WhatMatters

It can start subtly enough: One day a social media influencer you follow — the one who talks about politics, recommends beauty products or shares internet memes — posts a TikTok or Instagram Reel saying they like a candidate for California governor.  You don’t think much of it and you go on doomscrolling. But what […]

For many Californians, unseasonal winds and grass fires in May are reminders that climate change is intensifying extreme weather. But as gas prices continue to rise, a long-running debate in the Capitol is reigniting: Can California consumers afford the state’s nation-leading climate agenda? As CalMatters’ Alejandro Lazo explains, the Iran war has shot up gas […]

Remember talking to people with civility about politics — even on contentious issues? Meet the CalMatters guy who has made that happen dozens of times. CalMatters’ director of partnerships, Dan Hu, has been traveling across the state to talk with Californians about the upcoming election. His VotingMatters events with local news organizations, colleges and others, […]

Democratic frontrunner Xavier Becerra took fire from all sides at the last debate among governor hopefuls before the June primary. He was an easy target considering that his former political consultant was in court earlier Thursday pleading guilty to federal fraud charges. But even with San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan calling Becerra the “embodiment of […]

Former Gov. Jerry Brown left office eight years ago with a big surplus and an ominous message in his last state budget: “What’s out there is darkness, uncertainty, decline and recession, so ‘Good luck, baby.’”  Today Gov. Gavin Newsom is scheduled to present his final state spending plan and he’ll do it with a cloudy […]

In the battle over whether to change a California crime law, both supporters and critics are waging their campaign not only through crime statistics but also by invoking harrowing anecdotes — including one involving American rapper Lil Nas X. As Gagandeep Singh for CalMatters explains, legislators are advancing a bill that would lower the threshold […]

To vote early, or not to vote early? That is the question — at least for some California Democrats who want to avoid seeing two Republicans as the only candidates for governor come November. As CalMatters’ Maya C. Miller explains, fears that two GOP candidates will advance through the June primary because Democratic voters failed […]

What was it like interviewing eight candidates for governor in a wild-west primary battle? I posed that question to CalMatters Capitol reporter Jeanne Kuang, who was the lead reporter on the voter guide that features bite-sized videos of what the candidates said on major topics, such as taxes and homelessness. Jeanne and I also discussed […]

California Latinos who helped reelect President Donald Trump for a second term do not think he’s making America great again. CalMatters reporters examined 99% of the votes cast in last year’s special election for Proposition 50 and found that the measure outperformed Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2024 presidential campaign in precincts where most of voters […]

Gov. Gavin Newsom created Homekey in 2020 amid the peak of COVID-19 and pressure to do something about the state’s persistent homelessness crisis. The state program sought to get money into the hands of local governments to create housing for homeless residents while cutting red tape.  But the program came with little built-in oversight. Earlier […]