California gubernatorial Republican frontrunner Steve Hilton hopped into the fight to "Save Girls Sports" on Friday, taking aim at Democratic opponents for supporting trans athletes with just five days left until primaries.
As trans athlete AB Hernandez of Jurupa Valley High School is set to compete for a state championship for the second year in a row, Hilton spoke out against Tom Steyer and Xavier Becerra for supporting males in girls’ sports.
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Earlier on Friday, Steyer posted a video with Hernandez, saying "I'm so proud of you for what you're doing," and that he hopes the trans athlete wins the girls' championships.
Supporters appear outside the 2026 CIF State Track & Field Championships for a "Save Girls' Sports" press conference being held before the first day of competition in Clovis, California, on May 29, 2026. (OutKick/ Fox News Digital)
"Tom Steyer has taken a wildly extreme position on this issue that is totally out of touch with most California families and young people," Hilton told Fox News Digital before the rally.
Steyer also took aim at the other Democratic frontrunner in the race, Xavier Becerra, who has previously expressed support for trans athletes but has been silent on the issue compared to Steyer in recent weeks.
"He's pathetic," Hilton said of Becerra. "Xavier Becerra is a classic machine politician, he's been nothing but a career politician for 36 years. He's a creature of this rotten, corrupt Democrat machine that is ruining our state in so many ways, he's never going to stand up to the far left, because he's a creature of that machine."
Hilton laid out his strategy for how he would address the ongoing trans athlete issue in the state if he is elected governor.
"The first thing we have to do is overturn the law that set all this in motion, AB 1266, that was passed in 2013, that's why we've been living with this for so long," Hilton said. "That law violates the California state constitution... I will immediately suspend the law while we begin legal proceedings to overturn it."
California has been ground zero for the nation's debate on trans athletes in women's and girls' sports for the last two years, as controversy surrounding Hernandez has elevated to a national debate dating back to last year, when Hernandez won two girls' state titles.
Since then, Hernandez was also embroiled in a controversy surrounding Jurupa Valley's girls' volleyball team in the fall, when multiple opposing teams forfeited and two of Hernandez's own teammates stepped away from the team and filed a Title IX lawsuit against the Jurupa Unified School District for putting a male in the girls' locker room.
Transgender student athlete AB Hernandez was named co-champion at the girls 2026 CIF Southern Section Track and Field Masters Meet in Moorpark, Calif., on May 23, 2026, posing with the second- and third-place finishers. (Fox News Digital)
Now, as Hernandez has returned to dominate track and field this year, controversy has only escalated. The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) reinstituted a pilot program that awards any female athlete who finished behind Hernandez one spot higher, resulting in Hernandez sharing podium spots with females in the last two rounds of the state tournament. That policy will continue into the state finals this weekend.
The policy has come under criticism from both sides, including Hernandez's own mother.
Hilton sent a message to California's trans athlete and their families about how they should proceed.
"I absolutely respect the right of people to live their lives the way they want... if parents want their children to participate in a particular way, then they should figure that out, but not in a way that hurts the majority," Hilton said.
Steve Hilton speaks at a "Save Girls Sports" rally in Clovis, California on May 29, 2026. (Fox News Digital)
"People's rights must be protected, but they can not be protected at the cost of the vast majority... you have a tiny tiny number of people who are imposing their view on the majority, and hurting them in the process, and that's got to stop."
Hilton spoke at a rally and was joined by former NCAA women's soccer player Sophia Lorey, California state superintendent candidate Sonja Shaw and Olympic gold medalist Stephanie Brown.
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Transgender student athlete AB Hernandez competes in the girls 2026 CIF Southern Section Track and Field Masters Meet in Moorpark, Calif., on May 23, 2026. (Fox News Digital)
It was the second organized "Save Girls Sports" press conference held at a meet Hernandez has competed in just this month.
With primaries just days away, Hilton has taken a side on the girls' sports issue that appears aligned with the majority of Californians, while Steyer has seemingly aligned with the minority.
Last year a Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) survey found approximately 65% of Californians and 71% of public school parents support requiring transgender athletes to compete on sports teams that match the sex they were assigned at birth, rather than their gender identity.
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Jackson Thompson is a sports reporter for Fox News Digital covering critical political and cultural issues in sports, with an investigative lens. Jackson's reporting has been cited in federal government actions related to the enforcement of Title IX, and in legacy media outlets including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Associated Press and ESPN.com.
