A single photo-op from 2020 is now getting recycled as a loyalty test in California’s 2026 Republican governor fight—and it tells you more about today’s GOP than it does about Black Lives Matter.
Story Snapshot
- Steve Hilton is using cultural flashpoints to draw sharp contrasts in a crowded, media-driven primary.
- The “taking a knee” argument functions as a shorthand for broader questions: courage, credibility, and who folds under pressure.
- Hilton’s campaign message centers on affordability, governance, and breaking Democratic “one-party rule,” while opponents jockey for conservative trust.
- Fundraising and visibility matter as much as policy detail in a California statewide race that demands constant attention.
The “Kneeling” Attack Is a Proxy War Over Backbone
Steve Hilton’s jab at a Republican rival for “bending a knee” to BLM in 2020 lands because voters remember that year as a national stress test: riots, pandemic rules, collapsing trust, and leaders scrambling to look safe on camera. A kneeling moment can signal compassion to one audience and submission to another. In a Republican primary, Hilton’s point isn’t theology or choreography—it’s a demand for proof of spine.
California Republicans operate in a hostile political climate, so they argue over which survival strategy works: moderate signals to win independents or unapologetic contrast to energize the base. Hilton is betting that conservative voters want clarity more than calibration. The “knee” controversy compresses a complex debate into a single image you can understand in two seconds, which is exactly the currency of modern campaigns for gnat-level attention spans.
Hilton’s Broader Pitch: Affordability, Taxes, and One-Party Rule
Hilton’s core case for governor doesn’t rely on 2020 symbolism. He talks like a reformer selling a practical rescue plan: housing costs, taxes, and the feeling that Sacramento answers to insiders, not families. That message targets middle-aged homeowners and parents watching their kids leave the state. He also frames Democratic dominance as “one-party rule,” a phrase designed to trigger frustration with failing basics like schools, roads, and public safety.
Fundraising reports matter here because California politics runs on paid communication. A candidate can have airtight policy positions and still vanish if they can’t buy attention in expensive media markets. Hilton’s fundraising performance, as reported in coverage of early campaign finance totals, signals seriousness and gives him the ability to define rivals before they define him. In statewide races, money doesn’t guarantee victory, but it buys the only thing campaigns can’t improvise: time in voters’ heads.
Why Republican Primaries Keep Re-Litigating 2020
Primary voters often treat 2020 as a character referendum. Conservatives remember who kept businesses closed, who excused disorder, who lectured citizens while breaking rules, and who adopted slogans that later aged badly. “Taking a knee” became a symbol because it blurred lines between mourning, politics, and institutional panic. Hilton’s critique aims at a simple conservative expectation: leaders should respect law enforcement, reject mob pressure, and speak plainly even when the press demands ritual compliance.
American conservative values also carry a common-sense rule: don’t let political theater replace measurable outcomes. If a candidate knelt in 2020, voters will ask what he did afterward. Did he back policies that protected neighborhoods, supported police, and defended free speech? Or did he chase headlines? That’s where these attacks become more than gotchas; they force rivals to explain whether they acted from conviction or from fear of being targeted.
Bianco, Debates, and the New California Republican Battlefield
In a multi-candidate contest, each clash becomes a sorting mechanism. The debate stage and earned-media moments help candidates claim lanes: outsider, law-and-order, reform technocrat, or “only adult in the room.” Hilton has shown a willingness to go after rivals directly, including over campaign visibility and debate participation. That style plays well with voters tired of careful scripts, but it risks looking petty if it doesn’t connect back to concrete governing competence.
California’s political math adds another complication: Republicans need a message tough enough to unify their base yet credible enough for swing voters who dislike extremes. Hilton’s argument against “kneeling” seeks to anchor him as culturally confident and unwilling to appease progressive narratives. The success of that approach depends on whether he can pivot quickly from the symbol to the substance—crime, homelessness, cost of living—without sounding like he’s running for governor of Twitter.
The Real Question Voters Should Ask About Any “Kneel” Moment
Voters over 40 have seen enough waves of public pressure to recognize the pattern: today’s demanded gesture becomes tomorrow’s embarrassment. The useful question isn’t whether someone knelt, prayed, or posed; it’s whether they learned the right lesson about governing under intimidation. Leaders face mobs of opinion—online, in newsrooms, in donor circles. Californians should judge which candidate resists performative politics and consistently prioritizes public order, affordability, and the rights of ordinary people.
CA Gubernatorial Candidate, Steve Hilton, Blasts His Republican Rival for Bending a Knee to BLM in 2020
https://t.co/YZAvENVpX8— Townhall Updates (@TownhallUpdates) February 6, 2026
Hilton’s attack works as political messaging because it’s visual, emotional, and easy to remember. The risk is that it pulls oxygen from the harder work: explaining how a Republican governor would operate inside a Democratic superstructure. A serious candidate has to show not only backbone but strategy—how to negotiate, veto, litigate, and build coalitions without surrendering core principles. That’s where the 2026 race will be won.
Sources:
Republican Steve Hilton leads California governor fundraising as large pool of Democrats lag
Former Fox News host Steve Hilton lays out vision for California governorship
Governors race fundraising reports