Election 2022

In a 90-minute interview with CalMatters, Michael Shellenberger talks about why he left the Democratic Party, why he changed his mind on nuclear power and drug policy and how that would influence his plans as California governor

California law requires the Department of Justice to investigate police shootings of unarmed civilians. Not every candidate for attorney general thinks it’s working.

I’m back from a vacation made all the more sweet by CalMatters’ showing at the California Journalism Awards! Many thanks to Ben Christopher for his incredible job guest-hosting the newsletter. ‘Twas the night before California’s primary election, when all through the state / Barely a creature was stirring, even with the high stakes. My adaptation […]

In California's June primary, two battleground U.S. House races in Orange County could come down to a runoff between Asian American candidates. Both parties are invested heavily in outreach to the community, a signal of the ascent of Asian American voting power in California.

Tony Thurmond faces little opposition for a second term as California schools superintendent, but critics question how much he has accomplished. He points to task forces that are influencing education policy and says he wants to help public schools rebound from the pandemic.

Et tu, Rivas? Late Friday, just as legislators — and everyone else in the state — were preparing to check out for the long holiday weekend, an earthquake rocked the California political world: Assemblymember Robert Rivas, a Salinas Democrat, announced that he had “secured enough votes” to become the next speaker of the California Assembly. […]

Independent expenditure committees funded by special interest groups are spending millions of dollars to make their picks in the California primary. In some races, they are clearly supporting or opposing candidates. In others, the strategy is more complicated.

With California’s June 7 primary election just two weeks away, political campaigns are intensifying — and getting more confusing.  Take this mailer circulating in Southern California, which reads, “We all want to protect the environment, increase recycling and reduce plastic waste, but adding billions of dollars in higher costs on the backs of working families […]

On suspense file day, legislators killed about 220 California bills on issues including education, health care, housing and workers.

In a 75-minute interview with CalMatters, Ron Galperin, a Democrat running for California controller, touts his experience as city controller in Los Angeles. He pledges to bring some of his innovations statewide and calls homelessness an existential crisis.