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 were nonwhite.
Democrats framed the initiative — which gerrymanders California in a way that favors Democrats — as a referendum on the Trump administration. The voting shift was most acute in precincts where the majority of ballots were cast by Latino voters: Votes approving Prop. 50 gained about 30 percentage points compared to Harris’ bid for the presidency the year before.
The findings give us some of the clearest quantitative evidence of what state and national polling, focus groups and off-year elections have pointed to: That Latino’s support for Trump two years ago was not a permanent realignment.
- Chiefer Danks, a Rosedale resident who voted for Trump in 2024: “I thought he was going to make America great again. He didn’t follow through on his words.”
In addition to grappling with rising costs, particularly gas prices due to the war in Iran, Latinos feel unfairly targeted by the administration, citing the immigration crackdown and high tariffs on Mexican goods, said a San Francisco-based Democratic pollster.
With Latinos potentially playing a pivotal role in at least two tossup congressional races in the Central Valley and San Diego, Democrats aim to capitalize on this voter frustration to flip control of the U.S. House. But Mike Madrid, a conservative political consultant who studies Latino voter behavior, said that dissatisfaction with Trump and the GOP doesn’t guarantee votes for Democrats.
- Madrid: “Was Prop. 50 an indicator of anything ideological or a return home? Nope, not even one little bit. They’re rejecting the party of power that is not prioritizing their economic concerns.”
Read the full story and learn how we analyzed the data.
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Another blow to tariffs
From CalMatters economy reporter Levi Sumagaysay:
Once again, a court has found Trump’s tariffs are illegal.
The Court of International Trade found in a 2-1 ruling Wednesday that the administration does not have the authority to impose the 10% across-the-board tariffs the president issued in February, the same day the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the wide-ranging tariffs Trump had imposed on most imported goods since last year were illegal.
Some importers and a couple of dozen states including California sued in March over the new tariffs. The trade court found that the administration has not met the conditions required to invoke Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 for tariffs on private importers and the state of Washington, though it dismissed claims by California and other states that it said have not proven harm from Section 122 tariffs.
The White House did not immediately answer CalMatters’ questions. The ruling comes as small businesses and others try to get refunds from the tariffs they paid last year.
Teaching more teachers
Let’s dive into some K-12 education news:
- Teacher apprentices: To address the high cost of becoming a public school teacher and the state’s teacher shortage, California is launching its first registered apprenticeship program for K-12 teachers, which is designed to give student teachers a chance to earn a wage and a teaching credential at the same time. In its first year, students in the Tulare and Santa Clara counties programs would co-teach with the help of a mentor while being enrolled in a teaching preparation or graduate program. On top of receiving a stipend, apprentices can hold jobs as substitute teachers to earn more money. Read more from CalMatters’ Adam Echelman.
- Major K-12 report: The state’s complex system of school oversight and emphasis on local control has led to gaps in student performance and questions over accountability, according to a large-scale report released Thursday. The report suggests that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to streamline the State Board of Education’s authority could be a good start to addressing these problems. Read more from CalMatters’ Carolyn Jones.
And lastly: Who’s running for CA controller?
One of the two main hopefuls to oversee California’s budget is a Democratic incumbent who has improved the state’s ability to submit a key annual financial report. The other is a Republican challenger who wants to use artificial intelligence to probe the state’s spending. Read more from CalMatters’ Marisa Kendall.
California Voices
CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: A new report ranks California’s spending on its public schools as 13th highest in the country, but the increased spending hasn’t translated to an equally dramatic rise in academic achievement.
Reader reaction: Wildfire capital and guaranteed utility profits are the drivers of rising utility bills, not rooftop solar, which actually saves ratepayers money, write Angela Lipanovich and Jenny Folkesson, an attorney at Estriatus Law and the executive director of SolarWAVE Action, respectively.
Other things worth your time:
CalMatters host voters forum ahead of June primary // Fox 40
Becerra’s rise baffles his former Biden colleague // Politico
CA’s Capitol watchdog advises fiscal prudence // The Sacramento Bee
Federal funds for domestic violence services are falling short. CA survivors are pushing for a fix // The 19th
Sweeping CA law on single-use plastic meets with outrage from all sides as it goes live // Los Angeles Times
Inside Uber’s $77M plan to rewrite the CA constitution // The San Francisco Standard
Bass, Raman and Pratt square off on Palisades Fire, police hiring in bruising LA mayoral debate // Los Angeles Times
Two CA home insurers to raise rates, expand coverage by late 2026 // The Orange County Register
