Wednesday, April 15, 2026, 8:37 pm | Randy Thomasson
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So much has changed since last week.
In the California’s governor’s race, leading Democrat Party candidate Eric Swalwell is out, and leftist billionaire Tom Steyer has taken his place (see the latest polls).
Meanwhile, it seems mostly-conservative Republican Steve Hilton is getting nearly twice as much support as mostly-conservative Republican Chad Bianco. Yet this is a missed opportunity and a mathematical mistake of conservatives following their feelings, not facts.
Because asking “Who’s better — Hilton or Bianco?” is the wrong question. For now is not the time to pit them against each other. Save that for a hoped-for general election that decides which mostly-conservative Republican will become California’s next governor.
For if Bianco and Hilton are the top two vote-getters in California’s “jungle” primary election, only they will advance to the November runoff — guaranteeing a Republican governor (California’s “top two” primary election method has been in effect since 2012).
In contrast, if Hilton and Democrat Steyer are the top two, you can bet that Steyer — who’s actually to the left of Gavin Newsom — will be California’s next Democrat Party governor. Because most Californians are still lost and foolish, maintaining a reliable “blue state.”
So, if California conservatives want a mostly conservative governor, who will veto evil bills and “destroy the house of Ahab” (Newsom’s big administration “leaders” and their bad employees), the clear opportunity is to help both Bianco and Hilton get into the “top two” when voting begins in May. If conservatives want this, it can still be done.
But without this desire and focus, Bianco doesn’t currently seem to enjoy enough support to win second place (President Trump’s endorsement of Hilton hurt Bianco’s chances), which would probably mean we get the most leftist Democrat Party governor yet — Tom Steyer. Based on these facts, how will you encourage your family and friends to vote?
California Republicans have an unusual shot of claiming an upset victory in the governor’s race this year — but to win, neither of their candidates can get too far ahead of the other just yet.
With eight major Democratic candidates splitting the liberal vote, both Republican candidates, former Fox News host Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, could come in first and second in the June 2 primary and move on to the November ballot.
That would shut out Democratic general election candidates, an extraordinary event that pollsters and strategists of both parties agree is the only viable chance for a Republican to become governor. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans nearly two-to-one in California and the GOP hasn’t won a statewide race in two decades.
Both Republicans can only advance to November if they split the Republican vote essentially evenly, giving each enough to surpass their Democratic opponents. That’s thanks to California’s top-two primary system, in which the two candidates with the most votes advance to the general election regardless of their party.
3. He can appoint constitutional judges (the governor gets to appoint state judges to vacant judicial seats, around 100 per year).
4. He can set a new standard of good government, with his good deeds lasting beyond his administration (such as building dams and reinstituting the death penalty for murderers).
5. He can use his “bully pulpit” to educate Californians about the difference between good and evil, with myriad examples of waste, fraud, and abuse, at the very least.
And he can do much more, such as calling special legislative sessions to address one big problem at a time, and deploying California National Guard troops to preserve public safety.
I’m writing this because there’s a real chance to elect a mostly-conservative Republican governor this year. It all depends on conservatives being energized to vote in the “jungle” primary election, starting in early May, so that Bianco and Hilton win the “top two,” guaranteeing one of them will be elected governor in the November run-off.
Californians haven’t elected a Republican governor since Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006. But in this year’s race, opinion polls are suggesting the unthinkable for Democrats: a potential two-man showdown in November in which both candidates are from the GOP. Under the state’s electoral rules, only the top two finishers in the June 2 primary appear on the general election ballot, regardless of party. The leaders in two recent polls were Republicans, former Fox News commentator Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco. “In deep-blue California, two Republicans lead the governor’s race,” 3/27/26
3. Categorically unfair: Rather than a “progressive” tax (which means the more you earn, the more you’re punished), a flat tax is the only FAIR tax, where everybody pays the SAME RATE (and yes, this means “the rich” will still pay a great amount of tax).
From A Biblical case for Proportional (flat) taxation by Jeff Hammond In a proportional (or flat) tax system, every dollar of income earned that is taxable* is taxed at the same rate. Thus every individual is treated identically by the tax code. There is strong Biblical support for treating people impartially, and in an opposite way, strong condemnation for showing partiality or favoritism. This is because we are supposed to image God, and God is impartial.
Romans 2:11 states clearly that God shows no partiality with respect to salvation, (see also Deut. 10:17, Acts 10:34, Job 34:19, and Eph. 6:9). I agree that this is not conclusive, since it isn’t directly talking about taxation, but it does give us an idea of where God’s heart is for how we treat one another. There is a reason why Lady Justice is blindfolded.
However, there are other passages which take us closer to the heart of the matter. Lev 19:15 says “‘You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly.” In this verse, we are told that not only should we not favor the rich, but surprisingly, we should also not favor the poor (see also Ex. 23:3). But why should we think this has applicability to taxation?
A main purpose of Leviticus is to show how the Israelites can live a holy life. Chapter 19 is the pinnacle of how we live holy lives in relation to others, and the commands are given a solid reason—“I am the LORD”–which is repeated throughout the section.
Interestingly, Ch 19 is widely viewed as repeating the Decalogue; clearly Leviticus is summarizing the essence of what Holy Living looks like under God’s moral law. In the middle of this section on Holy Living, comes verse 15, which describes what justice looks like. Do we treat each other according to their just due?
Lev 19:15 helps us understand that a standard for personal holiness will be reflected in a standard for corporate holiness. As John Hartley says in the Word Biblical Commentary, “Since God is just, his people must establish justice in their courts as the foundation of their covenant relationship with him. The inner strength of a nation resides in the integrity of its judicial system.”
While, this is not dealing with taxation, it is dealing with justice in the social setting of the courts—it seems reasonable to conclude that if impartiality is required for the courts, it would be required of government action in general. At least the burden of proof should be on those advocating for a system of partiality, given the extensive Biblical support of impartiality.
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