Steve Hilton proposes to appoint Democrat to US Senate if elected California governor

GOP California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton stated that he would appoint a Democrat to fill a US Senate vacancy if elected, in the event that one of California's two current Democratic senators leaves office. Hilton made this statement during an appearance on the podcast "Pod Save America," where host Jon Lovett presented a hypothetical scenario involving either Sen. Alex Padilla or Sen. Adam Schiff. "I just think you’ve got to honor the vote that people took," Hilton said, referring to the election of both senators by California voters. Hilton is running against Democrat Xavier Becerra in the November gubernatorial election and received President Donald Trump’s endorsement in April. The scenario regarding the Senate appointment is hypothetical, but California governors have previously exercised their appointment power to fill Senate vacancies.