The shock tactics Steve Hilton and Spencer Pratt will need to win

I once asked Steve Hilton whether he had a plan to win the governor’s race — not just to qualify for the general election. He said he did. Work hard, campaign on ideas, talk to voters. All of that is good, I said.

But had he considered spending money to boost Chad Bianco? He looked at me like I was a little nuts. Which, to be fair, might be an accurate assessment.

But if it was good enough for Democrat Adam Schiff to promote Republican Steve Garvey two years ago, ensuring he wouldn’t face a tougher race against a fellow Democrat in the general, why shouldn’t Republicans play some of the same games? After all, Hilton’s best chance of winning was to face another Republican in the general election. Because the rule in California — not ironclad, but a rule of thumb — is that the worst Democrat will usually defeat the best Republican. That’s just the math of party registration and turnout.

Hilton didn’t take my advice. In fact, he called on Bianco to drop out of the race. Maybe that was the right approach. It secured Hilton the top finish in the primary.

It also ensured that at least one Republican qualified for the general election. But if Hilton wants to win — and I assume he does — then he has to start getting creative. I don’t just mean creative about ideas. I mean creative about tactics.

His opponent, Xavier Becerra, is a party-line Democrat. He’s generic, brand “X.” He wants to keep the gas tax and high-speed rail. He spent his victory speech boasting about his union membership card. Becerra is going to rally Democrats because they don’t care about his bad policies or his failures — the crime wave in California, the migrant children lost by the Biden administration.

So do something different. Set up a legal defense fund for Becerra. You know, the kind of fund that politicians need when they get into trouble. What trouble is Becerra in?

Well, he’s not — yet. But his former aides are facing federal indictment for stealing money from his campaign account. And it’s hard to believe he didn’t know about it. He sure doesn’t like answering questions about it.

And an indictment mid-campaign would look pretty bad. Democrats would blame Donald Trump.

But this investigation started under Joe Biden. How about Spencer Pratt? He’s already a master of creative tactics. There are the infamous and hilarious campaign ads — some by his campaign, many more by his fans across the country.

Pratt has also embraced the cause of animal welfare, speaking out against the mistreatment of dogs by homeless drug addicts. It’s brilliant persuasion, for two reasons. First, talking about animal abuse on Skid Row highlights Pratt’s argument that many homeless people are addicts, not just people who can’t afford LA’s high rents. Second, showing compassion for animals blunts Democrats’ effort to paint Pratt as their idea of a typical, insensitive Republican.

But Pratt needs to go further. His problem is the unions — or, rather, the union leaders. They have thrown their support behind incumbent mayor Karen Bass. And they have the power to turn out the vote for her in a big way.

So go past the leaders. Go straight to the members. Tell them that their leaders are corrupt — making political deals while jobs leave the city. Ask the workers, the teachers, the below-the-line Hollywood crew: What good is a union membership card without a job?

Go right to the heart of Bass’s coalition — not just the moderate middle. Because running is useful, but winning is the only thing that counts. Joel Pollak is the Opinion editor of The California Post.