Michael E. Gates is a California attorney who was elected city attorney of Huntington Beach in 2014 and served as a deputy assistant attorney general in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice in 2025. He is the Republican candidate for California Attorney General in the November 3, 2026 general election.
Case
Republican Steve Hilton's Just Try It ad shows two young women, one guiding the other's hand to mark a ballot for him. Sonja Shaw and Michael Gates, who have campaigned with him, condemned it, while Hilton calls it satire.
Role at the time: Republican candidate for California attorney general
Response to this claim
Michael Gates said Steve Hilton's Just Try It video is an example of the inappropriate sexualization of young people and that its portrayal of young women is out of touch with the values of California families.
“I want to be clear: I do not condone Steve Hilton's "Just Try It" video. My campaign was not consulted, nor alerted to its release. I emphatically denounce the use of young women as a political tool. California families deserve better, and as AG, I will fight every day to protect our girls, young women, and parental rights. I guarantee it.”
The reference point is whether the Just Try It ad was an appropriate way to campaign. Gates says he does not condone the ad and denounces its use of young women, and his press release calls its portrayal of them sexualized. He also says his campaign was not consulted, which distances him from Hilton but is not the basis for the label. Condemned fits because he rejects the ad's content.
Statement dates: October 2, 2026
Statement dates: October 2, 2026
