California Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton has managed to unite people from across the political spectrum, but probably not in the way his campaign intended.
Hilton’s “Just Try It, California” advertisement shows two young women with brightly colored hair sitting together on a bed beneath a Pride flag. One nervously says, “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” while the other encourages her to complete a ballot for Hilton before suggestively commanding her to “lick it.”
The advertisement quickly went viral, drawing condemnation from several Republicans running alongside Hilton in California.
Sonja Shaw, the Republican nominee for state superintendent of public instruction, described it as “creepy, weird, disturbing garbage.”
“As a mother and someone who has fought to protect the innocence of children, this crosses a line,” Shaw wrote. “We have lost our way.”
California GOP Are Disappointed
California residents were just as bewildered. In a Reddit discussion about the advertisement, one person called it “the most unhinged political ad I’ve ever seen.” Another described the moment Hilton’s logo appeared: “I was watching it and was like, ‘WTF is this?’ Then the Steve Hilton logo—and I was like, ‘This is even more WTF.’”
The reactions suggest the advertisement’s intended satire may have been lost beneath its deliberately provocative presentation. Rather than convincing skeptical voters to “try” voting Republican, the video has placed Hilton in the unusual position of defending himself from members of his own party.
Hilton acknowledged that some viewers were offended but maintained that his campaign was attempting something different. Obviously, we need to do things differently in California,” Hilton told CBS Los Angeles. “The way we do campaigns, we have to do that differently as well.”
Democratic opponent Xavier Becerra also seized on the controversy, promoting his support for Medicare for All with the jab, “Steve, just try it!” With Hilton already trailing Becerra by double digits, the advertisement has generated enormous attention. Whether any of that attention translates into votes is another question.
