Tom Steyer is throwing his weight behind a biological male competing in girls’ track and field, and he is doing it on the same morning the athlete chases another state title.
The California gubernatorial candidate praised the transgender athlete AB Hernandez during a friendly exchange with the athlete and Hernandez’s mother, according to the footage Steyer shared on X. Steyer tells the athlete he wants the governor’s office to shield Californians from harm. “It’s the job of the governor to stand between danger and Californians,” Steyer says on the video. He adds that he is “so proud of you for what you’re doing” and “so proud of you for competing,” and tells Hernandez he hopes the athlete does well at the state meet, according to the video. (RELATED: Biological Man Wins Two Girls Jumping Events, Qualifies For State Championship For Second Year In A Row)
Hernandez, a senior at Jurupa Valley High School, is a biological male who captured two girls’ state titles last year, Sports Illustrated reported. Hernandez won the high jump with a mark of 5 feet, 7 inches and the triple jump with a leap of 42 feet, 2.75 inches, finishing second in the long jump. Female competitors who placed behind Hernandez were bumped up one spot on the podium after the California Interscholastic Federation changed its rules.
The role of the Governor is to protect Californians, and to stand between them and danger.
That’s a role I take very, very seriously, particularly when it comes to trans youth. pic.twitter.com/N6huW9NSuZ
— Tom Steyer (@TomSteyer) May 29, 2026
Hernandez qualified again and competed at this year’s state finals Saturday in Clovis, where the CIF kept its podium-sharing policy in place, Fox News reported. Steyer released the video the same morning as the finals.
Steyer is one of several Democrats running in the June 2 primary to succeed termed-out Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. Republican candidate Steve Hilton took the opposite side, appearing at a “Save Girls Sports” rally in Clovis the day before the finals, Fox News reported. Hilton has said he would move to overturn the 2013 law that allows students to compete according to their gender identity.