February 27, 2020
Having been asked to write a piece for CalMatters about the California primary this Tuesday, I first asked myself, what do I really know for sure about the race and the candidate field that would be enlightening or even interesting to share with the readers? After pondering that question, instead of playing a prognosticator with…
August 5, 2019
Gov. Gavin Newsom set off a blizzard of criticism last week by signing a law requiring that all presidential and gubernatorial candidates provide five years’ of income tax returns in order to appear on California’s primary ballot. Most of the pearl-clutching has plopped into the following three baskets:
May 21, 2019
If the most recent polls are to be believed, Joe Biden has jumped into a commanding lead in the brigade-sized Democratic field, after his long delayed, almost Hamlet-esque entry into the race. The former two-term vice president has zoomed into an impressive double-digit lead not only nationally, but in the key early…
March 5, 2019
Ever since Sen. Kamala Harris announced her presidential campaign, there’s been a gush of speculation about the importance of her home state in the nomination process – especially since the California primary has been moved up to March. I’m neither for nor against Harris in the primary, and I will enthusiastically support her if she…
January 17, 2019
Could the burgeoning number of independent voters in California constitute the basis for a third party, to compete with the Democrats and the Republicans? I regularly get calls from national political reporters asking for reaction to this prospect, and now some state-based pundits are suggesting California’s penchant for innovation will change the political-party equation. There’s…
December 13, 2018
There’s a hoary, but self-evident, saying in retail, “You can’t sell cat food if cats don’t like it.” The California Republican Party on life-support should take that maxim to heart, but it probably won’t. In 2013, when former state Sen. Jim Brulte took over the chairmanship of the state Republican Party, he asked me to…
December 11, 2018
We’ve barely recovered from the 2018 mid-terms, but the air is already thick with speculation about whether a candidate from California will enter the 2020 race for president. And some potential candidates are making moves that encourage that speculation. Freshman U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris is writing a book and crisscrossed the country on behalf of…
May 21, 2018
The office of California’s lieutenant governor is often referred to by the unflattering diminutive “lite gov.” But it can get even worse. When I was chief of staff to Lt. Gov. Gray Davis two decades ago, a group of fourth-graders came by our office in the state Capitol, across the hall from the governor’s office.…
July 13, 2017
In the 2018 election for governor of California, surprised voters might well find only two Democrats to choose from in the general election – which would be a historical first in a governor’s race. Why? Because the sorely depleted California Republican Party may not be able to come up with a candidate who can make…
October 27, 2016
Some Republicans, horrified by Donald Trump’s slap-dash campaign, personal sleaziness and lack of fealty to bedrock GOP conservatism, seem to think Mike Pence would be a dandy candidate for president in 2020. Many suspect he took on the thankless task of being The Great One’s running mate precisely to position himself for that election. If…