A notorious 50-block stretch of South Los Angeles where prostitution unfolds in plain sight – and vulnerable girls, including minors, are trafficked night after night – has exploded into a central flashpoint in California’s 2026 governor’s race. The corridor, known on the street as “the Blade,” slices a roughly 3- to 4-mile path along South Figueroa Street between Imperial Highway and Gage Avenue — a bleak gauntlet of motels, liquor stores and auto shops that morphs into one of the region’s most brazen open-air sex markets after dark. To witness how the operation unfolds, The California Post embedded with Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton and an anti-trafficking outreach team, whose members requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of their work, as they combed the corridor for missing or exploited girls.