GOP candidate Steve Hilton's ad sparks backlash from both sides
A campaign advertisement featuring two young women and an LGBTQ+ flag has drawn criticism from across the political spectrum.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
California Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton photographed during a town hall with union film industry workers on Sept. 16. His latest campaign ad has caused a stir with its risqué overtones.
Photograph: HuffPost (embedded from source)
What this story says
- GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton released a campaign ad titled 'Just Try It, California'.
- The ad features two young women in a bedroom setting with an LGBTQ+ flag visible.
- The advertisement has drawn criticism from both Republican and Democratic political figures.
- A UC Berkeley poll shows Xavier Becerra leading Steve Hilton 58% to 33%.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 7 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .
Trust
50/100
Craft
60/100
Hype
45/100
7 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
Only 1 of the 7 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton released a campaign advertisement titled 'Just Try It, California'. The ad depicts two young women in a bedroom setting, with an LGBTQ+ flag displayed in the background. The scenario involves one woman encouraging the other to try something new, which is revealed to be marking a mail-in ballot for Hilton.
The advertisement has generated criticism from political figures on both sides of the aisle. Michael Gates, a Republican candidate for attorney general, denounced the ad's use of young women as a political tool. Sonja Shaw, a candidate for state superintendent of public instruction, described the ad as 'creepy, weird, disturbing garbage.' Representative Robert Garcia, a California Democrat, called the ad 'bizarre and desperate.'
Disagreement on ad's intent
Steve Hilton defended the ad in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, stating, 'We’re just saying, you know, just try it. It’s a provocative and humorous way of making a point, right? Which often the best communication does.' The Los Angeles Times also reported that a spokesman for Hilton's opponent, Xavier Becerra, suggested the video captured Hilton’s values, telling the paper, 'MAGA is melting down over Steve Hilton’s creepy ad because they’re finally seeing him for the sellout he really is.'
What the coverage left out
None of the left-rated digests mention the UC Berkeley poll showing Xavier Becerra leading Steve Hilton 58% to 33%. The right-rated digest does not mention the criticism from Democratic figures or the ad's specific content beyond the 'sexualization of young people'.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 5 times, most recently on 5 Oct 2026, 04:00, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
4 rated outlets
- Left-rated reports from HuffPost, The Seattle Times, Joe.My.God., and the Los Angeles Times focused on the criticism the ad received, particularly from within the Republican party. HuffPost highlighted the ad's 'risqué' nature and the backlash from 'both sides of the aisle.' Joe.My.God. used the headline 'MAGA Rages Over Republican CA Gov Candidate’s “Lesbian Lovers” Ad Titled “Just Try It, California”'. The Los Angeles Times reported the ad was 'provocative, sexually suggestive' and 'condemned by political allies on the right.' All left-rated reports mentioned the LGBTQ+ flag in the ad and the criticism from figures like Sonja Shaw and Robert Garcia.
Centre
2 rated outlets
- Centre-rated reports from Newsweek and Political Wire highlighted the criticism of the ad from fellow Republicans and its provocative nature. Newsweek noted the ad was 'sexually suggestive and provocative' and detailed the backlash from Michael Gates and Sonja Shaw. Political Wire also described the ad as 'provocative, sexually suggestive' and mentioned condemnation from Republican allies. Both centre-rated reports included Steve Hilton's defence of the ad, quoting him saying it was 'a provocative and humorous way of making a point.'
Right
1 rated outlet
- The right-rated report from the OC Register focused on Michael Gates's criticism of the ad, using the headline 'Golden Ticket in ruins after Gates blasts Hilton for ‘sexualization of young people’'. The digest stated that Gates 'emphatically denounce[d] the use of young women as a political tool' and that 'California families deserve better.' The digest also included a comment: 'I say again: no wonder California is a one-party state.'
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover GOP candidate Steve Hilton's ad sparks backlash from both sides?
- Of the 7 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 57% are rated left, 29% are rated centre, 14% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is GOP candidate Steve Hilton's ad sparks backlash from both sides left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 7 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of GOP candidate Steve Hilton's ad sparks backlash from both sides biased?
- GOP candidate Steve Hilton's ad sparks backlash from both sides is one event reported by 7 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting GOP candidate Steve Hilton's ad sparks backlash from both sides?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered GOP candidate Steve Hilton's ad sparks backlash from both sides?
- 7 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What is the ad about?
- The ad, titled 'Just Try It, California,' features two young women in a bedroom setting with an LGBTQ+ flag visible. One woman encourages the other to try marking a mail-in ballot for GOP candidate Steve Hilton.
- Who has criticised the ad?
- The ad has drawn criticism from both Republican figures, such as Michael Gates and Sonja Shaw, and Democratic figures, including Rep. Robert Garcia. Steve Hilton defended the ad as provocative and humorous.
- What do the polls show?
- A UC Berkeley poll indicates that Xavier Becerra is leading Steve Hilton in the gubernatorial race with 58% of the vote compared to Hilton's 33%.
Read it at the source
7 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
4- Candidate for California governor's sexually suggestive ad draws condemnation (opens The Seattle Times in a new tab)
The Seattle Times — is The Seattle Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
- MAGA Rages Over Republican CA Gov Candidate’s “Lesbian Lovers” Ad Titled “Just Try It, California” (opens Joe.My.God. in a new tab)
Joe.My.God. — is Joe.My.God. biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Republican's Risqué Campaign Ad Riling Up Both Sides Of The Aisle (opens HuffPost in a new tab)
- Provocative, sexually suggestive ad by Hilton campaign condemned by political allies on the right (opens Los Angeles Times in a new tab)
Los Angeles Times — is Los Angeles Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
Centre
2- Steve Hilton’s Chances As He Faces Republican Backlash Over New Ad (opens Newsweek in a new tab)
Newsweek — is Newsweek biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- Sexually Suggestive Ad by Hilton Campaign Condemned (opens Political Wire in a new tab)
Political Wire — is Political Wire biased? Our profile of this outlet
Right
1Not rated
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
How did this read?
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