Can Kamala Harris break through California typecasting?

Any time a California politician makes it to the national stage, the epithets follow: California radical, San Francisco liberal, etc. It’s happened to Gov. Gavin Newsom, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the list goes on.

But what if it’s the Democratic nominee for president and possibly the first woman to hold the nation’s highest office?

Republicans led by former President Donald Trump are using those attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris. To find out how successful that strategy may be, CalMatters politics reporter Yue Stella Yu and photographer Larry Valenzuela are following Harris and her new running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, on their tour of battleground states that will likely decide the 2024 race, again. 

In Michigan, some voters told Stella they see California as its own bizarre place, separate from the real America. This version of the state, where “people poop on the sidewalks,” is rife with crime and homelessness, and its Democratic leaders are to blame.

Cheryl Costantino, a Republican teacher in Macomb County, says violent crimes in San Francisco increased while Harris was district attorney.

• Constantino: “The fact that she’s from California should make her more sensitive to those issues, not less sensitive. Just because she goes to Washington doesn’t mean that she should be removed from them.”

But Harris’ “California-ness” could be made more palatable by Walz.

Democrat Carl Marlinga, who is running for Congress in Macomb County, praised Walz’s approachability when he called Trump and Vance “weird,” as if Walz were an “ordinary guy … sitting down for dinner at a deli somewhere.”

• Marlinga: “We like conservation, we like sports, we like fishing, we like hunting. We’re not like the Democrats in New York and California, because we’re not here to grab your guns and to change your life and to preach to you about things.”

Read more about Harris and swing-state voters in Stella’s story.

Legislators going to DNC: The Democratic National Convention where Harris will formally accept the nomination overlaps with the second-to-last week of the California Legislature’s session. But that isn’t stopping 22 lawmakers from going to Chicago to see history in the making on Aug. 19-22, Politico reported Thursday. 

Senate Democratic leader Mike McGuire of Santa Rosa isn’t going, but said he is excited, nonetheless. “This momentous event is a historic opportunity that is good for California, good for our nation, and good for all those who support equality, freedom, and democracy,” he said in a statement.

November election: It’s not too early to get informed. Keep up with CalMatters coverage by signing up for 2024 election emails. Check out our Voter Guide, including updates and videos on the 10 propositions and a FAQ on how to vote. And read up on the history of ballot measures in California.

After months of partisan bickering — and with voters primed to decide a key ballot measure in November — California lawmakers are close to sending a package of bills pushed by Democratic leaders to reduce retail theft to Gov. Newsom. 

On Thursday, legislators passed 10 bills, most addressing retail theft, including ones to allow stores to impose restraining orders against thieves; to require online marketplaces to ban the sale of stolen goods; and to strengthen the state’s response to cargo theft.

Another measure that would make it a misdemeanor or felony to forcibly enter a vehicle with the intent to commit a theft inside, also passed. The final votes are expected as soon as Monday before advancing to the governor’s desk.

All the bills passed with relative ease. But Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas was the lone “no” vote against Assembly Bill 2943, which would create a new felony charge for thieves who steal more than $950 worth of property with the intent to sell. The Los Angeles Democrat warned that it would return California to sending too many people to prison. 

• Smallwood-Cuevas, during the Senate floor debate: “These measures deepen mass incarceration, and deepening mass incarceration is going in reverse of where Californians wanted us to go.”

Other Assembly Democrats who are part of the Legislative Black Caucus also voted against some of the bills, while Republicans almost universally supported them. Assembly GOP leader James Gallagher called the proposals “a good first step towards reducing crime and keeping Californians safe.” 

AB 1960, which would add new sentence enhancements for stealing property, is being held for now by Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas because it duplicates other policies and conflicts with Proposition 36 on the Nov. 5 ballot, according to a Rivas spokesperson.

Though it initially began as a bipartisan effort when it was introduced in June, the framing of the crime bill package by Democrats as an alternative to Prop. 36 has created political squabbling among both parties. Before Thursday’s votes, Senate leader McGuire acknowledged the drama, but said the bills will “help blunt retail theft at stores big and small.”

• McGuire: “The bottom line is this: These bills are carefully considered; they’re data driven; supported by law enforcement, addiction specialists, public safety officials; and will crack down on organized crime.”

CalMatters covers the Capitol: We have guides and stories to keep track of bills and your lawmakers, find out how well legislators are representing you, explore the Legislature’s record diversity and make your voice heard.

Though Democrats still hold a supermajority in the state Senate, Republicans added one more member to their ranks: On Thursday, Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil of Modesto announced she’s switching parties.

In a joint statement with the California GOP and Senate Republican leader Brian Jones of San Diego, Alvarado-Gil described the Democratic Party as “unrecognizable.”

• Alvarado-Gil: “I was elected to serve the public, not a political ideology. … Since I’ve served in our State’s Capitol, I’ve had a front-row seat to witness the supermajority push California in the wrong direction, having a grave effect on our once Golden state.”

She won the seat in 2022 in a Republican-leaning district and only because then-Senate GOP leader Scott Wilk tried to boost another Democrat over her in the top-two primary. It backfired.

In office, Alvarado-Gil touted her right-leaning tendencies, particularly on crime and fiscal policies. Calling herself the “Western Blue Dog,” she authored bills to classify the rape of an intoxicated person as a violent felony, and the possession of fentanyl while carrying a loaded firearm as a felony. (Both bills were placed in the suspense file Wednesday.) 

It’s the first time in 80 years a Democratic state senator has flipped to the GOP in the middle of their term, so it created quite the buzz at the Capitol.

Jones praised Alvarado-Gil, saying that “it takes courage to stand up to the supermajority in California.”

But the California Latino Legislative Caucus booted Alvarado-Gil as a member because she has “chosen to affiliate with an extremist, right-wing political party that constantly attacks and scapegoats our Latino community.”  

Senate Democratic leader McGuire said Alvarado-Gil’s switch “is disappointing for voters” who elected her as a Democrat.

• McGuire: “One silver lining is MAGA Republicans are gaining a pro-choice, pro-LGBTQ+ rights, anti-Trump colleague. We wish her the best of luck.”

California public transit agencies are trying to lure back riders by improving safety measures. CalMatters politics intern Jenna Peterson and producer Robert Meeks have a video segment on Jenna’s story on L.A. Metro’s new police force as part of our partnership with PBS SoCal. Watch it here.

SoCalMatters airs at 5:58 p.m. weekdays on PBS SoCal.