Sonja Shaw calls the Hilton ad creepy and says it crosses a line
Sonja ShawChino Valley school board member and candidate for California superintendent of public instruction
Replying on X to Hilton's post of the ad, Shaw told Hilton, the California Republican Party and its chairwoman Corrin Rankin that they should be ashamed for "reposting and cheering this creepy, weird, disturbing garbage." She wrote that the ad is "exactly why good people are walking away from the Republican Party" and that, as a mother, "this crosses a line."
“Shame on you, @SteveHiltonx , @CAGOP and @CorrinRankin , for reposting and cheering this creepy, weird, disturbing garbage on. 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.”
Original post
Reporting
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Was Steve Hilton's "Just Try It" campaign ad appropriate?
On October 1, 2026, Republican candidate for governor Steve Hilton posted a 53-second ad titled Just Try It, California. Two young women sit in a dimly lit bedroom, one coaxes the other to try something new, and the scene ends with a mail-in ballot marked for Hilton over Democrat Xavier Becerra. Sonja Shaw and Michael Gates, who have campaigned alongside Hilton, and the pastor Jack Hibbs criticized the ad, Democrats including Rep. Robert Garcia denounced it, and Hilton and Spencer Pratt defended it. Hilton said the campaign was trying to make a point in a provocative, satirical way and that it grieves him that some viewers were upset. The dispute is over whether the ad was an appropriate way to campaign.
Source and context
Original post
About this source
Posted at 11:28 p.m. Pacific on October 1, 2026, as a reply to Hilton's post of the ad. It tags Hilton, the California Republican Party (@CAGOP) and its chairwoman Corrin Rankin. The post ends with a nauseated-face emoji. CalMatters reports that Shaw did not return a call seeking comment.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Reporting
About this source
A Los Angeles Times report by Seema Mehta, published October 3, 2026 and updated October 4. It quotes Gates, Shaw, Rep. Robert Garcia, Hilton in an interview, Becerra campaign spokesman Jonathan Underland, former California Republican Party chair Jessica Millan Patterson and Fred Karger, describes Hibbs's Facebook Live post, and reports that Democratic Party chairman Rusty Hicks also condemned the ad without quoting him. It describes Gates as a member of Hilton's "Golden Ticket" on the November 3 ballot and says Shaw has occasionally campaigned alongside Hilton.
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About this source
CalMatters report by Jeanne Kuang. It quotes Shaw's post, Gates's statement and Jack Hibbs's remarks, a Monday phone interview with Hilton, and Republican ad maker Fred Davis. It reports that filmmaker Gabriel Mann made the ads for $125,000, that Hilton said the series uses real actors and is not AI-generated, and that more ads are coming.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Hilton posted the ad on X about nine hours earlier. Shaw is on the November ballot as a candidate for state superintendent of public instruction, and the Los Angeles Times reports that she has occasionally campaigned alongside Hilton.
After the quotation
CalMatters reports that Hilton said he had just finished a campaign event with Shaw and still has the support of fellow Republicans, and that Shaw did not return a call from the outlet seeking comment.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is whether the Just Try It ad was an appropriate way to campaign. Shaw rejects the ad in her own words, calling it "creepy, weird, disturbing garbage" and saying it "crosses a line," and she faults Hilton and the state party for promoting it. Her objection is to the ad itself and goes beyond how it was received, so Condemned fits.
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- Steve Hilton
More from this case
Read the full caseJack Hibbs calls the Hilton ad grotesque and insensitive but says he will still vote for Hilton
“Steve Hilton's "Try It" ad? Grotesque. Insensitive. Somebody on his team made an ignorant decision, and I'm furious. But for California's greater good, for your good, I'm still voting for Steve. His policies are statesmanship-like. No one matches him. This election, from the top of the ballot down, needs your vote for TEAM RED because Team Blue has destroyed this with 100% total control of California for over sixteen years now.”Read statement
Steve Hilton says the ad was a satirical way to make a point and asks critics for grace
“But it's also true that many people, many of you, may have been offended by that ad. Now, of course, that was never anybody's intention. We were trying to make a point in a provocative way, in a satirical way. No one was ever trying to offend anyone. But I know that many of you were offended, and I've had those conversations, and it grieves me to understand how that made you feel. And I really want to say to you very directly that I get it, and I understand it, and 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.”Read statement
Becerra campaign spokesman Jonathan Underland calls the Hilton ad creepy
“MAGA is melting down over Steve Hilton's creepy ad because they're finally seeing him for the sellout he really is, willing to abandon his own twisted values to get ahead.”Read statement
Cite this record
- Publisher
- The Dispute Index
- Title
- Sonja Shaw calls the Hilton ad creepy and says it crosses a line
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- https://disputeindex.com/events/4893-replying-on-x-to-hilton-s-post-of
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Sonja Shaw calls the Hilton ad creepy and says it crosses a line". First published: 2026-10-06. Last updated: 2026-10-06. https://disputeindex.com/events/4893-replying-on-x-to-hilton-s-post-of