Hour 3 - Steve Hilton for CA Gov

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show – Hour 3

Episode Theme:
Election 2025 Battlegrounds, Prediction Markets, and California's Political Future (with Steve Hilton)
Air Date: October 15, 2025
Notable Guest: Steve Hilton, Republican candidate for California Governor

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Overview

In this episode, Clay Travis and Buck Sexton dive into key upcoming elections and the shifting political landscape in Virginia, New Jersey, and New York. They analyze polling, trends, and enthusiasm gaps with political data expert Ryan Girdusky. The second half centers on California, featuring a candid interview with gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton, who sharply critiques Democratic leadership and outlines his vision for reform. The hosts bring their trademark humor and directness, aiming to make sense of a turbulent election season.

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Key Segments & Insights

1. The State of Local Elections: Virginia, New Jersey, and More

[03:32 – 14:42]

• Virginia Attorney General Race:

  • Republican Jason Miyares seeing a potential swing due to Democratic turmoil (J. Jones’s controversies and the Governor’s lukewarm support).
  • Ryan Girdusky: "Of all the races, we're seeing a big swing. It's that race in Virginia, the AG race." [05:32]

• Prediction/Gambling Markets:

  • Clay is “obsessed” with prediction markets but Ryan doesn’t rely on them, noting they're just aggregating widely available information.
  • Current betting markets reflect Democrat leads in most races, but Miyares is favored in the AG race.

• Enthusiasm Gaps & New Jersey Math:

  • Girdusky identifies a serious enthusiasm gap in New Jersey, especially among minorities in mail-in returns.
    • “There is a 10-point drop-off from majority white districts to majority minority districts.” [08:30]
  • GOP candidate Jack Ciattarelli could win if this persists: “If he wins the independent vote by 15 to 20 points...he's going to win.” [10:26]

• House Control and Voting Rights Act:

  • Supreme Court could gut Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, potentially ending any immediate Democratic path to the House majority.
    • “If Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act is struck down...it's almost mathematically impossible for Democrats to win the House.” [13:11]

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2. The New York City Mayoral Race & Democrat Strategy

[14:42 – 17:29]

• Discussion about Cuomo’s underwhelming campaign and the persistent divide for Republicans citywide.
  • Girdusky: “You need Republicans to vote for you...Cuomo has every ability to win this race and it has tightened in Cuomo's favor...but he's got to give Republicans something.” [16:08]
  • On Cuomo's performance: “He just was in the right place where it's easy to sit there and win victories, especially when you have the last name that's a legacy and a dynasty in a certain particular place.” [16:19]

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3. Pop Culture, Cancel Culture & Transgender Sports Debate

[22:24 – 25:32]

• Clay highlights a viral moment: Keira Knightley (playing Professor Umbridge for Harry Potter audiobooks) laughs off a question about boycotts over J.K. Rowling’s trans comments.
  • Knightley: “I think we’re all living in a period of time right now. We’re all going to have to figure out how to live together, aren’t we? And we’ve all got very different opinions. So I hope that we can all find respect.” [23:29]
• Clay interprets Knightley’s response as evidence that “people are over the BS even in Hollywood.” [24:02]

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4. Steve Hilton Interview: California’s Future

[28:02 – 40:05]

The State of the Democratic Party in CA

• Steve Hilton details his experience with radical left-wing candidates and their “insane” positions.
  • “These California Democrats. Insane. The far left, still in control. People are sick of it here, and that’s why I’m running for governor.” [28:26]

Newsom's Leadership & Metrics

• Hilton skewers Newsom’s narrative:
  • “This total arrogance, entitlement, contempt for the truth, for the reality of people’s lives…They’ve had appliant media in California. They’re not used to being asked these kinds of questions...that’s going to be a very different story next year in the election.” [29:47]
  • Calls out Newsom’s use of "biggest" and "largest" claims due to CA’s size, not because of good governance:
    • “Actually...if you talk about the actual performance on any metric, we are not just doing badly, we’re doing the worst of all 50 states.” [30:34]

CA Wildfire Aftermath & Bureaucracy

• Cites Malibu disaster: “600 homes destroyed. The total number of permits issued for rebuilding—2. Literally 2.” [32:31]
• Attributes rebuilding failure to an “awful combination of far left ideology and incompetent governance.” [32:44]

Newsom’s Self-Promotion

• Playful roasting of Newsom: “He’s getting a little breathier, buttoning that shirt a little lower, slicking back that hair just a little tighter and he’s ready to look at all the folks of America and just tell them that, damn, he’s so handsome.” [25:32]

• Newsom’s own words:

  “I think there’s a California derangement syndrome...People are obsessed with focusing on what’s wrong with the state and not what’s right with the state...We dominate in every category. Name it.” [34:50]

• Hilton’s rebuttal:

  “Everything he says is a lie because it doesn’t reflect the truth about what it’s like here, which is that we are, on every metric that matters, the worst performing state in America.” [36:21]

CA Dems, Katie Porter, and 2025 Election

• Hilton not surprised at Katie Porter’s debate meltdown:
  • “The Democrat machine...this arrogant, entitled bunch of people who think that they’ve got the right to rule forever in California. How dare you ask me questions. How dare anyone think that they’re going to interrupt our control of this state.” [37:43]
  • On the top-two primary system: Porter v. Hilton likely but “the Democrat machine...is still run by Nancy Pelosi, who can’t stand Katie Porter...the rumor mill here was saying that they are looking for another candidate because they don’t control her.” [38:18]

Hilton’s Call to Action

“So many of the crazy far left insanity that’s been inflicted on the rest of the country starts in California. So help me beat it here.” [39:26]

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Notable Quotes

• “Of all the races, we're seeing a big swing. It's that race in Virginia, the AG race.”
  — Ryan Girdusky [05:32]
• “If Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act is struck down...it's almost mathematically impossible for Democrats to win the House.”
  — Ryan Girdusky [13:11]
• “These California Democrats. Insane. The far left, still in control. People are sick of it here, and that’s why I’m running for governor.”
  — Steve Hilton [28:26]
• “Actually...if you talk about the actual performance on any metric, we are not just doing badly, we’re doing the worst of all 50 states.”
  — Steve Hilton [30:34]
• “600 homes destroyed. The total number of permits issued for rebuilding—2. Literally 2.”
  — Steve Hilton [32:31]
• “Everything he says is a lie because it doesn’t reflect the truth about what it’s like here...”
  — Steve Hilton [36:21]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Virginia/New Jersey elections: [03:32 – 14:42]
• NYC mayoral race: [14:42 – 17:29]
• Cancel culture & Keira Knightley: [22:24 – 25:32]
• Steve Hilton Interview: [28:02 – 40:05]
• Gavin Newsom's stump speech & Hilton’s response: [34:50 – 36:57]
• Katie Porter discussion: [37:16 – 39:21]
• Hilton's campaign pitch: [39:26]

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Memorable Moments

• Keira Knightley’s wry laughter and “can’t we all just get along?” answer to cancel culture questions—Clay calls it a shift in pop culture attitudes. [23:29]
• Steve Hilton’s dry humor recounting his shock:
  “As she was speaking, I saw myself on the little video green room. My jaw was dropping. And I kept thinking, she's not going to say that...and every time you thought, no way she's not going to say something so crazy, she said it.” [28:13]
• The Malibu rebuilding fiasco: “Malibu is the most egregious...600 homes destroyed. The total number of permits issued for rebuilding, 2. Literally 2.” [32:31]

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Tone & Style

• Conversational and direct, with humor (“vegetable Joe” for Biden, mockery of Newsom’s appearance)
• Candid, often irreverent critique of establishment politics—especially targeting California's Democratic leadership
• Policy-heavy, with frequent discussion of polling, demographics, and downstream effects

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Conclusion

This episode frames the 2025 election season as a pivotal moment, with California’s political direction in particular seen as a bellwether for national trends. From detailed polling analysis and tactical campaign insights to sharp critiques of left-wing governance, listeners gain both an insider’s playbook and a rallying cry for conservative activism.

To learn more about Steve Hilton’s campaign: SteveHilton4Governor.com

Transcript

[Tristan Redman]

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[Asma Khalid]

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[Tristan Redman]

But what's happening in America isn't just a cause of global upheaval. It's also a symptom of disruption that's happening everywhere.

[Asma Khalid]

I'm Asma Khalid in Washington, D.C. i'm.

[Tristan Redman]

Tristan Redman in London and this is the Global Story.

[Asma Khalid]

Every weekday we'll bring you a story from this intersection where the world and America meet.

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[Ryan Gardusky]

Thank you for having me.

[Buck Sexton]

Let's start with this. Are we seeing increased weakness on the Democrat side and hopefulness for winsome Sears and Jason Mayards? I want to focus on Virginia first here. The J. Jones situation coupled with who's the guy that wrote the text about how he wanted a Republican and his family and his kids to die and then you got that situation and then the spam burger running around refusing to talk about J. Jones and also refusing to speak clearly about the trans issue. Is this having an impact or is it status quo in that election which is going to be decided in just a couple of weeks.

[Ryan Gardusky]

So I mean, all we have is just polling to go on. Remember, Virginia does not register voters by party, so we can estimate where voters are coming from, how they voted in the last election, but that doesn't really tell us an enormous amount of information. We just have polls. There have been two polls. They're both from right leaning firms that examine how they look. One was from a poll called Signal. They are decently active. They have a good reputation. They have miaras up by two points leading it. And then there's Trafalgar. Trafalgar. Now Trafalgar has had a great reputation till 2022 and they really went off the rails in 2022. But last year they were the fifth most accurate pollster in America. And in 2021 they nailed the Virginia election completely. Right. Trafalgar estimated that that miaras went from losing by four points to Jones to beating him by six points. And if you look at the Miares campaign, they've released new ads saying, you know, I know you're going to vote for, for, for the Democrat for governor, please do not vote for Jones for ag. And then they have clips of the Democratic candidate for governor saying every voter needs to make their own choice, refusing to endorse him on the debate stage. So that has, that, that is the message of their command saying we know you're in vote for the Democrat for governor. They expect the Democrat to win the governorship, but make your own decision. And they have the Democrat governor candidates own words saying make your own, make your own choice. Of all the races, we're seeing a big swing. It's that race in Virginia, the AG race.

[Clay Travis]

Ryan, I am, and this is probably not going to surprise anybody obsessed with Poly Market and Calci because what you just mentioned is there are a lot of polls out there. Oftentimes they have a bias one direction or another. And as we all know, a lot of polls are just flat out wrong. How much attention do you pay to the prediction markets? And let me tell you what they are saying and see whether it would square with what your expectations are. Gambling markets.

[Ryan Gardusky]

Look at them.

[Clay Travis]

You don't look at them. All right, I'm obsessed with them.

[Ryan Gardusky]

So they're just going off of information that we all see.

[Clay Travis]

I'm not sure that that's true. But let me give you the data here. They say there's a 90% chance that Mamdani wins. They say that they're. Then again this is, this is based on dollars, not, not poll numbers. They say that there is a 90 some odd percent chance that Spanberger wins. They say that there is an 80% chance that the Democrat wins in New Jersey. But to your point, Miarez is now favored in the Virginia ag. If all of that came down, what do you think is most likely to be wrong of those markets right now? Is there anything, is Cuomo going to have a chance? Is New Jersey, Virginia like what, what could they be wrong about? Those are the prediction markets right now.

[Ryan Gardusky]

I mean they could be wrong about Miares because at the end of the day the question for Mears is this. How much does the Democrat win the governorship of Virginia by? It would take an enormous amount if she wins by double digits for him to win. Right. They want Winston Sears has to keep this race competitive and close. Which is why you've seen the Republicans dump millions of dollars into the governorship race in the last few weeks because they know if they can keep this Close. They can win the agc. If they give up completely, then there's no chance that the AG can hold on and they might lose even. They might lose almost double digit state legislative seats. So they want to keep it closed because they want the down ballot effects to the Jones effect, rather the Jay Jones controversy to manage to hold on. Republicans in a number of key legislative seats and in the AG race, that's the one they can get most, most wrong about, the one that. So she went by double digits. Jay Jones is probably going to squeak by as well. The other question is, is that the New Jersey race. Something very interesting is happening and this is not just in polling, but this is in the actual early vote in polling right now. Mickey Sheryl, the Democrat holds a lead by about five to six points. Basically what Kamala Harris had last time in the last race. A Quinnipiac poll just released minutes ago have her up by six points to Jack Chiarelli 50 to 44. But there is an enthusiasm gap that is sizable. It's a 13 point enthusiasm gap more in favor of Republicans than Democrats. When you look at the mail in vote, there's very interesting happening. Remember, Mickey Sherrill lost the inner city vote in the Democratic primary by huge numbers. Black, Hispanic, Asian voters did not want her to be the nominee and she prevailed. She's a white lady from a very wealthy part of New Jersey, very isolated. When you break down the precinct returns from where people are returning their ballot, remember their ballot's at home. I mean, it's not like they have to go somewhere to go vote. It's been at home for weeks. There is a 10 point drop off from majority white districts to majority minority districts. So districts that are over 50% white in New Jersey have over 30%. People return their ballots. When you go to Asian districts or black districts, respect it's less than 20. In some cases, it's on average of 21. That's an 11 point enthusiasm gap that you're seeing in the mail in ballots. The question to ask yourself is if they're not even returning the ballots when it's at their house, how enthusiastic for the millions of other New Jersey Democrats who are mostly minorities in these areas, are going to be to actually show up on election day and give her the numbers that she needs to win. Because if they don't show up on election day, she can win despite having a very large padded lead in the mail in ballot.

[Buck Sexton]

Can the Republican win? Ryan, in your mind? I mean that's, that's really what I wanted to Ask you here, is this, is this a close enough race where you could say it is realistic that we could have a Republican governor again in New Jersey?

[Ryan Gardusky]

Yeah, I think, I think, I don't think that Winston Sears can win in Virginia. I just think there's too many mistakes to be made and she didn't run a campaign focused on energy prices, which is key. I think Jack Ciarelli has done everything right and he's experienced the balance when he needed it. Quinnipiac is a left leaning pollster. They gave him a three point bounce from our last poll. It's tightened for sure. There is an enthusiasm gap and there's an enthusiasm gap in registration. What I think the, I mean, the common problem is that New Jersey still is a blue state. So the Democrats have a lead in that and they have an advantage in that. And that might just be just enough in a year where the President is a Republican because that does affect if people want to vote for the party outside of the presidency. The question, you know, the thing that differentiates these polls, there's been three polls with Jack Ciarelli leading in the poll in the election. The difference between polls that have him leading or have him tied or have him rather losing by four or five points is how does he do with independence? Most of these polls concede he is winning the independent vote. If he wins the independent vote by 15 to 20 points. If some of these polls have sat there and said he's leading by then he is going to sit there and hold on to this race and he's going to win it. And if the makeup is changing because the electorate is more excited among the Republican side, if he's only leading by eight points or seven points, he's probably going to lose by not by very much and we'll see if he's got coattails below him. Virginia, I think that Jason Mears can, can be the one winner of the night to sit there and squeak by and have a, and have a good night. For Republicans in Virginia.

[Clay Travis]

Okay, this is basically the appetizer for the midterms. Ryan and we started off playing Harry Enton talking about all of the decisions that still have to be made relating to the House. It feels like to us, and you tell us if we're wrong, that Republicans are in a very strong place to retain control of the Senate considering they're going to have tie break. So it would require four lost seats, which is a steep road. What do you see in the House and how impactful, if at all, is New Jersey, Virginia and the New York City mayor's race. Whatever results we get in a few weeks, when it comes to what might happen a year from now, I think.

[Ryan Gardusky]

That in Jersey, the New York City, the mayor's race, and the New Jersey race, that's a bigger question towards what does 2032 look like if they're the incumbent governors? And what does the presidential election look like in 2028? I don't think it has a lot to do with the congressional election. And Republicans are in a better chance now than ever to retain the House. I'm not usually a very optimistic person. There's a court case going on right now about this article to Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

[Clay Travis]

We did a big discussion about that. Yep.

[Ryan Gardusky]

It is very looking. It's looking very likely like the Supreme Court is going to in some way rule in the state of favor of Louisiana. Now, does that mean that they don't have to change the map to create a second black district in Louisiana, or are they going to strike down section two of the Voting Rights Act? If they strike down Section two, it is. There is. It's almost mathematically impossible for Democrats to win the House. It becomes nearly impossible because what's going to happen if that happens is every Southern state in the country is going to start redistricting like crazy. You will see. Clyburn will not have a seat in South Carolina. His seat will be a Republican seat. They'll lose the only Democrat seat in Tennessee. They'll lose the seats in Tennessee. In Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, North Carolina, they will redistrict Democrats down to basically Charlotte, Atlanta, not even New Orleans or Memphis. I mean, just the big metropolitan areas. They can't really avoid them. And that will lose. And Democrats lose a dozen seats, including Florida. Florida's gonna start redistricting. Debbie Watson Schultz is not gonna have a seat to run in. I mean, leadership along standing leadership of the Democratic Party will not have seats anymore in Congress aside from Republican seats that they'll lose in. So that will ultimately end the question. I mean, at that point between Registry and Ohio and Texas and all these other places, Democrats will have to win dozens of seats. And the map isn't where it was in 2018. It's not where it was in 2010. We're not going to have wave elections where 50, 60 seats flip that. That time in our country is kind of over. So if they do this, if Section 2 of the Voting Rights act is struck down and Republicans start gerrymandering as they're doing nationwide, but they do it in the South Fundamentally, it's going to question how large is the Republican leader? Another five seats? Is it six seats? But the chance of Democrats winning 20, 25 seats, almost mathematically impossible. They have to be like a, an Obama style landslide.

[Buck Sexton]

Ryan, that's really interesting stuff. I just have to ask about New York City. I'll always love the Big Apple. I'm a little bit worried. It's not looking great if you wanted to avoid the communist hellscape that Mamdani may bring. But I don't know, what if something last minute shakes things up? What if Curtis Sliwa gets rid of the beret? I mean, what happens?

[Ryan Gardusky]

I don't know if the beret is what's holding him up. I was with Cuomo's advisor just the other day and essentially what I just said to them was, you know, you want Curtis Leeway to drop out. I don't think it's going to happen. I don't know if it's going to happen. But the element that that is so fundamental, that the Cuomo campaign has always missed is you need Republicans to vote for you. So yeah, it's okay to trash Trump and they'll forgive you for a lot because they know that it's New York City. But you need to offer them something because you're the guy who let all the criminals out of jail. You're the guy who did the lockdowns. You're the guy who did a lot of bad policy and said pro lifers don't belong in the state. Give them something, cuz they're not gonna just vote for you. Cuz if Curtis drops out. This is delusional thinking. And I mean really, the blame goes on the Cuomo. Cuomo has every ability to win this race and it has tightened in Cuomo's favor. He's only down about 12 or 11 points in the polling versus like 20 something points. It is getting tighter. It is getting closer for Cuomo, but he's got to give Republican.

[Buck Sexton]

Why has he been so bad? Not to interrupt you, Ryan, but why has he been so bad at this? Why has the Cuomo campaign been so lackluster? This guy's a career politician. He was the governor. He should know how to do this.

[Ryan Gardusky]

Yeah, it kind of baffles the mind, but I mean, this is the problem when politicians don't have to run real races for a very, very long time. Cuomo really has. And between his last name and his legacy and the money he's had, I mean, he has never really had to run a competitive race. Before, the media always defended him. He was going to be a president one day. I mean, they built him out to be this legacy that clearly he wasn't actually that good of a politician. That's the shocking thing. He just was in the right place where it's easy to sit there and win victories, especially when you have the last name that's a legacy and a dynasty in. In a certain particular place. So I, you know, I guess he really is not that good. I just think that maybe Mario was a much better campaigner and he just stuck around long enough.

[Buck Sexton]

Guys, so much of this analysis and more available for you all to listen to on the Clay and Buck network with It's a numbers Game. Ryan Gardusky is the host. Go check it out. Especially as we get closer to election day. You want to look, just think about all the, all the info, all the stuff we just covered there. He'll impress everybody at the backyard barbecue, talking about all the different congressional districts and everything else that Ryan laid out for you. Ryan, always good to have you, man. Thank you.

[Ryan Gardusky]

Thank you so much.

[Buck Sexton]

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[Clay Travis]

You know them as conservative radio hosts. Now just get to know them as guys on the Sunday Hang podcast with Clay and Buck. Find it in their podcast feed on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

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[Asma Khalid]

America is changing and so is the world.

[Tristan Redman]

But what's happening in America isn't just a cause of global upheaval. It's also a symptom of disruption that's happening everywhere.

[Asma Khalid]

I'm Asma Khalid in Washington, D.C. i'm.

[Tristan Redman]

Tristan Redman in London and this is the Global story.

[Asma Khalid]

Every weekday we'll bring you a story from this intersection where the world and America meet.

[Tristan Redman]

Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Propane Advertiser]

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[Clay Travis]

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[Clay Travis]

Welcome back in Clay Travis Buck Sexton show. We've been talking about the crazy Democrat governor candidate who said, hey, maybe a woman would have beaten Usain Bolt if they ran in 100 meters. And we're going to talk with Steve Hilton about the situation in California. He's running as the Republican gubernatorial candidate in that state. But I wanted to play this because I do think it's indicative of a major culture shift. I have no idea what Keira Knightley's politics are, but she is evidently involved in a new Harry Potter project being helmed up by J.K. rowling, the author of the Harry Potter books. And she was asked by a crazy left wing media member, what do you think about the trans boycott of the Harry Potter series based on J.K. rowling's opinions on this? And I just want you to listen to the answer.

[Steve Hilton]

I saw your voicing, Professor Umbridge in the new Harry Potter audiobooks. I was wondering, are you aware that some fans are calling for a boycott giving J.K. rowling's ongoing campaign against trans people?

[Tristan Redman]

I was not aware of that. No. I'm very sorry. You know, I think we're all living in a period of time right now. We're all going to have to figure out how to live together, aren't we? And we've all got very different opinions. So I hope that we can all find respect.

[Clay Travis]

Look, that is a very middle of the road answer, but I wish you could see the laugh. It doesn't come across in the same way. On audio as it does on video. So I would encourage you guys to check it out. But the fact that she would just laugh at a question like that is I think a sign that people are over the BS even in Hollywood and even for some white actresses. Because we've talked about the fact that the most overtaken woke identity group in America, it's actually white women. And they have been the drivers of the toxicity surrounding this in particular. You know what's not toxic? Buck winners. And I've been giving people a lot of winners for prize picks. Here you get an early preview. I'm going to give this out again tomorrow because it's only Wednesday, but I've already got my picks ready. This is easy. Joe Flacco, Trevor Lawrence, Bryce Young Tua, Tagovailoa and Jackson Dart all to throw more than one half passing touchdown. These are all Moores. That means they just need to throw at least one passing touchdown. So you take more than one half. Joe Flacco, Trevor Lawrence, Bryce Young Tua and Jackson Dart. Those are all. What is that? Five NFL starters coming up starting tomorrow. If I am correct in this and we win for a fifth time in seven weeks, then you will all be able to celebrate because we will be on fire. And even if I'm not right, you'll get 50 bucks if you go sign up and play. $5 if you use my name right now. Clay prizepix.com code clay the prize picks app code clay. You get 50 bucks just for signing up and playing. $5.

[Buck Sexton]

All right, welcome back in here to Clay and Buck. We will be chatting, I believe shortly with Steve Hilton about California. You know what, actually, I want to pull this from yesterday, guys. Grab yesterday because I feel like Gavin Newsom is out there working on his stump speech. He's getting a little breathier. He's buttoning that shirt a little lower, slicking back that hair just a little tighter and he's ready to look at all the folks of America and just tell them that, damn, he's so handsome. You know, I mean, I really think that Gavin Newsom is thinking that it's his, it's his nomination to lose at this point on the Democrat side. I, I don't think that he is silly or foolish in that assessment. I think we've both said that we think it'll be Gavin Newsom with AOC as the vp. If we nail that one so far in advance, that'd be a pretty impressive call. But we're, we're riding on the same train on that one. I think that's probably what. It's always tough to pick these things so far and out so far in advance. Whoever would have thought, for example, that Joe Biden would even be the nominee in 2020? I truly, Clay, I went on a whole rant on radio when the Democrat primary was happening, and I just said, we know it can't be Biden. The guy's got dementia. Well, it turns out people didn't care that much.

[Clay Travis]

Not only that, you hit on something that I think is one reason it's hard to predict the outcome. And it didn't get a lot of attention because he ended up not being challenged in a significant way for the nomination. Biden flipped the order of the states when it came to the Democrat primary contest so that South Carolina was first because he knew James Clyburn and black voters were going to have his back, and that would forestall any significant challenge against him. And because Biden never did well in Iowa or New Hampshire, what is going to be the first state going forward? I think that is a real part of trying to horse race and handicap the likelihood of what is going on. And. And I think it's one reason why it's challenging to have a exact reason here. We've got Steve Hilton, by the way. I think. Now, Steve, I don't know if you've seen the clip yet of the crazy Democrat nominee, one of the people running for it saying that she doesn't know whether a woman could beat Usain bolt in the 100 meters. But I thought it was a perfect distillation of where the California Democrat primary is. They're just bonkers.

[Steve Hilton]

I'm so excited to talk to you about this today because I was actually on that interview with Piers Morgan. I was following her up, and originally, I think they set it up as a debate, and she didn't want to do a debate. So I was just patiently waiting. And as she was speaking, I saw myself on the little video green room. My jaw was dropping. And I kept thinking, she's not going to say that. Like, surely she. No way she's going to say gender neutral Olympics. No way she's going to say track and field. When Pia's asked her what sports biological men could compete with. And every time you thought, no way she's not going to say something so crazy, she said it. It's just incredible. But exactly as you say, this is where they're at, these California Democrats. Insane. The far left, still in control. People are sick of it here, and that's why I'm running for governor because we got to have. We can't go on like this with these lunatics in charge of our beautiful state.

[Buck Sexton]

What do you say, Steve? It's Buck. Thanks for being here with us to whether it's Gavin Newsom or other Democrats out there, they really seem to have taken this point of that California is actually doing great and that it's awesome and that they're kicking ass and their governance is amazing. Like they're not trying to excuse or explain any of the shortcomings. They just say that it's been fabulous. I mean, Gavin Newsom, instead of even feeling like he has to defend anything, he just is basically saying California is number one in all these different things and leaves it at that.

[Steve Hilton]

Yeah, well, this is what ties together the Betty Yee interview, the other car crash interview we saw with Katie Porter and Gavin Newsom.

[Ryan Gardusky]

All of them.

[Steve Hilton]

This is what you get. This is the attitude you get after 15 years of one party rule. This total arrogance, entitlement, contempt for the truth, for the reality of people's lives. And they just think they can get away with it because for so long they've had appliant media in California. They're not used to being asked these kinds of questions and they're not used to being held accountable by a strong opposition party. And that's why I'm really confident when they face a candidate like me who's just not going to let them get away with it, it's going to be a very different story next year in the election. Just specifically on the Gavin Newsom BS that he spews about all of this. I mean, his favorite statistic, he's got to have to slightly adjust it a little bit. He's been saying for a while, oh, everything's great because we have the fourth largest economy in the world. That was true, by the way, until yesterday. We dropped down to fifth. But still, that's good. But beneath that, you've got a story of California as a state now where the rich get richer and the people who own these giant AI and tech companies are doing well. That's the reason we have such a big economy. But at the same time, we have the highest unemployment rate in all of America, the worst in all 50 states. Same with poverty. We have the highest poverty rate. And if you look carefully at what he says, he's always talking about the size of things. We're biggest for this and we're the largest for that. But actually that's going to be true for almost anything because we're the Biggest state with the largest population. But if you talk about the actual performance on any metric, we are not just doing badly, we're doing the worst of all 50 states. The worst reading scores for kids in public schools. The worst. The highest taxes, the highest cost for housing, gas, electricity, water, insurance, everything. The worst business climate 10 years in a row. There's literally nothing they can point to as a success. And so they got to do these kind of ridiculous statistical nonsense. But everyone can see, everyone can feel it. That's why you've got a large majority now in California. You say it's time for change. And that's why I'm confident I'm going to win next year.

[Clay Travis]

We're talking to Steve Hilton. I want to go to the arson that we found out actually caused the LA fires. We hear from a lot of people out there. Adam Carolla was on with us recently. He was has a house in one of the communities that was drastically impacted. I see these stories and I hear from people they still can't get rebuilt. What are you seeing and hearing from the people of Los Angeles responding to that wildfire crisis? A lot of the media, the drive by media, as Rush called them, have left and they're not covering the failure of LA to be rebuilt. What do you see in here on the ground there in the aftermath of those fires?

[Steve Hilton]

Well, it's a total disaster. That is a completely perfect illustration of how they're running the state. So you look at the. Just on the numbers, I looked them up the other day just to get the latest. Malibu is the most egregious in Malibu. 600 homes destroyed. The total number of permits issued for rebuilding, 2. Literally 2. If you look across the various burned neighborhoods after Dina, Pacific palisades, it's under 10%. And the reason is that they are. It's this terrible combination which is what's destroying California of far left ideology and incompetent governance and both of those two things working together. So the ideology comes in when they're now pushing this idea that the single family home, that the foundation of the California dream is some evil thing that needs to be fought back and everyone needs to be living in apartments with no parking and taking transit in the name of climate change. I mean, do they live like that, the people who push this? Newsom, does he live in an apartment? Does Nancy Pelosi get around San Francisco on transit? Of course not. It's total elitism and that's the ideology. So they want people to move out so they can build apartments in line with Their ideology of what they call density. But the second point is just the sheer incompetence, where months ago said she's streamlining permitting and whatever. None of that's happened. And I talk to people who literally, they go to the building department every day there's a different person, there's a different rule. Nothing's been streamlined, nothing's been simplified. They can't get insurance. The insurance people say, we can't give you insurance. Do you get a permit? The permit people say, you can't get a permit until you get the insurance. It's just a nightmare for people. No one's gripping it. No one's in charge, whether that's Newsom or Carabas locally or Newsom at the state level. And it's just a perfect illustration of everything that's gone wrong in California.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, I have to tell you, Steve, there's somebody out there with windswept hair and a shirt buttoned down to his navel who disagrees with you. We want to let you react. Here is Gavin Newsom. His version of California play 33.

[Gavin Newsom]

I think there's a California derangement syndrome, and he's part of it. I mean, I think people are obsessed with focusing on what's wrong with the state and not what's right with the state. I mean, you have more scientists, engineers, more researchers, more Nobel laureates in the state than any other state in the nation. We're the fourth largest economy in the world, $4.1 trillion. We have the finest system of higher education that addresses the issue of equity better than any other public education system in the world. We dominate in every category. Name it. We're the biggest manufacturing state, biggest farming state in every key category. The. The quality of life here. Consistently, look at the top 10 cities in the United States of America. Consistently, the top five are identified in the state of California.

[Buck Sexton]

All right, so. So obviously preparing. I know I'm going to give you the floor. He's preparing his stump speech there. And I also feel like a lot of this is. Well, you're also by far the biggest state, Gavin.

[Ryan Gardusky]

But.

[Buck Sexton]

But. Go ahead, Steve.

[Steve Hilton]

Oh, I wish I was able to.

[Ryan Gardusky]

Have a debate with him.

[Steve Hilton]

I wish he was running again so I could just go for it. First of all, it's exactly what I said. He just says, with the biggest. The largest. Yes, we have the largest ag industry, but it's being crushed by their policies, by Gavin Newsom's policies. We should be expanding our farming industry. Instead, it's being destroyed because he refuses to give them Water, because of their climate agenda, their labor regulations makes it more and more expensive. Look at manufacturing. Yes, we're the largest because we're the largest pretty much in everything because we're the biggest state with the largest population. What's actually happening with manufacturing? You take Nvidia, the world's most valuable company, just announced with President Trump a few months ago, a half trillion dollars of investment in America. None of it in California. It's in Texas, it's in Arizona, because those are places where you can actually build things without years of bureaucratic delay and massive taxes. Everything he says is a lie because it doesn't reflect the truth about what it's like here, which is that we are, on every metric that matters, the worst performing state in America. And that's the direct result of his policies and his incompetence.

[Clay Travis]

You mentioned Katie Porter. We played the audio. It went mega viral. She was at the time the favorite to be the nominee for California Democrats next year. What was your thought when you saw it? Did it surprise you? What does it say about Katie Porter and California Democrats?

[Steve Hilton]

It did a little bit because I've met her a few times. Most of the polls show that, I mean, we have this top two system in California where you don't have a Republican and Democrat primary, everyone's on the same ballot, and the top two go through to the general election. And from the last few months, I mean, the polls, it's pretty early. There's a large number of don't knows, so I'm not too kind of focused on this, but they pretty consistently show that the top two is Katie Porter and me. And so I've been paying attention to her. We see each other every now and again at these candidate forums. Not a real debate. But, you know, the ineptness on display there, the fact that you just couldn't answer a basic question and completely lost it was really surprising to me. But again, what's interesting is that the machine doesn't care. The Democrat machine, this arrogant, entitled bunch of people who think that they've got the right to rule forever in California. How dare you ask me questions. How dare anyone think that they're going to interrupt our control of this state. Right back in behind her, you had unions coming out with statements saying, yes, we're for Katie Porter. Still, we don't want someone polite. We need someone who's going to fight all this nonsense. The real interesting question, though, is that the Democrat machine in California overall is still run by Nancy Pelosi, who can't stand Katie Porter. And so even before this meltdown, the rumor mill here was saying that they are looking for another candidate because they don't want Katie Porter because they don't control her actually. And so right now the speculation is that they are trying to recruit Alex Padilla. He's the US Senator who made a fool of himself barging into Christine Noem's press conference. He's the guy that they want and I'd say bring it on because he's just another complete mediocrity, another machine politician who just spout the party line controlled by the unions and cannot possibly represent the change that we need in California.

[Clay Travis]

Steve Hilton, if people like what they're hearing here, how can they find out? How can they get involved?

[Steve Hilton]

Thank you and I appreciate that. Steve Hilton4Governor.com for look we got us. We it's not just about California, wherever you're listening in the country. So let's go right back to where we started with the trans athletes and biological men and girls sports that all started here in California. They passed that law in 2013. As governor I would overturn it, but it's a good example of how so many of the crazy far left insanity that's been inflicted on the rest of the country starts in California. So help me beat it here. Steve Hilton for governor.com Good stuff Steve.

[Clay Travis]

We'll talk to you again. Keep up the good fight. We appreciate you.

[Steve Hilton]

Fantastic. See you soon. Cheers guys.

[Clay Travis]

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[Gavin Newsom]

Keep up with the.

[Clay Travis]

Biggest political comeback in world history on the Team 47 podcast Clay and Buck Highlight Trump replays from the week, Sundays at noon Eastern. Find it on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcast.

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[Asma Khalid]

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[Tristan Redman]

But what's happening in America isn't just the cause of global upheaval. It's also a symptom of disruption that's happening everywhere.

[Asma Khalid]

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[Tristan Redman]

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[Asma Khalid]

Every weekday we'll bring you a story from this intersection where the world and America meet.

[Tristan Redman]

Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

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[Clay Travis]

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[Buck Sexton]

I've shared our story about how we were able to stay in contact with loved ones last year during that natural disaster. Being able to stay in touch with family as they navigated through the storm gave us a lot of comfort.

[Clay Travis]

There are a lot of testimonials about rapid radios like this one from Ms. Stinson. This is just a few words from her full testimonial. She wrote, I was able to check on my elderly parents and my brother immediately. Group talk or private? It's just like the old Nextel. They will program everything to all rapid radios before they're shipped to you. I absolutely highly recommend their products with.

[Buck Sexton]

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[Clay Travis]

You can stream Fox News live on the Fox One app. Stay on top of breaking news and the biggest stories live as they happen all from The Fox Voices YouTube Trust bringing you the coverage you won't find anywhere else.

[Buck Sexton]

Start your 7 day free trial today. Offers are subject to change. Go to Fox one for complete terms and conditions. Fox one we live for live streaming now.

[Clay Travis]

Welcome back in Clay Travis Buck Sexton show. Okay, let me hit a bunch of these. Your talkbacks are amazing. We have a ton of them and I'm going to try to get to as many as I can. Let's go. Um, let's see. Cut. C.C. david. Well, he says I'm a moron. Appreciate you David. Virginia Beach Listen to wall Clay Buck is completely right.

[Propane Advertiser]

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[Clay Travis]

Think that's the worst way you could die. All right, so my argument here of choking to death.

[Buck Sexton]

I'm not, I'm not calling, I'm not calling any names.

[Clay Travis]

But yes, some of these are very funny. I just want to hit a bunch of them less in Sacramento. Up at kfbk he says he's got a better idea about the worst way to die.

[Buck Sexton]

Dd the worst way to go. The absolute worst way to go. Be living through another Obama administration or Harris. That'd be the worst way to go. Because I tell you what, that kills. As simple as that. I mean we made it through barely through old vegetable Joe, but come on now, you know, I'm 10 out of 10. He stuck the landing. Love it.

[Clay Travis]

Very good. These are great. Enrique in New York City City. W here's what he had to tell us.

[J]

Clay Travis on the fear of eating and choking to death by yourself. I had that happen to me with a jalapeno at home. I had to give myself the hick maneuver. I had the phone on my hand. I was either call 9 1, 1 or battle for my life. I gave myself the the Highland maneuver that I learned when I was a police officer in Blue Springs, Missouri. And I after the third replacement fourth try, it finally came out. I was bruised all over. And boy, I'm still petrified from that memory.

[Clay Travis]

We're glad you're alive and able to listen to the show. Maybe we need to all practice the Heimlich maneuver on ourselves. Maybe that can help you with the Polish sausage, Buck. We'll be back tomorrow.

[Asma Khalid]

America is changing, and so is the world.

[Tristan Redman]

But what's happening in America isn't just the cause of global upheaval. It's also a symptom of disruption that's happening everywhere.

[Asma Khalid]

I'm Asma Khalid in Washington, D.C. i'm.

[Tristan Redman]

Tristan Redman in London, and this is the global story.

[Asma Khalid]

Every weekday, we'll bring you a story from this intersection where the world and America meet.

[Tristan Redman]

Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Buck Sexton]

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[Gavin Newsom]

Hello.

[Buck Sexton]

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[Clay Travis]

In April, and now I have customers out the door. And this. This is Sarah. Hi.

[Buck Sexton]

She started putting a portion of her.

[Clay Travis]

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[Asma Khalid]

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[Buck Sexton]

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[Clay Travis]

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[Buck Sexton]

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[Clay Travis]

When I told people I was making a podcast about Benghazi, nine times out of ten, they called me a masochist, rolled their eyes, or just asked, why Benghazi?

[Steve Hilton]

The truth became a web of lies.

[Clay Travis]

From prologue projects and Pushkin Industries. This is Fiasco Benghazi.

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[Clay Travis]

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[Tristan Redman]

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