Steve Hilton shows off special election night jacket at governor’s race rally

Steve Hilton, a front-runner in the race for the California governor’s job, wowed the crowd at an election-night rally Tuesday with a special custom-made jacket.

Video shows Hilton, a Republican, opening his suit coat to show U.S. and California flags sewn into the lining.

Unofficial ballot returns show Hilton and Democrat Xavier Becerra appear poised to advance to the November general election, The Sacramento Bee said. Democrat Tom Steyer is trailing the front-runners in third place.

But the race has not been called with an estimated 55% of the vote remaining to be counted.

What is the significance of the jacket?

Hilton, a political commentator, former political adviser, and contributor for the Fox News Channel, is a native of Britain.

A former top adviser to Prime Minister David Cameron, Hilton came to the United States in 2012 and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2021.

In his primary night speech, captured on video, Hilton said that when he became a U.S. citizen, former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger jokingly told him he had “the wrong jacket.”

“I made a pledge that day that one day I would get the jacket that Arnold told me to get on my road to being governor of California,” Hilton said. “And here it is.”

“I am a proud American,” Hilton said, opening his jacket to reveal the U.S. flag, then lifting the other lapel to show off the California flag. “And I am a very proud Californian.”

“Arnold, that was for you,” Hilton said.