Rep. Robert Garcia calls the Hilton ad bizarre and desperate
Robert GarciaU.S. Representative (D-Calif.)
Rep. Robert Garcia, a Democrat from the Long Beach area, told the Los Angeles Times that the ad is "a bizarre and desperate ad from a person who has attacked the LGBTQ+ community and stands with Donald Trump."
“This is a bizarre and desperate ad from a person who has attacked the LGBTQ+ community and stands with Donald Trump.”
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
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)Before the quotation
The Los Angeles Times reported that the ad had been viewed by nearly five million people as of Saturday afternoon and that Republicans and several Democrats had denounced it.
After the quotation
Garcia added that Hilton "is losing and more interested in AI slop than actually talking about issues Californians care about."
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. Garcia rejects the ad, calling it bizarre and desperate, and ties it to Hilton's record on LGBTQ+ issues and his support for Donald Trump. His criticism is partly political, but it is directed at the ad itself, so Condemned fits better than Challenged the characterization. The Times reports he and Democratic Party chairman Rusty Hicks both condemned it.
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- People and groups discussed
- 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
- Rep. Robert Garcia calls the Hilton ad bizarre and desperate
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- https://disputeindex.com/events/4897-rep-robert-garcia-a-democrat-from-the-long
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Rep. Robert Garcia calls the Hilton ad bizarre and desperate". First published: 2026-10-06. Last updated: 2026-10-06. https://disputeindex.com/events/4897-rep-robert-garcia-a-democrat-from-the-long