Steve Hilton, the Republican candidate for California governor, turned heads Friday with his lesbian, fanfic-style campaign ad.
The ad, titled “Just try it, California,” stars two young women, one which seems nervous to try something for the first time. The other woman then tucks her hair behind her ear and tells the other it’s “not that bad.”
“I’ve never done anything like this before. What if my dad finds out?” the other woman with blue hair and a septum nose piercing replies.
“Just try it. Look, give me your hand,” the other says, adding, “Close your eyes, and I’ll do all the work.”
The young woman with the pink hair guides her hand out of frame before revealing a ballot. She helps the her friend fill in a bubble for Steve Hilton.
The Republican candidate was seemingly taking a page out of former Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt’s rulebook, who went viral with his AI ads earlier this year. (Hilton is currently 22 points down in the RealClearPolitics average of polls and is not seen as competitive in his race against Democratic candidate Xavier Becerra.)
This ad, however, was not AI. Hilton claimed it was “produced by a great and talented director.” He did not state the director’s name, but pointed a user in his Twitter replies to his Bring Hollywood Home plan.
The ad quickly attracted attention across the internet.
Pratt replied, calling the ad “brilliant.” Fox News anchor John Roberts said that the ad “boldly go[es] where no political ad has gone before.”
Other users online were not as big fans with one person calling it “one of the creepiest ads ever made.”
“Awful political ad. But an absolutely incredible ad for literally anything else. You should go into marketing,” another user commented on X.
Keep reading for more reactions.
