Politics and Elections

Sanchez eyes GOP votes against Harris

Faced with an uphill battle in her Senate campaign against establishment favorite Kamala Harris, the state’s attorney general, Rep. Loretta Sanchez has turned her sights on an unlikely constituency: Republicans. Matchmaker for strange bedfellows According to reports, Sanchez’s insurgent bid faces

CA Republicans to push immigration reform

James Poulos November 6, 2015

Bucking their newly minted party leadership, several members of California’s congressional delegation have resolved to push ahead with a new bill that would reform immigration law by loosening it up. Reps. Jeff Denham, R-Turlock, and David Valadao, R-Hanford, expressed confidence

Sean Parker jumps aboard CA pot campaign

James Poulos November 5, 2015

One of Silicon Valley’s pro-marijuana giants has thrown his support behind one effort to legalize the drug in California next November. Sean Parker, known for co-founding Napster and presiding over Facebook, announced that he would lend considerable financial backing — a rarity

U.S. Senate 2016: GOP lawmaker Rocky Chavez discusses campaign and policy stances

John November 3, 2015

He’s a Republican in a solidly Democratic state. He’s raised less than six-figures for a campaign that will cost tens of millions. It’s little wonder why two out of three Californians have no idea who “he” is. Yet, Republican Assemblyman

Hillary Clinton moves to consolidate support of CA Dems

James Poulos October 28, 2015

Sensing an opportunity to shore up her base and fuel a resurgence, Hillary Clinton’s campaign has moved swiftly to consolidate support and spur new enthusiasm among friends and allies in California. Return visits An early November sweep through the Bay Area

Ballot initiative filing fees set to increase

Joel Fox October 25, 2015

One strategy for pursuing policy changes through ballot initiatives may become victim of the new law to charge a larger fee to file an initiative for title and summary with the Attorney General’s office. The $200 filing fee, in place

U.S. Senate 2016: Duf Sundheim hopes to emerge as alternative to all-Democrat general election

John October 21, 2015

It’s been 27 years since a California Republican has won a campaign for U.S. Senate. The deck may be stacked against Republicans in California, but Duf Sundheim isn’t discouraged. The former California Republican Party chairman and small business attorney says that

Brown signs automatic voter registration

James Poulos October 13, 2015

Secretary of State Alex Padilla has succeeded in his quest to automatically register Californians to vote. Partisan privileges The bill he sponsored, passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown, touched off a fresh round of controversy over

Police anger over new law could shake CA Dem coalition

Chris Reed October 8, 2015

California’s Democratic Party has dominated the state Legislature so thoroughly since Republican Gov. Pete Wilson left office in 1999 that it may be difficult to imagine the party fracturing and losing its control in Sacramento. But given the tensions between

GOP activists excited about party’s improving prospects in California

John October 2, 2015

When California Republican activists converged on the Anaheim Marriott in mid-September, they experienced something they hadn’t felt in years. Excitement. “It’s an exciting time for the delegates as we embark on a journey in 2016 by selling principles of limited government