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Clay Travis
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Buck Sexton
Welcome in our number two California Primary Day, Iowa Primary Day and more as we are coming on with all of you. Stock market continues to set yet another record high. The stocks have been on a tear all throughout May. We have now moved into June and there remains a great deal of economic optimism continuing to be back and forth. I described it yesterday Buck, as Groundhog Day when it comes to what is or is not going to happen with Iran. Nothing particularly new there as that talks continue surrounding the Strait of Hormuz. Now several different stories. Graham Platner is in Washington D.C. today meeting with many different Senate Democrats as his Senate primary campaign in Maine remains imperiled I'm curious maybe to dive into some of this with Buck during the course of today's program. We have a primary in both California and in la. And Buck, I told you in the first hour. Our thanks by the way to Andrew Giuliani Talking about the 11 different United States stadiums that are going to be hosting the World cup starting next week on Thursday, nine days from now, things will begin to get a bit chaotic in a good way I think when it comes to everything surrounding there as the US hosts the World cup for the first time since 1994. The US men's soccer team, by the way, Buck scheduled to play two games in LA and one in Seattle in the group stages, the first one on June 12th and they played well in their matchup, I think against Senegal and Christian Pulisic scored his first goal in five months. So for those of you who are interested, I would like to think that we could win some games and start to have some pro US positivity. I know for a fact there are a bunch of die hard Trump guys on the US Men's soccer team. I'll leave it at that. So we will see how all of this ends up shaking out. Now we were talking about what the prediction markets say as we get ready for the midterm cycle. And Buck, I have been talking with Buck a lot off air. I'm obsessed with these and I understand some of you are going to say, oh, I don't know why you care about what Poly Market's going to say, Clay, or what Kalshee is going to say. I am far more interested when people put their actual money down on what they think is going to happen than trying to glean what's going to happen from all of the different poll results out there. So the we'll see what happens. Everybody in California go vote. Karen Bass and Spencer Pratt right now are favored to advance to the runoff. Karen Bass is the incumbent mayor of Los Angeles. Javier Becerra and Steve Hilton are favored to advance in the in the California governor's race. But Buck, you were asking me. I've got right now about $3,500, relatively small amount of money, but I am putting my money where my mouth is. And so I have a bunch of different predictions here. I have you asked, I have Susan Collins to win the main Senate race right now. The prediction markets give her a 41% chance to win. I have Ken Paxton to win the Texas Senate race. They give him a 59% chance to win. I have the 9th district of Tennessee the one that they redrew in Memphis. I have the Republican Party to win that race, which I think they will. I have the Republicans to win the House. That pays out at 4 to 1. That is a less likely outcome. I have Kamala to be the 2028 Democrat presidential nominee. I have a 10 to 1 payout if that were to become a reality. And I have Mike Rogers to win the Michigan Senate race right now. They give him a 29% chance to win. So all of these markets are out there every single day on Kalshee and on Polymarket. And I pay attention to them because I think they are a better arbiter of where the current market is than trying to look at polls, which we know are often paid for by candidates or paid for by political parties to try and convince people of the legitimacy of those polls as a method, as Russia said, for a long time, to drive the overall narrative surrounding all of these different cases. So, Buck, Spencer Pratt. I have said if I lived in Los Angeles, I would vote for Spencer Pratt. No doubt I would. At this point, I think you have to vote for Steve Hilton because Chad Bianco I don't think has a chance to advance to the runoff. And I'm concerned that otherwise we could end up with two Democrats, both in the mayor's race and in the governor's race, which I think would be the worst outcome from the primaries in California today.
Clay Travis
I have this thought. I'm wondering about it and again, I go back to what people that people whom I see in person just sort of ask me, which I always appreciate. Do you get the same thing, too, that when you see people and you just want to hang out and talk to, like. Well, explain the thing that you talk about for three hours a day on radio. Do you get the personal radio show asks? I get that sometimes, yeah. Can you just do a show for me right now? Like, yeah, I want to. I want to talk about dogs and, like, recipes and my baby. I have no. Anyway, but people ask me this when they see me. They say, what is more likely here with the California situation? That it will be a test case that affects whether Democrats as a brand are on defense going into the midterms or that people still care more about prices. You see this thing on the COVID I think it was the Wall Street Journal. Clay, your favorite paper?
Buck Sexton
Oh, yeah, my favorite.
Clay Travis
Your favorite. I think it was in the COVID Wall Street Journal that truckers, maybe our truckers can. Can tell us if this is accurate. Some of them are spending $1,200 every two days on fuel, something like that. Because they're fuel. Now, obviously, those are for. Those are for major transport, commercial vehicles. But the point here being gas price. Now we're heading into a long summer where I think people. Here we go. Yeah. Some commercial truck drivers. This is cover the Wall Street Journal or I should say on the website, America's truckers are driving just a little slower to save gas. Some commercial truck drivers are slowing down to cut costs at the pump. One driver said it cost him twelve hundred dollars to refuel his truck every two days. Clay, there's a part of me that wants to say all this focus on the California madness is gonna help us out. But do people in Iowa. Do people in. Well, more to the point, Georgia, Pennsylvania, do they care? You know, is this situation in California something that the political elites and commentators and Californians care about, or does it have national resonance in an election year? That's my question.
Buck Sexton
Yeah, I think it's a great question. And I think this is where California can kind of give us an IND of how viable is the Republican party argument? Because if Spencer Pratt were to lose and you end up with two Democrats there, and you end up with two Democrats in the Democrat race for governor as well, it's just gradations of blueness. And the competition is not going to require any real addressing of the larger issues there. I also think narratively, if Spencer Pratt is one of the finalists and if Steve Hilton is one of the finalists, you have to acknowledge that there still is enthusiasm for Republican arguments nationwide. And I think that is significant as well. I will say price of oil and gas has come back. It's come back an average of about $0.30 ish. I believe, based on the numbers that I have seen since Memorial Day, as I told you, based on oil and gas prices was likely to happen. I'm on the record as saying I think we're gonna be around $3 a gallon by the time we get to the election in November. Right now, the average gas price is $4 ish. Like nationwide. And again, I always like to have fun with this. But average gas price nationwide does not mean that is what you paid this morning. So I appreciate that. If you live in California, you, for instance, are paying way more than if you live in Louisiana or Texas. And so there is a wide variety of different prices that people pay. I noticed in my particular neighborhood driving home a couple days ago, prices were down to 390 on the gas stations as I was driving past near where I live. So back under $4 here, average gas price around $4 as well. And so I think all of these. All of these factors are huge. But I think gas prices are going to be a big part and candidly of how people feel about the overall economic situation. And I was reading great piece in the Wall Street Journal over the weekend that kind of ran through. In fact, I flagged this, Buck, because I did think it was. Perspective is important in life. And I think a lot of times here is Warren Buffett said recently. And I flagged it because I thought it was so interesting that the poorest people in America today live richer than the richest people in the world did in the early 20th century.
Clay Travis
This sounds like your buddy Buck over here, who's been telling everybody that wealth and status are different things, that wealth and where you fall within the hierarchy of the society around you are different things. And this is why. Go ahead.
Buck Sexton
Sorry. I sent this in to producer Greg and it is cut 8. You will appreciate what Warren Buffett said. It's from, I think, a couple of years ago. But I do think it goes to perspective and to your point on wealth versus status, all these different things. But listen to Warren Buffett, the greatest, probably the greatest capitalist other than Elon Musk of all time. Certainly Warren Buffett is the greatest investor, I think it's fair to say, of all time. Listen to this.
Warren Buffett (quoted)
Bottom 2% in terms of income in the United states, the bottom 3%, and for sure the top 1%, all live better than John D. Rockefeller was living. When I was six years old, John D. Rockefeller was the richest man in the world. And today you can get better medicine, better education, better entertainment, better transportation. You can do everything better than he could. It's astounding. That's in my lifetime. If you wanted to watch a football game, he still had to go there. And I can sit there with this big screen and they keep showing me the replay so explaining to me what happened and everything. And maybe everybody doesn't have a screen as big as mine, but damn near everybody has a screen or an iPhone or a computer or access to one. I mean, when I was born, you know, the dentist didn't use Novocaine.
Buck Sexton
Yeah, that's really well said.
Clay Travis
Well, this is what I've been telling everyone, and this is what I keep saying in the context of artificial intelligence. Will there be some job displacement? And is that a. That is a societal concern? Yes, absolutely. Will AI make everyone, everyone, no matter where you are on the income scale, markedly wealthier in terms of those things that Warren Buffett just Laid out, the answer is certainly yes, certainly yes. The same way that the Internet has made everyone. Because of productivity gains in every product and every service and everything that you are exposed to, the Internet has made everyone wealthier as well. It has been hard on, you know, stockbrokers and travel agents, but overall, the Internet has made people much, much wealthier. So wealth and status are different things, and wealth relative to other people versus, versus wealth in an absolute sense. And this is also why I think, Clay, you have a society now here in America, and a lot of this is around the world the same. Same situation where we now have problems, including diseases, physical diseases, of overabundance, but we even have overabundance in terms of entertainment options. If you had told me 20 years ago that I would be able to turn on, without commercials, a movie library with almost. With basically any movie that I had ever wanted to see, and I could just press it, but I would have said, oh, my gosh, that's amazing. Now what happens, you get analysis paralysis. How many of you sit there? The only thing you know is you got to listen to Clay and buck every day for three hours. But after that, what do you do with your time? How do you spend your time? So this is. This is the great wealth abundance problem that we have now. People are too fat from too many calories. People have too much entertainment. People are glued to all the screens that are everywhere with more entertaining, more addictive things for your eyes than ever before. People can shop with the stroke of a. Of a, you know, a thumb, you know, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. This is going to continue. And this is why I think spirituality and connection to people who matter in your life and family and those things actually become more important. But that's a conversation for another time.
Buck Sexton
I think the analysis paralysis is going to become more and more commonplace. And my concern is that you're going to see. I mean, I had to go buy. I think it was peanut butter the other day. How do you decide which peanut butter to buy? You know, like, there are. There is an element where you go from, okay, I want crunchy or I want plain to their 20 different brands. And God forbid you even make a decision about what makes sense.
Clay Travis
I used. I used to like hummus when I was younger, and the hummus that I used to eat, like the. From the grocery store, now I think of. It's like trash a la poo bell. It is. It is terrible quality hummus. It was delicious to me 20 years ago. But now, Clay, you go in there and there's all these amazing varieties. The same thing is true of milkshake, they say we have more and more choice and we have hedonic adaptation. We have so much access and so much wealth that we forget how things were before. And it's important to keep that. You know, gratitude and humility are two of the most important, most important things, I think, for human happiness and human flourishing day to day. Just putting that out there, being grateful for things I'm grateful for. Pure talk for 250 years, our nation has stood as an example of freedom and hope. That's because of the bravery of tens of millions of men and women willing to put their lives on the line to defend it. To honor those patriots, PureTalk and its customers will raise $250,000 for America's Warrior Partnership by the end of July. This essential nonprofit foundation stands on the front lines of preventing veteran suicide. They do this by covering the basics. They help with housing, coordinate access to VA benefits, and provide transportation and counseling. All the tangible things that give veterans a hand up. And here's how you can help. When you switch your cell phone service to PureTalk this month, you'll have an opportunity to round up to support America's Warrior partnership. PureTalk will match that donation till they reach $250,000. Enjoy unlimited talk, texts and high speed data for just $34.99. That's a fraction of the big guys. And be proud to partner with a wireless company that shares your values. PureTalk just dial £250, say Clay and Buck to be connected to PureTalk's friendly US customer service team. Again. Dial £250, say Clay and Buck. Start saving with Pure Talk.
Buck Sexton
Preset your pals Clay and buck on
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Clay Travis
Clay and Buck and we have a lot to discuss with all of you today. As you know, including getting into some of the talkbacks and other fantastic things that are on our radar. Like for example, VIP email from Barb here. Clay, I wish everyone would remember that In June of 2022, gas in the Detroit, Michigan area was $5.29 a gallon due to Biden's regulations. Barb, I'm just going to say it. The the other guy was worse. Gas prices were higher. No one, no one will remember. No one will care. That's not going to do it at all. People just know what their credit card is getting dinged with right now. They know what it was yesterday. They know what they think it'll be next week. They do not care what the price of gas was. Unless you're going to say it's the highest or the lowest that it's been in 30 years or something. Oh, a few years ago. Clay, you can disagree with this. I don't think that's going to help us at all.
Buck Sexton
Yeah. Well, look, it is simultaneously the case that the price of oil and gas four years ago was higher than it is today. It is also the case that people have very short memories and Trump said, I will bring down costs. So being I don't disagree with Barr,
Clay Travis
I just don't think that's going to help us. Is the I don't think that's going to help Trump at all is my feeling on that. Unfortunately.
Buck Sexton
Yeah. Look, the gas prices have to come down or I think there will be consequences in the midterms with voters who are making decisions based on frustration of what gas costs. One of the better inventions we've come across over the last couple of years is Rapid Radios. Michigan based company taken what was traditional walkie talkie and they have modernized that it works nationwide on one device. You can talk to anyone in your network nationwide. A small walkie talkie, palm of your hand, easy to use. We have used it for our youngest son who is 11. You don't get smartphones until 14 in our household. So if we want to stay in touch with him and we're letting him run around in the neighborhood, we give him a smartphone. If you want to protect in the event that you have a major hurricane issue or you have tornado issues or maybe you have ice storms like we had here in Nashville during the winter, go to Rapid radios right now. Rapidradios.com Great Father's Day gift as well. Rapidradios.com welcome back in Clay and Buck, joined now by our friend Steve Hilton. He is in Huntington Beach, California. Pretty fantastic coastal community there. Steve, we know you're running around like crazy. We encourage everybody out there in the primary world to go vote in California. And I'll let you make the case to this audience why if they want a Republican into the final two, that vote needs to be for you.
Steve Hilton
Thank you guys. It's really great to be with you. And I think it's really important just to think about the opportunity here in November. Today we've got the primary and I'll get to that in a second. But the reason it matters is because actually this state is ready for change. We are done with the insanity, the crime, the chaos, the homelessness, the taxes, the regulations, the bloats, the bureaucracy, the nanny state nonsense. We are done with it. And you can see that in the energy in L. A around Spencer Pratt's campaign. You see it in the crowds that we're getting up and down the state. So I think when you look at the November election, we really can turn it around. It is not a lost cause. It really is the year when we can win. There's a majority of Californians now who want to go in a new direction. That is shown by every single poll. The Democrat candidates for governor are a disaster. You've got the billionaire climate fanatic Toms Steyer. You've got Biden's useless HHS Secretary Javier Becerra. So the opportunity, the golden opportunity is very, very big this year. But we only get it if we can get a Republican into the top two. And because we have this crazy system in California where you could end up with two Democrats, we got to really take that seriously today because the polls have been tightening. Tom Steyer, he's already spent $220 million trying to buy this election. He's creeping up. And most of the polls now show pretty much a three horse race. Myself, Styer and Becerra. There's a few points difference in the different polls, but that's how we have to think about it. There is no guarantee at this moment that a Republican will make it into the top two. That's why every single vote is vital, like truly vital. And I want to address directly something that I hear from many people in our state, which is Steve looks like he's got this. He's been leading in most of the polls for most of the year. Let's see if we can get two Republicans in the top two by voting for the other guy running, who's a Republican, Chad Bianco. And I understand the sentiment there, but it is really dangerous thinking because the facts and the math don't bear it out. I'll just give you one example. Poll came out on Friday. This is from a Democrat pollster, has me at 27%. Javier Becerra, 26%, Tom Steyer, 22%, Chad Bianco, 9%. There is actually now no possibility that he can get in the top two. It's nothing personal. We don't disagree on policy. We have a good relationship. It's just where we are in the campaign. And so every single vote for anybody other than me, including Chad Bianco, is actually a vote to get two Democrats in the top two. And that kills the chance for change. That's why I'm so happy to have had the President restate his endorsement and urge everyone to get out and vote for me today. And I've just seen that the vice president, J.D. vance, has done the same. And I'm so honored to have his support on this very special day. But it's not going to happen this amazing opportunity to save California. Unless we really take this seriously. Every vote counts. If you, if you're listening in California, please make sure you get your vote in. Please make sure you vote for me. And if you've already voted, tell all your friends, text, email, you know the drill. We got to get every single vote. It's up till 8pm tonight.
Clay Travis
Steve, I just want to note that we've been having you here on this show to tell our California audience about your extremely viable and now leading, you know, in the, in the very top of this race candidacy from the beginning. So we're very proud that we saw that this was something that could. Yes, thank you, thank you. Of course that we knew that you were a serious contender. We knew that you were going to connect with the voters there and that there's just a desire for things to be better. One of the aspects of this that I see in both your campaign and the Spencer Pratt campaign for the mayor's office in la, that that one thing, a common thread that runs between the two of them is why leave the people who mess everything up still? Why leave them in charge? And also, why not have people who are just promising to fix the things that the people of California want fixed? It feels like that's the mental hurdle that we just need enough voters to get beyond.
Steve Hilton
Exactly. And just to believe that change is possible, that we just to just to say we don't have to live like this, we do not have to put up with this. The choice is in our hands with our votes. We today. And what's really interesting, look, Spencer's very different character in many ways. I know him a little bit. I endorsed him. We actually both, I spoke at the same event where he announced his candidacy on January 7, the one year anniversary of the fires that they let us burn rally. He's very different race, it's nonpartisan. In the LA Mayor's race, I'm running as a Republican. But here's the similarity. We are both outsiders, neither of us have run for office before and we're not afraid to just tell the truth about this totally broken, corrupt, failed system in LA and across California. And you see the results all around us. And so we just got to tell the truth about that. And honestly for these Democrats, sometimes I even wonder how they have the nerve to ask for another four years in power. They've had 16 years of total control of California, all the statewide offices, both chambers in the legislature with a two thirds majority, all the major cities, all the major counties, the state supreme court with a 6:1 majority. They've had 16 years of total control to show us that this progressive model of governance works. And they've totally failed. We have the highest poverty rate in the country, the highest unemployment rate, the highest cost of living by far ranked 50th out of 50 for opportunity by US News and World Report, 50th out of 50 states for business climate by Chief Executive magazine. We have the highest taxes in the country for the worst results. The education results were a disaster. Homelessness, rampant crime and chaos everywhere. The cities are a total, you know, like third world squalor in our great cities. And it's not just L. A, it's right across the state. I mean, they've completely failed. But how dare they ask for another four years? You don't deserve another four minutes. And we just got to have people who are representing common sense, change. That's the other thing about our campaigns. They're not divisive, they're not ideological. What am I Running on? Your first hundred grand? Tax free. $3 gas. Cut your electric bills in half a home you can afford to buy. Cut your costs, help your business, fix our schools. Just practical things to make life better. Because California's got everything we need. Amazing natural beauty, incredible people, the best weather talent, energy innovators. We got everything we need. We're going to have unlimited natural resources, oil and gas, water, everything we need except a good governor. And once we have that, all we got to do is get out the way and California will thrive like you've never seen before.
Buck Sexton
What will the results of the primary tell you? I think you're going to be advancing into the final two. I think Spencer Pratt will as well. In order to get into the general. And I know the primary is today. We want everybody to go vote. We want you into that final two tomorrow. In theory, you pivot and it becomes a general election. How many persuadable voters do you think there are in California? Because California has voted overwhelmingly blue. The analogy we've used on this program is Giuliani and Bloomberg got elected in New York City because people were fed up with the status quo with traditional Democrats. California, potentially with Spencer Pratt, potentially with you, is finally saying as part of your candidacies, hey, the old blue ways don't make sense. Let's just bring in some sanity. How many persuadables do you think there are in the general?
Steve Hilton
Well, I'm going to give you a real number. This is a poll that the California Post commissioned and published just at the end of last week, 56%. That's the number who say the state's going in the wrong direction. And that's a majority. And I think that's the group. It's more than we need. We just need 50% plus one. But I think that's where you start. And that is really what this is about, is saying we really can. Change is possible, but you're not going to get it if you keep voting the same way. And so actually, a big theme of the general election campaign, which, as we plan to do starts tomorrow, is just those two simple words, vote different. You've got to stop voting the same way and think you're going to get a different result. We've tried that now for a very long time in California, and it hasn't worked. I mean, you saw Gavin Newsom last time in his, in his reelection campaign acknowledging he'd failed to solve homelessness, failed to deal with the housing crisis, failed to reduce the bloat and bureaucracy. And they got all these things he was saying and made all these promises. None of them have been delivered. Everything's got worse. Housing costs are higher. Gas prices are higher. The homelessness is more than it was, even though we've spent tens of billions of dollars on homelessness, and in fact, we estimate $425 billion in fraud, waste and abuse in the last five years in California. So they're done.
Clay Travis
Steve. Steve, can I jump in with. We know that it's a disaster, as you're outlining the previous or up to this point, the recent governor, what's going on in Los Angeles County. But you hit on three things there that I think go to not only critical issues for California, but in other misgoverned blue states, these tend to be problems as well. Well, certainly housing, gas. Right now, blue states tend to have higher prices. Depends. And then homelessness depends on which blue state. But a place like New York certainly has a lot of those challenges, too. But what are your, in shorthand, how do you actually make those three things better as governor in California?
Steve Hilton
Well, I'll deal with the specifics on gas. You know, my target is $3 gas. That's the pledge that I've made. We're going to try and get to $3 gas. And people say, well, how are you going to do that? It's so high now. Yeah, that's right. But before the Iran war, in 44. Zero states in America, gas was $3 or less. Most of them don't have oil reserves. We have abundant oil reserves right here in California. But because of their insane climate policy, we're importing it. 80% nearly of our oil is now imported. That's what we can change. And by the way, I can do that directly through the executive branch, through the state agencies. Is not needing the legislature to do that. Even if it's a Democrat legislature, I can make that happen. That's the starting point. Instead of the cost and idiocy of shipping in oil, we'll use our own. Then there's a whole bunch of climate regulation that we can roll back and start to get back to. Because Most of the $2 or more increase in gas prices in California compared to the rest of the country is not actually the gas tax. That's about 60 odd cents of it. Most of it is these regulations that we can change. In terms of homelessness, it's very straightforward. You've got to, number one, enforce the law. These homeless cabinets are illegal. They've always been illegal, but they've refused to actually remove them by some misguided notion of compassion. How compassionate is it to let people live in those conditions? So my starting point will be to say to local politicians, I'm getting a certain amount of time between three and six months to say you got to clean it up. All of it. Not some Newsom's bragging about a 9% reduction, which is B.S. anyway, if you look at the data. No, it needs to be 100% reduction. You don't see this in other states, you don't see it in other countries. It's totally avoidable if you just start by that principle of we're going to enforce the law. By the way, that's exactly what Spencer Pratt is saying in la. He's making the same point. And so the next step is to get people into drug and alcohol rehab because 80% of people who are homeless have those problems and mental health services. And the money's there for that. Because we've seen the billions that have gone into what they call the homeless industrial complex. All these useless nonprofits doing nothing except keeping themselves in business and crony developers who are selling these apartment units to the government for about a million dollars each, which they put people in there who are addicted to fentanyl. Nothing ever happens. So we've got the resources to do it. Spencer Pratt's plan is basically the same as mine. I think L A is going to. If he wins, as I, I very much hope and think he will, then that's one city I can check off my list because he's going to get it done. There. I want to make a broader point though, which is the foundation of all this is a strong economy. And actually the main mission I think for me is going to be rescuing our economy. We're heading for real disaster here. So many business leaders that I've met in the last year or so have said to me, we're just waiting for your election and if you don't make it, we are out. The exodus that we've seen so far is going to be a stampede if we have another four years of Democrat rule and this state is in real trouble. And so we've got to turn that around. We made an estimate last week we published this, that the total cost of the bloated regulatory nanny state bureaucracy in California on our economy is $745 billion a year in economic cost. If we cut that out, then California would become not just we're now the fourth biggest economy, we'd be the third biggest economy in the world if we just cut out all the nonsense. That's what we've got to do to start getting businesses back here. So we create the jobs so we don't have the highest unemployment in the country and good paying jobs so we don't have the highest poverty in the country. So the economic crisis is something that's very much top of my list.
Buck Sexton
Steve Hilton, last question for you. From 1850 to 2020, to your point, California gained population every year. Starting in 2020, the population began to decline. That needs to be fixed. JD Vance just endorsed you. I just saw on social media, President Trump has endorsed you. Last question. What is the impact of the Trump Vance endorsement on primary day here?
Steve Hilton
It's huge because it will tell everyone who wants change, but particularly Republican voters, because it's a primary and typically it's people who are the more committed partisans who vote in primaries. You've got to get this done because what that means is that you're going to have a partner for the administration wanting to make common sense change happen. The President wants to open up energy production. So do I. Newsom is blocking it. The vice President is heading his fraud task force trying to save taxpayer money in California. So do I. But Newsom is blocking it. It's going to be a new day when you have a governor in California in our biggest state actually working with the administration to make common sense change happen. It's going to benefit everyone in California, but our whole country as well. But it won't happen unless people go and vote for it. And you got to do that today.
Clay Travis
Go vote. Californians Go vote. Even if it takes a week or a month for these votes to be counted because of the dysfunction there, you got to go vote today. Go vote for our man Steve Hilton for governor. And Steve, we are pulling for you. We're counting on you. Or we're, you know, what's the word I'm looking? Not counting on you. What's the word I'm looking for?
Buck Sexton
Oh, we're looking forward to celebrating your advancement to the final two. Do you expect to find out tonight or do you think this thing's going to drag on for weeks?
Steve Hilton
By the way, we think, we think that there's a, there's a strong chance that we'll get a sense that we've done it. Yeah, I don't want to put a number on it, but we think it's possible that tonight we'll know. Not for certain, it won't be confirmed, but we'll have a very good sense of it. We think that's possible. Maybe.
Clay Travis
Go vote for Steve Hilton. Californians, go get it done. Steve, best of luck. We'll talk to you soon.
Steve Hilton
Thank you.
Clay Travis
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Buck Sexton
Keeping it real, keeping it right. Clay and Buck, find them on the iHeart app or wherever you get your podcast.
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Buck Sexton
Welcome back in Steve Hilton on with us. Thank you for that. Jason in San Antonio has been waking, waiting a while. Jason, fire away.
Steve Hilton
Hey guys, how's it going?
Buck Sexton
Fantastic.
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I had a great idea for the
Buck Sexton
both of you that you don't have
Clay Travis
to do a voice or anything, but
Steve Hilton
if you were in charge of the
Buck Sexton
speech that Kamala Harris would have given to celebrate the fourth of July, I
Steve Hilton
think both you could come up with some hilarious stuff.
Clay Travis
Two or three minutes, it would be hilarious.
Buck Sexton
It would have to start with the
Steve Hilton
land acknowledgment for the displaced.
Clay Travis
Well, no, no. Kamala would start off by telling everybody. 250 years of America unburdened by the America that has been, oh, I thank
Buck Sexton
the Lord that we don't have to deal with that. Although she's going to be the nominee in 2028, so we may have to worry about it in 2029.
Clay Travis
I'm just going to keep saying you're crazy. I don't even care if you're right because that's such a crazy idea that I just can't allow it. I can't process it.
iHeart Radio Announcer
This July 4th, come celebrate at America's Block Party hosted by America 250America's Block Party is a can't miss 4th of July concert happening at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Experience music, performances from major artists, patriotic tributes and the kickoff to giving 4th, helping to make July 4th the largest day of giving in American history. It's more than than just fireworks. Learn more about this landmark celebration at america250.org
Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship Promoter
combat sports fans this January, it's the Bruise Cruise Party with fighters. Watch a bare knuckle fighting event live in the Caribbean. Plus DJs, bands and chaos at sea. Prices increase soon. Hop aboard now. Go to bkfsea.com these days it seems
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dad living in Orange county, when we
Clay Travis
bring my five and seven year old to visit, we are sometimes in for
Cindy Crawford
a two hour drive that could feel like 10.
iHeart Radio Announcer
Oh, as an avid camper, I know all about this. We'll pack up the RV and know
Buck Sexton
this is either going to be the trip of a lifetime or a complete disaster.
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Clay Travis
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Cindy Crawford
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Buck Sexton
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Or really any ride.
iHeart Radio Announcer
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Hour 2 - Make CA Great Again!
Date: June 2, 2026
Podcast Host: iHeartPodcasts
In this episode, Clay Travis and Buck Sexton dive into the crucial California Primary Day and what’s at stake for both the state and the national political landscape. With humor and intelligence, they unpack current events—focusing on the California governor's race, economic indicators like gas prices, prediction markets, and the broader state of American wealth and politics. The hosts are joined by Steve Hilton, Republican gubernatorial candidate, for an in-depth conversation about fixing California and the importance of today’s primary vote.
Clay’s Obsession: He values real-money prediction markets (Polymarket and Kalshi) over traditional polls (06:46).
Bets Placed: Clay shares his active bets, including Susan Collins (ME), Ken Paxton (TX), Mike Rogers (MI), and Kamala Harris as 2028 Democratic nominee.
Gas Prices: A significant part of public mood and political decision-making (11:10).
Varied Costs: Nationwide average around $4/gallon, with CA much higher.
Short-term Memory: Discussion on how voters care more about prices at the pump now than in years past.
On Prediction Markets:
“I am far more interested when people put their actual money down on what they think is going to happen than... polls.” — Clay Travis (06:46)
On California's Woes:
“[Democrats] had 16 years of total control... and they've totally failed. We have the highest poverty rate in the country, highest unemployment rate, highest cost of living... highest taxes for the worst results.” — Steve Hilton (29:04)
On Gas Prices & Voter Memory:
“People just know what their credit card is getting dinged with right now... no one will remember, no one will care [about past prices].” — Buck Sexton (20:52)
On Choice Overload:
“I had to go buy... peanut butter the other day. How do you decide which peanut butter to buy?... There is an element where you go from, okay, I want crunchy or I want plain to their 20 different brands.” — Buck Sexton (16:14)
On CA's Need for Change:
“The choice is in our hands with our votes... we do not have to live like this.” — Steve Hilton (27:55)
This episode is for anyone seeking a detailed and lively breakdown of why the California primaries matter, how political betting markets are influencing punditry, the real impact of gas prices on voter mood, and what bold Republican candidates plan to do for the nation’s most populous state.
End of Summary