'It appears that one person is manipulating another's vote. Isn't that vote-manipulation metaphor disturbing to Hilton, Pastor Hibbs and the GOP?' writes an L.A. Times reader.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton visits patrons at Victorio’s Ristorante in North Hollywood on Sept. 30, 2026.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
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To the editor: Steve Hilton’s sexually charged political ad last week certainly got him some attention (“Provocative, sexually suggestive ad by Hilton campaign condemned by political allies on the right,” Oct. 3). The narrative — with one assertive young woman telling a bashful second woman “give me your hand,” “close your eyes” and “I’ll do all the work” — was decidedly edgy even without the boudoir lighting. Was it vote-moving? Pastor Jack Hibbs, the influential conservative evangelical founder and senior pastor of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills, found the ad “grotesque” but nonetheless proclaimed that he will still vote for Hilton.
The more salacious element to me is the combination of sexual suggestion and physical guidance, even coercion, with the assertive partner physically guiding the other’s ballot choice on camera. It appears that one person is manipulating another’s vote. Isn’t that vote-manipulation metaphor disturbing to Hilton, Pastor Hibbs and the GOP? It is to me.
Buzz McCord, Huntington Beach