California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton released a bizarrely sapphic campaign ad showing an intimate, secret moment between two young women sitting on a bed in a dimly lit bedroom decorated with a Progress Pride flag in the background as soft music plays.
In the ad, an awkward young woman with blue hair wearing a “RESIST” t-shirt sits on a bed alongside a more confident young woman with long red hair. “Can’t believe I’m doing this,” the blue-haired woman admits. The red-haired one responds, “Don’t be nervous,” while gently caressing the other’s hair. She adds, “It’s not that bad.”
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The blue-haired woman nervously says, “I’ve just, like, never done anything like this before. Like, what if my dad finds out?” The red-haired woman then says, “Just try it,” and instructs her, “Look, give me your hand, close your eyes, and I’ll do all the work.”
The red-haired woman seems to gently work the blue-haired woman’s hand just off-screen below as they both fall silent. When the blue-haired woman looks down, she lightly gasps, and sees that the red-haired woman is guiding a pen in her hand to fill in a circle on her mail-in ballot to vote for Hilton, rather than his opponent, former US Health Secretary Xavier Becerra.
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The blue-haired woman then says, “I think, I think I liked it.” The women then share a brief chuckle before the music abruptly stops, and the red-haired one says, “Now lick it.” The blue-haired woman nervously looks at her partner, who then slyly smiles and holds up the envelope, which needs to be licked and sealed for mailing.
The on-screen text at the ad’s closing says, “Just try it! Steve Hilton for governor!”
The ad seems deliberately suggestive and, considering the age of the women in it, seems aimed at younger Gen Z and millennial voters who may support LGBTQ+ issues. It is notable too that the “RESIST” t-shirt in the ad was largely popularized in opposition to Hilton’s political party.
While Hilton has supported same-sex marriage in the past, as a gubernatorial candidate, he has often spoken out against transgender girls playing in girls’ sports. Advertisers and TV creators have long titillated audiences and snagged headlines by showing lesbian kisses, but often show little interest in developing such relationship storylines beyond a one-time scene.
Online commenters on X widely mocked the ad as “deviant” “trash,” accused him of using AI to generate it, and criticized him for not addressing any substantial social issues in it.
Hilton has run on a platform of slashing government regulations and taxes, redirecting public school funds to private charter schools under the guise of “school choice,” and abolishing the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles. Becerra has promised to cut cost-of-living expenses and to work toward universal healthcare coverage while also building more affordable housing.
Becerra is leading Hilton by more than 15 percentage points in every poll of the California governor’s race, and is widely expected to win, as the state hasn’t elected a Republican governor in 20 years.
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