Gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton is drawing attention — and criticism from members of his own party — over a sexually suggestive campaign ad aimed at persuading normally left-leaning Californians to give the Republican candidate a chance.
The ad, titled "Just Try It, California," features two young women sitting together on a bed in a dimly lit room, with an LGBTQ pride flag hanging behind them.
The women appear to be preparing for an intimate encounter, with one woman guiding the other through the process. "Give me your hand. Close your eyes — and I'll do all the work," she says.
The woman guides the other's hand toward a mail-in ballot, where she selects Hilton instead of Democratic candidate Xavier Becerra.
The ad ends with another sexual double entendre involving licking the ballot envelope.
The video quickly drew backlash, including from Republicans on the ballot alongside Hilton.
Sonja Shaw, the Republican candidate for state superintendent of public instruction, called the ad "creepy, weird, disturbing garbage" in a post on X.
"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," she wrote.
Michael Gates, the Republican candidate for attorney general, said he "emphatically" opposed using "young women as a political tool."
Democrats also criticized the spot. Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Long Beach, who is gay, called it a "bizarre and desperate ad," the Los Angeles Times reported.
Some Republicans, however, were less critical.
Former California Republican Party Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson told the Times that Hilton was trying to reach voters who ordinarily would not consider supporting a Republican.
"Does the ad speak to me? No. He's not going after my vote," she said. "He's going out of his comfort zone and going for people that wouldn't normally feel comfortable voting for him."
Republican consultant Jon Fleischman similarly told the New York Times that he found the ad "kind of creepy" but acknowledged that its unusual approach had succeeded in getting people to talk about Hilton.
Hilton defended the ad as a provocative and humorous way to reinforce his campaign's argument that Californians dissatisfied with Democratic leadership should consider voting Republican, he told the LA Times. Golden State voters haven't elected a Republican to state office in decades.
He later posted a video acknowledging that some viewers had been offended and said it troubled him that the ad had upset people. Hilton, nevertheless, said most of the response he had received was positive.
The controversy comes as Hilton faces an uphill race against Becerra, a former California attorney general and U.S. health and human services secretary under President Joe Biden.
Hilton, a former Fox News host and former adviser to British Prime Minister David Cameron, advanced through California's top-two primary after receiving President Donald Trump's endorsement.
Becerra also joined in the online response. Sharing an older article about his support for Medicare for All, the Democrat wrote on X: "Steve, just try it!"
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