Conservatives furious with Steve Hilton ad for promoting ‘lesbianism’

Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton is angering conservatives with a new online ad that racked up millions of views over the weekend.

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The ad came out last week and depicts two women sitting on a bed in front of a pride flag while discussing doing something for the first time, implying the beginning of a romantic same-sex experience. One girl says to the other, “I’ve just never done anything like this before. What if my dad finds out?” To which her friend comforts her and says, “Just try it.”

The punch line comes a moment later when it’s revealed this is not a romantic encounter but rather a young woman considering voting for a Republican for the first time. The camera pans to one woman helping the other fill out her mail-in ballot, guiding her hand as she fills in a vote for Hilton. The video ends with one character saying, “Now lick it,” while holding up an envelope for a mail-in ballot.

Pastor Jack Hibbs of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills, whom the Southern Poverty Law Center considers a Christian nationalist, said the ad promotes “lesbianism,” which he called a “pandemic” among high school and college students during his Facebook live on Saturday, and called it “grotesque” and “insensitive.” But he said he will still vote for Hilton. 

Sonja Shaw, a candidate for state superintendent of schools whose campaign includes blocking transgender people from school sports, condemned the ad in a post to X, calling it “creepy, weird, disturbing garbage.” 

“This is a clear example of exactly why good people are walking away from the Republican Party. As a mother and someone who has fought to protect the innocence of children, this crosses a line. We have lost our way. Embarrassing,” Shaw wrote.

The video, which was posted to X on Oct. 1, has received 5.5 million views, according to the social media website.

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Hilton, a former Fox news commentator, is deeply behind in the latest polling against Democrat Xavier Becerra, who most recently served as the health and human services secretary under the Biden administration. 

Hilton and Becerra won the jam-packed June primary, where half a dozen Democrats and two prominent Republicans were battling for the top two spots. The two candidates faced off last week in the only televised debate expected ahead of the Nov. 3 general election.

A Public Policy Institute of California poll released in September found Becerra had 60% of likely voter support, compared with 38% for Hilton. Another poll from the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies released a week later found Becerra with 58% support among likely voters. Hilton had just 33% of likely voters support.

California has far more registered Democrats than Republicans, with 45% registered as Democrats, according to a September study from the Public Policy Institute of California; 25% of voters are Republicans, and 22% are independents.

Hilton did not respond to SFGATE’s request for comment. He is scheduled to speak Monday at an LGBT roundtable in Palm Desert.