David Valadao

Jasmeet Bains, a doctor who represents Kern County in the state Assembly, becomes the latest Democrat and likely frontrunner in the race against Republican Rep. David Valadao, whose deciding vote earlier this month pushed President Donald Trump’s policy agenda through Congress, endangering health care for millions.

Note: The newsletter will pause until Tuesday, Nov. 29 for the holiday weekend. Happy Thanksgiving! And then there was one. Just one California race for a U.S. House of Representatives seat remained too close to call as of Tuesday, two weeks after the Nov. 8 election: With about 335,000 unprocessed ballots left to count, Republican […]

This is what they call a nail-biter, folks. With Democrats managing to hang on to control of the U.S. Senate following votes tallied this weekend, all eyes have shifted to the U.S. House — and to California, which could end up determining the balance of power in Congress and the political direction of the country. […]

Note: The amazing Ben Christopher will be handling the newsletter on Monday and Tuesday. I’ll see you Wednesday! Don’t underestimate Kern County. This swath of land in the southern Central Valley produces 70% of California’s oil, and industry groups have already raised more than $8 million to gather signatures for a 2024 referendum to overturn […]

East Bakersfield may be the most fiercely fought-over part of the state for the Nov. 8 election. Key races for U.S. House and the state Legislature overlap in the changing, mostly Latino area.

A dispatch from me and CalMatters political reporter Ben Christopher: Legislative Republicans called Tuesday for an independent state audit to find out “what in the world happened” when the California Department of Justice briefly published the personal identifying information of more than 240,000 concealed carry weapon license applicants late last month. Assemblymember Jim Patterson, a […]

Political smears helped flip four California Congressional seats in 2020 — distributed by GOP dossiers, partisan news sites, and a social media megaphone. What that might mean for a Newsom recall and 2022 races.

Good morning, California. It’s Monday, February 22. Trump key sticking point The California Republican Party is attempting to balance on a political tightrope by keeping its eyes on the prize: recalling Gov. Gavin Newsom. That dynamic was evident at the state GOP’s online convention this weekend, in which chairwoman Jessica Patterson — who was handily […]

Here's how the first California Republican convention since Trump’s defeat avoided the public fights that have fractured the GOP in other states.

Good morning, California. It’s Thursday, January 14. Some counties low on doses Six million Californians 65 and older are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine — a major shift in strategy that could help accelerate the Golden State’s sluggish vaccine rollout even as some counties say they’re unprepared to handle increased demand. Gov. Gavin Newsom […]