Top GOP Strategist's Secret Advice to Steve Hilton | Mike Murphy

**Guest** Mike Murphy, Republican Political Strategist; Co-Founder, EVs for All America **Guest Bio**  Mike Murphy is one of the Republican Party's most successful political consultants, having advised presidential and gubernatorial campaigns for John McCain, Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, along with dozens of GOP senators, governors, and members of Congress. A longtime media strategist and co-host of the Hacks on Tap podcast, he later founded EVs for All America and the EV Politics Project, organizations working to take the partisanship out of electric vehicle adoption in the United States. **Show Summary** Republican strategist Mike Murphy joins host Jon Slavet to lay out why he thinks California Republicans are mathematically doomed in the near term, what he actually advised Steve Hilton to do differently, and why he sees Democratic frontrunner Xavier Becerra as this cycle's Joe Biden. Murphy digs into the recent Berkeley poll showing deep partisan splits in trust of California's election system, explaining why the state still is not part of the multistate voter file compact most others use. The conversation turns to the 2026 midterms, where Murphy predicts Democrats take the House by a narrower margin than historical trends suggest, and where he thinks the real fight, and the real risk for Republicans, is the Senate. He closes on lighter ground: The 3,000 mile electric Porsche drive he just completed for his nonprofit EVs for All America, why China's auto export numbers should worry every American policymaker regardless of party. **Chapters** 00:00 – Cold Open: Can Republicans Take Back California? 00:15 – Welcome: GOP Strategist Mike Murphy 01:21 – What It Would Actually Take for Republicans to Win California 02:31 – His Advice to Steve Hilton's Campaign 05:05 – Is Becerra "The Joe Biden of 2026"? 07:03 – The $100 Billion Deficit That Could Force Real Change 09:30 – The Berkeley Poll: Trust in California's Elections and Voter ID 14:01 – The 2026 Midterms: What Happens to the House 15:01 – The Real Fight: Control of the Senate 17:00 – Why Trump's White House Won't Sell Its Own Economy 18:12 – One Trump Policy He Actually Likes 18:57 – His Break With Trump on Foreign Policy 19:33 – Hope for a Post-Trump Conservative Reset 20:18 – Driving an Electric Porsche Coast to Coast 21:45 – China's EV Dominance and the National Security Stakes 24:18 – What Gives Him Hope for California **Connect with Mike Murphy** - X: https://x.com/murphymike - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelemurphy/ - Substack: https://substack.com/@mikemurphy1 Enjoyed the episode? Subscribe to our podcast, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and join the conversation on Instagram and LinkedIn with the hashtag #stateofgoldpodcast **Connect with State of Gold** - X: https://x.com/realjonslavet - Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/company/stateofgold/about - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stateofgoldpodcast/?hl=en - Website: www.stateofgold.com