Was Steve Hilton's "Just Try It" campaign ad appropriate?

The fixed reference point for classification in this case is the proposition that Steve Hilton's Just Try It campaign ad was an appropriate way to campaign. A response that says the ad was inappropriate, wrong or offensive is recorded as Condemned. A response that argues the ad was acceptable, justified or a fair way to campaign is recorded as Defended or excused. A response that disputes how the ad is described without taking a position on whether it was appropriate is recorded as Challenged the characterization, and a response that depends on a stated condition, or that approves of one part of the ad while rejecting another, is recorded as Mixed or conditional. Praise for the ad's effectiveness, or criticism of Hilton's politics in general, is not by itself a position on whether the ad was appropriate. A label records a speaker's stated position, not our finding on whether the ad was appropriate.

Hilton, the Republican candidate for governor of California, posted the 53-second ad, Just Try It, California (opens in a new tab), to X (opens in a new tab) at 2:21 p.m. Pacific on October 1, 2026. His campaign uploaded it to YouTube about 33 minutes later. Two young women sit facing each other in a dimly lit bedroom with a progress pride flag on the wall behind them. One says "Don't be nervous" and "It's not that bad." The other answers, "Like, what if my dad finds out?" The first says "Just try it," asks for the other woman's hand, tells her to close her eyes and says "I'll do all the work." Her hand is guided to a mail-in ballot, where the pen marks the box for Hilton, who faces Democrat Xavier Becerra on the November 3 ballot. The ad ends with the line "Now lick it," which the Los Angeles Times (opens in a new tab) reports refers to the ballot envelope, and a closing card that reads "Just try it! Steve Hilton for Governor." The video description says "California has voted the same way for years, and it's not working. Wanna be a real rebel? Vote different this time around."

CalMatters (opens in a new tab) reports that the ad is part of the campaign's "all of the above" approach to persuading voters to elect a Republican statewide for the first time in two decades. It reports that filmmaker Gabriel Mann made the series for $125,000, that Hilton said it uses real actors and, unlike some of his other ads, was not generated with artificial intelligence, and that more ads are coming. A second ad, Expand Your Mind (opens in a new tab), was uploaded on October 2. The Los Angeles Times reports that Becerra led Hilton 58% to 33% in a recent UC Berkeley and Los Angeles Times poll.

Within a day the ad drew criticism from two candidates who have campaigned alongside Hilton. At 11:28 p.m. Pacific on October 1, Sonja Shaw, a candidate for state superintendent of public instruction, replied to the video on X that Hilton, the California Republican Party and its chairwoman Corrin Rankin should be ashamed for reposting and cheering (opens in a new tab) what she called "creepy, weird, disturbing garbage." On October 2, Michael Gates, the Republican candidate for attorney general, posted (opens in a new tab) that he does not condone the video, that his campaign was not consulted before its release, and that he denounces the use of young women as a political tool. A press release attached to his post describes the video's portrayal of young women as sexualized and says he denounces the undermining of the relationship between parents and their children. The Los Angeles Times describes Gates as a member of Hilton's "Golden Ticket" on the November 3 ballot and reports that Shaw has occasionally campaigned alongside Hilton. Pastor Jack Hibbs of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills, whom CalMatters calls an influential evangelical pastor, spoke about the ad in a Facebook Live on Saturday, October 3, which the Times reports, and in an X post (opens in a new tab) on October 4 (UTC) called it "Grotesque. Insensitive." and said he is still voting for Hilton. CalMatters reports that Hibbs also said the ad concerned "an issue regarding lesbianism among college girls and some high school girls that right now is an actual pandemic of social ill."

Others weighed in on the ad's aim and likely effect. Spencer Pratt, who ran for Los Angeles mayor this year, wrote (opens in a new tab) that "This fake moral panic is why republicans lose." Former California Republican Party chair Jessica Millan Patterson told the Los Angeles Times, "Does the ad speak to me? No," but said she understood the campaign's effort to reach voters who would not normally consider a Republican. Fred Karger, a Republican who in 2012 became the first out gay person to run for president, called it a clever ad but said the audience it targets "probably has a 1% chance of voting for him." The Times reports that Karger had mixed views, calling the ad shrewd yet hypocritical. CalMatters reports that Republican ad maker Fred Davis called the ad "brilliant" but predicted it will not give Hilton a bump.

Democrats responded as well. Rep. Robert Garcia told the Los Angeles Times that it was "a bizarre and desperate ad from a person who has attacked the LGBTQ+ community and stands with Donald Trump." Jonathan Underland, a spokesman for Becerra's campaign, said "MAGA is melting down over Steve Hilton's creepy ad." The Times reports that Democratic Party chairman Rusty Hicks also condemned the ad but does not quote him.

Hilton responded in a video (opens in a new tab) posted on Saturday evening, October 3, Pacific time. He said the reaction had been overwhelmingly positive, that the campaign was trying to make a point "in a provocative way, in a satirical way," that no one was trying to offend anyone, and that it grieves him that viewers were upset. He asked critics for "grace" and said more ads are coming. Responding to CalMatters in a phone call on Monday, Hilton said "It's not how I think about it." In an interview with the outlet he also said "Anything that's strong has a strong reaction." He told the Los Angeles Times the ad is "a provocative and humorous way of making a point," and, according to the Times, said it does not conflict with his views on gender-affirming care and youth sports because those apply only to people who are not adults.