Recent IRS changes allowing churches to endorse political candidates without risking their tax-exempt status reflect a wave of “common-sense” reforms aimed at fighting back against the Democrat political machine, Republican Steve Hilton, a California gubernatorial candidate, told Newsmax Wednesday.
“Well, it’s exactly right. It’s been incredibly one-sided, as always with the Democrats,” Hilton said on “The Chris Salcedo Show.”
“They’ve been hugely partisan about this and vindictively pursuing any organization that they think they can go after, that is on the other side of the argument from them.”
Hilton’s remarks came in response to a question about the IRS no longer enforcing a policy that once threatened churches and houses of worship with the loss of tax-exempt status if they engaged in political endorsements. That policy stemmed from the Johnson Amendment, a 1954 provision of the U.S. tax code prohibiting tax-exempt nonprofit organizations, including churches, from formally endorsing or opposing political candidates.
In a court filing this week, the IRS agreed with plaintiffs in a lawsuit, including the National Religious Broadcasters, that churches may endorse candidates without fear of losing their tax-exempt status. The filing compared such endorsements to a “family discussion concerning candidates.”
Hilton said the enforcement of the Johnson Amendment has been applied unevenly for a long time.
“They are ruthless and vicious, and it’s very good to have the scales leveled up a little bit here. And why is it OK for Democrat groups to abuse their tax-exempt status to do political activity, but it’s not when it’s on the other side?”
“And so yet again, I think what we’re seeing now is just … implementing common-sense changes that are fair and fight back against the Democrat political machine that’s had it all to itself for so long. And that’s especially true here in California,” he said.
Hilton, a former adviser to former British Prime Minister David Cameron and a longtime conservative commentator in the United States, has made challenging California’s political establishment a central theme of his 2026 campaign. He often criticizes Democrat dominance in the state and argues for reforms that he says reflect the values of ordinary Americans.
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