Politics and Elections

Pro-marijuana push begins in earnest

As election day nears, California’s likely vote on recreational pot has drawn policymakers, politicians and law enforcement into an uncertain but probably decisive debate. While many Democrats have generally come to view recreational marijuana as an inevitability in the Golden

Trump candidacy complicates CA Senate race

James Poulos May 12, 2016

Donald Trump has complicated the already difficult task California Republicans face in blunting Kamala Harris’s dominant campaign for Senate. With an already unfavorable race to replace Sen. Barbara Boxer ramping up, analysts have cautioned the GOP that Trump’s evident lock on the nomination will likely reverberate throughout the balloting

Transparency measure appears headed to November ballot

Matt Fleming May 5, 2016

A ballot measure aimed at increasing legislative transparency crossed a vital threshold on Thursday and appears poised to be on November’s ballot. The initiative is a constitutional amendment requiring the Legislature to make available online the final version of a

CA millennials play political bellwether

James Poulos May 5, 2016

With Donald Trump riding high in statewide polls and Bernie Sanders committed to seeing through his youth-fueled campaign all the way to the convention, California has become a large and unlikely test case for how millennials might vote in the

Longshot Senate candidate pledges to vote will of the majority of voters

Matt Fleming May 4, 2016

What if there was a website where registered voters could log their opinions on the bills before Congress, which would direct lawmakers on how to vote? One U.S. Senate candidate is proposing just that. Von Hougo, an 8th grade science and video

CAGOP extends term limits for chairman

Matt Fleming May 2, 2016

Burlingame – California Republican Party Chairman Jim Brulte, who was set to be termed out in 2017, was granted eligibility for up to two more terms by the party on Sunday. Brulte was elected in 2013, when the party was near

Carly Fiorina likens presidential politics to football

Matt Fleming May 1, 2016

Burlingame – Carly Fiorina broke out a football metaphor Saturday night to illustrate her ticket’s chances to win the the party’s nomination for president. Earlier this week, Texas Senator Ted Cruz announced the former Hewlett-Packard CEO as his prospective running mate,

John Kasich’s presidential primary challenges

Matt Fleming April 30, 2016

On paper, John Kasich is the presidential candidate Republicans have been waiting on for years. The Ohio governor represents an important swing state. As a member of Congress, he chaired the House Budget Committee, where he was considered the architect

Assembly Republicans: Hold steady in 2016 to build for 2017

Matt Fleming April 29, 2016

Facing a presidential election that’s guaranteed to overshadow them and numbering so few that passing even a simple resolution requires an act of God, Assembly Republicans are hoping to simply hold their 28 seats in 2016 while building the foundation

Obama draws CA ire on Armenian genocide

James Poulos April 29, 2016

In an attempted act of political finesse, president Obama declined to call the mass slaughter of Armenians, carried out by the Turks 100 years ago, a genocide. “Armenian-American leaders have urged Mr. Obama each year to keep a pledge he