Jack Hibbs calls the Hilton ad grotesque and insensitive but says he will still vote for Hilton
Jack HibbsSenior pastor, Calvary Chapel Chino Hills
In an X post, Hibbs, the pastor of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills, wrote that Hilton's ad is "Grotesque. Insensitive." and that "Somebody on his team made an ignorant decision, and I'm furious." He added that he is still voting for Hilton because of Hilton's policies.
“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.”
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
Hibbs's post carries a 15-minute video in which he says he is speaking on Saturday morning, October 3, 2026; the Los Angeles Times describes that remark as a Facebook Live post. The first part of the video covers church ballot collection. He turns to the ad at about 2:25.
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.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Reporting
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
Hibbs first spoke about the ad in a video he describes as recorded on Saturday morning, October 3, which the Los Angeles Times calls a Facebook Live post. The X post, with the video attached, followed on Sunday.
After the quotation
In the video Hibbs says the campaign made "a very, very ignorant decision," says he regrets seeing the ad, and suggests the Hilton campaign explain itself humbly. CalMatters reports that he 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." He says he will vote for Hilton.
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. Hibbs rejects the ad in his own words, calling it grotesque and insensitive and saying he is furious about the decision to make it. He says he will still vote for Hilton, but that is a position on the candidate and not on the ad, so we did not treat it as Mixed or conditional.
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- Steve Hilton
More from this case
Read the full caseSteve 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
Rep. Robert Garcia calls the Hilton ad bizarre and desperate
“This is a bizarre and desperate ad from a person who has attacked the LGBTQ+ community and stands with Donald Trump.”Read statement
Cite this record
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- The Dispute Index
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- Jack Hibbs calls the Hilton ad grotesque and insensitive but says he will still vote for Hilton
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- https://disputeindex.com/events/4895-in-an-x-post-hibbs-the-pastor-of
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Jack Hibbs calls the Hilton ad grotesque and insensitive but says he will still vote for Hilton". First published: 2026-10-06. Last updated: 2026-10-06. https://disputeindex.com/events/4895-in-an-x-post-hibbs-the-pastor-of