Republican Steve Hilton holds a narrow early lead over Democrat Xavier Becerra in California's gubernatorial primary. His wife, Rachel Whetstone, is a prominent communications executive in the technology industry.
Whetstone has held several high-profile leadership roles, including head of communications and public policy at Google, senior vice president of policy and communications at Uber, and chief communications officer at Netflix.
Hilton and Whetstone met while working within the UK's Conservative Party and married in 2008. They have two children and live in Atherton, California.
Steve Hilton is a British-American conservative political commentator, author, entrepreneur, and Republican candidate in the 2026 California gubernatorial election.
