Becerra campaign spokesman Jonathan Underland calls the Hilton ad creepy
Xavier BecerraDemocratic candidate for governor, through campaign spokesman Jonathan Underland, in comments to the Los Angeles Times
Jonathan Underland, a spokesman for Xavier Becerra's campaign for governor, told the Los Angeles Times that "MAGA is melting down over Steve Hilton's creepy ad." He said MAGA is "finally seeing him for the sellout he really is, willing to abandon his own twisted values to get ahead."
“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.”
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 Republicans and several Democrats had denounced the ad. Becerra led Hilton 58% to 33% in a recent UC Berkeley and Los Angeles Times poll, the Times reports.
After the quotation
The Times describes the Becerra spokesman as gleeful about the rift the ad was creating among Republicans.
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. The spokesman calls the ad creepy and treats the Republican reaction as a sign of Hilton's character. His statement is aimed at Hilton's politics as much as at the ad, but it rejects the ad in the campaign's own voice, so we used Condemned. This is the campaign's statement, given by its spokesman, not a personal remark by Becerra.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- 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
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
- Publisher
- The Dispute Index
- Title
- Becerra campaign spokesman Jonathan Underland calls the Hilton ad creepy
- First published
- Last updated
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- https://disputeindex.com/events/4898-jonathan-underland-a-spokesman-for-xavier-becerra-s
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Becerra campaign spokesman Jonathan Underland calls the Hilton ad creepy". First published: 2026-10-06. Last updated: 2026-10-06. https://disputeindex.com/events/4898-jonathan-underland-a-spokesman-for-xavier-becerra-s