10-02)
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCta0kZPfuc (opened; 2026-10-02; posted 2026-03-02; the video was not watched)
  • https://icanaction.org/briefings/ican-announces-first-round-of-2026-endorsements/ (opened; 2026-10-02; published 2026-03-30)
  • https://icanaction.org/platform/ (opened; 2026-10-02)
  • https://icanaction.org/about/ (opened; 2026-10-02)
  • https://calmatters.org/california-voter-guide-2026/governor/ (opened; 2026-10-02)
  • https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/09/california-general-election-gubernatorial-debate-cnn/ (opened; 2026-10-02)
  • https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/30/politics/live-news/california-governor-debate-midterms (opened; 2026-10-02)
  • https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/30/politics/takeaways-cnn-california-governor-debate-becerra-hilton (opened; 2026-10-02)
  • https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/xavier-becerra-steve-hilton-california-governor-debate/ (opened; 2026-10-02; published 2026-09-30)
  • https://thehill.com/homenews/6122170-becerra-hilton-california-governor-debate/ (opened; 2026-10-02; published 2026-10-01)
  • https://ballotpedia.org/California_gubernatorial_election,_2026 (opened; 2026-10-02)
  • https://ballotpedia.org/Steve_Hilton (opened; 2026-10-02)
  • https://www.rjchq.org/rjc_pac_releases_new_endorsements_2026 (opened; 2026-10-02)
  • https://ballotpedia.org/Endorsements_by_Republican_Jewish_Coalition-Political_Action_Committee_(RJC-PAC) (opened; 2026-10-02)
  • https://stevehiltonforgovernor.com/ and the files it loads (opened; 2026-10-02)
  • https://stevehiltonforgovernor.com/plan (opened; 2026-10-02)
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKlAQTxlV6M (opened; 2026-10-02; posted 2024-03-25; the video was not watched)
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gQljgqCnXY (opened; 2026-10-02; posted 2025-06-15; the video was not watched)
  • https://www.foxnews.com/us/steve-hilton-blasts-uc-irvine-caving-mob-over-anti-israel-chaos-campus (opened; 2026-10-02; published 2024-05-16)
  • https://jewishjournal.com/community/391816/hanging-out-at-the-jewish-american-summit/ (opened; 2026-10-02; published 2026-09-03)
  • https://ivoterguide.com/race/30572/election/1454 (opened; 2026-10-02)
  • https://www.kqed.org/voterguide/california/governor (opened; 2026-10-02)
  • https://www.vote411.org/california (opened; 2026-10-02; candidate answers need an address lookup)
  • https://x.com/SteveHiltonx (the profile opened, the posts did not; 2026-10-02)
  • https://www.facebook.com/TheSteveHilton/ (could not open; 2026-10-02)
  • https://www.facebook.com/TheSteveHilton/posts/i-spent-time-on-uclas-campus-to-stand-against-antisemitism-i-will-always-fight-a/1227737046235512/ (could not open; 2026-10-02)
  • This is a record of what was checked on 2026-10-02, not a claim that no statement exists anywhere.

Also in this race

  1. ✓ Xavier Becerra (Democrat)

All California candidates.

But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. Every claim on this page goes through at least two verification steps. Open Find Your Candidates for votes, funding and contact details.