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As the dust settles from Tuesday’s primary night, Californians are waking up to two major decisions: The next U.S. senator will either be Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff or Republican former L.A. Dodger Steve Garvey. And odds are that the state will expand its mental health and substance abuse treatment infrastructure and overhaul the way it […]

Months of campaigning, reams of mailers, millions of dollars in spending and a handful of fiery candidate debates have all culminated to this: Today is the last day voters can turn in their ballots for California’s primary election. On the table for Californians are two major decisions: The top two candidates for U.S. Senate, and […]

The deal came together in the Legislature’s final week last year, a complex bill that raised the minimum wage for fast food workers and that pulled an industry referendum off the 2024 ballot.  But now there are noticeable signs that the political fight between labor and industry is starting up again, CalMatters Capitol reporter Jeanne […]

Until recently, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s prized mental health measure Proposition 1 had overwhelming support in a state scarred by homelessness. But as more questions arise and more opposition organizes, the ballot measure’s margin of approval has narrowed, though it still appears likely to pass. In a survey released this month by the Public Policy Institute […]

Democrats unhappy with President Biden’s steadfast support of Israel in the Gaza war mounted a concerted effort in Michigan to protest, urging voters to mark “uncommitted” on their ballots to call for a ceasefire. More than 100,000 voted that way on Tuesday, compared to more than 800,000 for Biden — though the “uncommitted” percentage is […]

Expectant mothers in California have been struggling for years to get the healthcare they need, and a new report from the state auditor underscores just how difficult it is for the state to keep tabs on vulnerable mothers-to-be. Recent stats are grim. In 2020, the state reported its highest maternal mortality rate in a decade. […]

From CalMatters Capitol reporter Alexei Koseff: Here we go again: Conservative activists who worked on the failed recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2021 have launched another attempt, arguing that conditions in California only worsened in the two-and-a-half years since then as Newsom’s attention shifted to national politics. Rescue California, one of the main political […]

Is the lack of competitive presidential primaries persuading California voters to ignore their mail ballots?  While there’s still time for a surge of ballots before March 5, it looks that way so far, political analyst Paul Mitchell writes for Capitol Weekly. As of Saturday, 7% of 22 million ballots had been returned. Compared to the […]

Could a tool meant to address environmental injustice inadvertently overlook the state’s most vulnerable neighborhoods? For years, community groups and environmental justice advocates have argued that flaws within the California Environmental Protection Agency’s screening tool have enabled some of the state’s already marginalized communities to miss out on billions of dollars in funding to combat […]

The political fight over California’s classrooms is intensifying even more. On one side: Equality California, the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ advocacy group. It put out its list of local school board endorsements Wednesday, which included a handful of non-LGBTQ candidates for local office — a first for the organization. These candidates are running in March […]