In 2016, then-presidential candidate Trump famously asked black voters “What do you have to lose?”

Trump challenged African-American voters to rethink their long-standing allegiance to the Democrat Party, which, he rightly claimed, took them for granted and had failed to deliver on the most pressing demands of African-American families, including providing their kids with a good education.

Steve Hilton, a Republican and former Fox News host, running to become governor of deep blue California, should be posing that same question to Golden State voters. California is one of the most expensive places to live in the country, entirely because of decisions made by Democrats who have controlled the state with a two-thirds supermajority in the legislature since 2018 and also occupied the governor’s mansion since 2011. Not only is California unaffordable, the state also ranks high in homelessness, poverty and illegal immigration, and is bleeding both businesses and residents fed up with high taxes and suffocating regulations.

In a recent CBS poll, half of California voters said they wanted a candidate that promised “change”. Common sense, pro-growth Hilton, former advisor to the conservative government of David Cameron in the UK, would not just provide change in the Golden State; he would bring a revolution.

WHY ERIC SWALWELL WAS FORCED TO QUIT CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR’S RACE AFTER SEXUAL MISCONDUCT ALLEGATIONS

Even some Democrats, like gubernatorial candidate and tech entrepreneur Matt Mahan, are saying the state should change course. Mahan, a Silicon Valley and Harvard graduate who has served for three years as mayor of San Jose, says, “We don’t need MAGA, but we don’t need more of the same”, and has criticized his party on numerous issues, including its handling of homelessness and public safety.

Primary day in California is June 2; mail-in voting began yesterday. At the moment, Hilton is leading a large field of candidates; as unimaginable as it may seem, the Republican has a shot.

Up until recently, Hilton’s odds were even better because of the way California’s election primary works and because a slew of Democrats were in the running.

The state hosts an open primary, so the two top candidates will face off come Election Day in November, regardless of party. A few weeks ago, Hilton and fellow Republican Chad Bianco, Sheriff of Riverside County, were leading the crowded field, with more than eight Democrats splitting their party’s vote. If Hilton and Bianco had finished first and second in the June vote, California would have been on course to elect its first Republican governor since Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Democrats were so panicked by that possibility they frantically called for members of their party to exit the race. When that failed, they appear to have engineered the termination of Democrat Eric Swalwell’s run, and career, by revealing sexual assault accusations that had been circling the Congressman for some time. It was a merciless but brilliant move. Swalwell was leading at the time but could have become a political liability should the unsavory allegations have surfaced at a critical time in the campaign.

Also, Swalwell’s exit boosted the campaigns of billionaire environmental activist Tom Steyer and Xavier Becerra, former Biden cabinet official. Both are now running just behind Hilton. Bianco has dropped to fourth place.

If Hilton squares off against Steyer, Beccera or another Democrat, could he still win? It would certainly be an uphill battle. About 46% of California voters are registered Democrats, with the balance being roughly split between Republicans and Independents. Also, Hilton has been endorsed by President Trump, whose approval rating in California is below 40%.

On the other hand, the Democrat field is weak, even by that party’s standards. A recent piece in the New York Times discussed her party’s dismay that former Vice President Kamala Harris had not entered the gubernatorial race, with officials conceding that the field is “lackluster”. A year ago, Harris was the favorite contender, according to an Emerson poll, with about 31% of voters and 49% of Democrats backing her run. Instead of jumping into the governor’s race, Harris has been hinting at a third run for the Oval Office.

Tom Steyer, progressive hedge fund manager, is now running second thanks to his enormous self-financing. Cal Matters recently reported that Steyer was “on track to run the most expensive gubernatorial campaign in state history, having already spent more than $132 million.”

With Democrats nationally hewing hard left and adopting a socialist-style anti-wealth platform, Steyer would be an odd choice. But, proving that money tops ideology, Steyer has been endorsed by Bernie Sanders, who famously once said “billionaires should not exist.”

Another contender is Xavier Becerra, former Democrat congressman and formerly head of Health and Human Services under Biden, who picked up a lot of the traditional Democrat Eric Swalwell vote.

Hilton brings to the campaign a fresh and common-sense approach to California’s problems. Like most Americans, Californians are struggling with the high cost of living, with 70% in that CBS poll saying it is “unmanageable”. People are discouraged about the state’s economy, with considerable majorities of Republicans and Independents and even 39% of Democrats describing it as “bad”.

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Climate policies promulgated by Democrats have driven energy costs through the roof. Gasoline in California now costs over $6 per gallon, more than 40% above the national average. Housing is also much more expensive than in the rest of the U.S., thanks to prohibitive environmental rules. Individual income taxes are the highest in the nation while the state is tied with Delaware for the highest unemployment.

Hilton says he will end California’s “war on business”, cut taxes and rein in the state’s ever-expanding spending. He is also demanding better schools, posting on his website: “Only 35 percent of K-12 students meet state math standards, and only 47 percent meet state English language standards.”

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Hilton has struck a nerve; his campaign has the highest number of individual donors and he has traveled the state hosting boisterous and enthusiastic rallies. He could deliver what California voters want: change.

What do they have to lose?

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The federal investigation into fraud in Minnesota is sadly just the tip of the iceberg. The scale of fraud and corruption in state and federal government programs, along with the lack of proper controls to prevent fraud, may be one of the biggest problems Americans face.

In March, President Donald Trump issued an executive order establishing a task force to eliminate fraud. It will be chaired by Vice President JD Vance, who will direct agencies to identify vulnerabilities in their systems to help prevent fraud before it occurs. This is vitally important.

When my team at Gingrich 360 looked into the widespread corruption in Minnesota, we were shocked by how much fraud and corruption there was. We have posted a paper on our findings.

As you may recall, Feeding Our Future in Minnesota falsely claimed to serve 125 million meals to children and submitted a fake attendance roster listing 2,040 children, only 20 of whom matched district school attendance records. The Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor’s June 2024 review found that the Department of Education ignored at least 30 complaints about Feeding Our Future and failed to verify its statements before approving funds.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS CALL MINNESOTA FRAUD PROBE ‘TIP OF THE ICEBERG’ AS MORE BLUE STATES FACE SCRUTINY 

FBI and law enforcement agents raid Mini Childcare (formerly Mako Childcare) in south Minneapolis on Tuesday, April 28, 2026. Mini Childcare was one of 22 sites targeted Tuesday morning as part of a fraud probe in Minnesota. (Anthony Souffle/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images)

In looking into this, we discovered that this is not an isolated case.

A February 2025 Department of Health and Human Services audit of Colorado’s Department of Health found that the state’s Medicaid program made at least $7.3 million in payments on behalf of deceased enrollees.

A January 2026 FCC Office of Inspector General report revealed that between 2020 and 2025, $5 million in federal funds allocated for subsidized internet for the poor were sent to nearly 117,000 people who were dead. What’s most alarming is that many of these individuals were enrolled and claimed benefits after their deaths in multiple states within the same month.

NEW BIPARTISAN PROPOSAL TARGETS ‘ONE OF THE MOST EGREGIOUS’ KINDS OF FRAUD RAVAGING HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY 

It’s crucial to shift the focus from recovering stolen funds to preventing fraud altogether. While recovering stolen money is necessary, stopping fraud before it occurs ensures government funds reach those who truly need them.

The Government Accountability Office estimates that the federal government loses between $223 billion and $521 billion each year to fraud, based on data from fiscal years 2018 to 2022. In 2024, the Treasury Department successfully prevented and recovered more than $4 billion in fraud and improper payments, a small fraction of overall losses. 

First, we need to implement checks before the money leaves the bank.

SENATE DOGE LEADER MOVES TO FORCE ‘RECEIPT’ FOR EVERY TAX DOLLAR AFTER MINNESOTA FRAUD SCANDAL 

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act established the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) to oversee pandemic spending. As a test, in June 2025, the PRAC issued a fraud alert on Social Security numbers used to access relief funds from three programs.

The committee sampled records and asked the Social Security Administration three simple questions: Was the SSN valid? Did the name and date of birth match? Was the individual alive? This identified $79 billion in potential fraud involving 1.4 million stolen or invalid SSNs. Had these checks been in place before the pandemic, they could have prevented this massive fraud.

It’s crucial to shift the focus from recovering stolen funds to preventing fraud altogether. While recovering stolen money is necessary, stopping fraud before it occurs ensures government funds reach those who truly need them.

Second, we must ensure that different departments communicate effectively. The PRAC found more than 40,000 cases in which applicants reported higher income to the Small Business Administration than to Housing and Urban Development. This suggested potential fraud. Better info sharing could have revealed this earlier.

GOP SENATOR PUSHES TO CREATE ANTI-FRAUD SPECIAL INSPECTOR GENERAL AFTER MINNESOTA FRAUD REVELATIONS 

Third, we should use AI to prevent fraud before money leaves the Treasury. The PRAC’s “Fraud Prevention Engine” reviews 20,000 applications per second to detect anomalies. Testing on 5 million SBA disaster loan applications found one case in which 100 applicants submitted 450 applications across 24 states, securing $2.6 million.

Finally, we must strengthen existing checks like the Treasury Department’s Do Not Pay Initiative, which offers agencies free access to databases to verify payment eligibility.

Despite its potential, agency adoption and compliance are inconsistent. In fiscal year 2024, only 4% of agencies met legal requirements to access these databases. The Congressional Research Service reported that it is unclear how many agencies use the databases regularly or to what extent.

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HUD’s fiscal year 2024 audit found inconsistencies in its database because a computer matching agreement with the Treasury Department expired in 2019. Even after regaining access in February 2025, HUD continued to use the database inconsistently.

The Do Not Pay Initiative faces limits due to the Privacy Act of 1974, slowing data acquisition. In March 2025, President Trump issued an executive order expanding the program to more agencies and waiving the contract requirement for four years. While positive, Treasury still seeks authority to access data sources such as the National Directory of New Hires and Fair Credit Reporting Act information.

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The time has come for Congress and state legislators to prioritize preventing government fraud before it occurs. At Gingrich 360, we wrote a white paper explaining this issue, which we encourage everyone to read to understand the full scope of the problem.

We simply cannot afford to continue letting people steal billions of dollars from taxpayers.

Rachel Peterson is director of Research and coordinator of National Security Affairs for Gingrich 360.

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In two back-to-back arrests, Border Patrol agents arrested a pair of illegal aliens convicted of child sex offenses last week.

Agents near San Diego arrested an unnamed Mexican native last Monday who had been convicted in Jan. 2024 of contacting a minor with intent to commit a sex offense.

On Tuesday, CBP agents from the San Clemente Border Patrol Station detained a Guatemalan national convicted of assault and battery, as well as molesting a child.

‘AMERICANS FIRST’: ICE SWEEPS UP CHILD PREDATORS, RAPISTS ACROSS US AS MULLIN TAKES HELM OF DHS

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection Border Patrol agent stands at Border Field State Park near the U.S.-Mexico border wall in Imperial Beach, Calif., on Aug. 17, 2025. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

“These arrests are a direct result of the proactive work our agents do every day to identify and remove these predators from our neighborhoods,” Justin De La Torre, San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Agent, said.

Agency officials praised the arrests, calling them demonstrative of the agency’s continued effectiveness under the new leadership of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, noting that the agency has arrested and removed thousands of criminal aliens from the country — including gang members, rapists, kidnappers, and drug traffickers—to make our communities safer.

BORDER AGENTS UNCOVER RPG LAUNCHER, CACHE OF RIFLES HIDDEN IN VEHICLE HEADING TO MEXICO

Markwayne Mullin, secretary of Homeland Security, speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., on March 26, 2026. (Will Oliver/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Mullin was appointed by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the Senate last month. In March, CBP apprehended 8,200 illegal aliens, according to DHS.

“Keeping our communities safe is our highest priority, and the San Diego Sector will actively go after dangerous criminals, especially those guilty of heinous crimes against children,” De La Torre said.

CBP SEIZES MASSIVE METH HAUL WORTH MILLIONS STASHED IN SECRET TILE SHIPMENT

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection headquarters building in Washington, D.C., on May 10, 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg)

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The two illegal aliens are being processed for removal from the U.S., according to CBP officials.