California Politics & News
Stay updated with California news, including reporting, analysis, and commentary on state government, progressive overreach, and the conservative response to Golden State policies.
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Why Teachers Unions Are the New ‘Hotel California’ for Public Employees
Last month, over 6,000 public employees broke free from mandatory union fees—a record-setting surge that signals a nationwide shift in teacher and public worker empowerment. Leading the charge is the Teacher Freedom Alliance, which helps educators reclaim their paychecks from politically driven union agendas. This year, the group plans to help 60,000 workers leave unions and push legislation in multiple…Reagan Campbell -
- News
EXCLUSIVE: Border Patrol Stops Large Human Smuggling Attempt in California
Border Patrol agents in California have arrested 23 individuals in a human smuggling bust, according to Customs and Border Protection. Four of the individuals arrested are believed to be human smugglers, and 19 are Mexican nationals, the agency reported. Border Patrol agents spotted a vehicle on Jan. 31 in the El Centro Sector of the U.S. border with Mexico, which they believed…Virginia Allen -
- News
Clinton-Appointed Judge Rules on Newsom-Backed Mask Ban for ICE
A federal judge ruled against California’s prohibition on federal law enforcement wearing masks, a mandate aimed at Immigration and Custom Enforcement agents. U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder, appointed by President Bill Clinton, ruled the state law discriminates against federal law enforcement, as it allowed state police to wear masks to conceal their identities while preventing federal law…Fred Lucas -
- News
Supreme Court Won’t Hear Challenge to California Gerrymandering
The Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge to the new California congressional maps drawn to favor Democrats. In November, California voters approved Proposition 50 to temporarily scrap the redistricting commission, allowing the Democrat-controlled Legislature to draw maps that could net Democrats another five House seats in the 2026 midterms. Mid-decade redistricting in states could…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
Virginia’s New ‘Centrist’ Governor Goes Full California on Day One
“Nobody elected him to be [President Franklin Roosevelt], they elected him to be normal and stop the chaos,” then-Rep. Abigail Spanberger harshly said of then-President Joe Biden in 2021, after her Democratic Party lost the governorship of Virginia. Her point was that Biden had followed a radical agenda that betrayed how he had run and how the media had presented him:…Mike Gonzalez -
- News
Another Candidate Enters California’s Crowded Governor’s Race
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan entered the crowded race to succeed term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom, pitching himself as a results-driven Democrat focused on public safety, homelessness, and affordability. Mahan, 43, was elected mayor in 2022 after a career as a tech entrepreneur. He says California Democrats have been too consumed with opposing President Donald Trump…Katherine Matt -
- Opinion
California’s ‘Futureland’ High-Speed Rail Is Still Stuck at the Station
In 2008, California voters approved Proposition 1A, giving the green light to start planning a high-speed railway connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles, which would be built by 2020 and cost around $35 billion. Well, it’s 2026, and the Golden State’s “Futureland-esque” project is woefully over-schedule and over-budget, now projected to cost around $135 billion….Victor Davis Hanson -
- Opinion
17 House Republicans Cave on Subsidies While California Loots Medicaid
Seventeen House Republicans gave California Democrats a late Christmas present this month when they crossed the aisle to vote for extending enhanced Obamacare premium subsidies for another three years. Not only did they move these massive handouts one step closer to permanent entitlement status, but they failed to advance reforms that would actually lower health…Vance Ginn -
- News
California Lawmaker Files Emergency Injunction With SCOTUS Over Redistricting Map
Republican California Assemblyman David Tangipa told The Daily Signal he has filed an emergency injunction with the United States Supreme Court to challenge the Golden State’s new congressional map. Tangipa’s motion comes after The Daily Signal reported that Tangipa had the desire to bring the case before the Supreme Court after a federal district court…Pedro Rodriguez -
- Opinion
California’s ‘Billionaire Tax’ Is a Trojan Horse
California’s biggest union is once again up to no good. Dissatisfied with the piles of cash they’ve already stolen from California high-earning taxpayers, who are subject to a 14.4% income tax rate (the nation’s highest), double-digit sales taxes, and the second-highest tax burden in the country, the SEIU is now clamoring for a “one-time” 5%…Dennis Hull -
- News
‘IRREPARABLE HARM’: California Teachers Ask Supreme Court to Block Gender Secrecy Policy
California teachers have filed an emergency appeal at the U.S. Supreme Court after an appeals court panel reinstated policies requiring teachers to hide students’ gender identities from their parents. “Right now, California’s parental deception scheme is keeping families in the dark and causing irreparable harm. That’s why we’re asking the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene immediately,” Paul Jonna, a partner at LiMandri & Jonna LLP and special counsel for…Tyler O’Neil -
- News
California’s Incompetence After Wildfires Woke a Sleeping Giant
In a podcast episode for the upcoming one-year anniversary of the California wildfires, Palisades resident Elaine Culotti lays out the state’s inept response and how the outrage over it is bipartisan. Editor’s note: This is a lightly edited transcript of today’s video from Daily Signal Contributor Elaine Culotti. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to see more…Elaine Culotti -
- News
Daily Signal Welcomes Entrepreneur Elaine Culotti as California Columnist
Entrepreneur and reality TV personality Elaine Culotti is joining The Daily Signal as a California columnist, bringing her business expertise and unique perspective on the Golden State to our growing audience. Culotti, who starred in the Discovery+ reality series “Undercover Billionaire,” is a successful California real estate developer, interior designer, and farm-to-table farmer who founded…Rob Bluey -
- News
Federal Judge ‘Fully and Permanently Dismantled Gender Secrecy Policies’ in California
A federal judge ruled Monday against a California school district’s policy ordering teachers to hide kids’ transgender identities from their parents, in a ruling that a lawyer hails as the definitive end to gender secrecy policies in the Golden State. “The court has fully and permanently dismantled gender secrecy policies across the state of California,”…Tyler O’Neil -
- News
California Church Appeals to SCOTUS Over $1.2M in COVID-19 Fines
Almost three years after the COVID-19 pandemic was officially declared over, a church in California is still facing over $1.2 million in fines for keeping its doors open to minister to the spiritual needs of the public. Calvary Chapel San Jose’s legal saga began in August 2020 when county inspectors reportedly “made 44 visits to the church”…Dan Hart -
Let California Collapse—and Let the Rest of America Learn
California has long prided itself on being a symbol of progressive governance, a supposed beacon of tolerance, opportunity, and inclusivity. But behind the glittering curtain of Hollywood dreams and Silicon Valley innovation lies a troubling reality—a self-inflicted crisis stemming from policies that defy economic logic and common sense. As California grapples with an unprecedented immigration…Armstrong Williams -
‘Entirely Unacceptable’: Senate Republicans Condemn California Democrat’s Outburst
Senate Republicans are sharply criticizing Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., for his disruption Thursday of Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem‘s press conference. “Sen. Padilla should have been in Washington, D.C., voting. He has a responsibility to his constituents to show up at work—not try to make a spectacle of himself,” Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., the…Jacob Adams -
Newsom’s Threat That California Might Withhold Federal Taxes Called ‘Reckless,’ ‘a New Low’
Republican members of Congress on Wednesday assailed Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s suggesting that it might be time for his state to cut off taxpayer money going to the federal government. Addressing the matter in a June 6 post on X, Newsom said, “Californians pay the bills for the federal government. We pay over $80…Jacob Adams -
California Vows to Overturn Local Voter-Approved ID Requirement
California officials are taking another shot at undoing a voter-approved measure in the city of Huntington Beach that requires ID to vote. California Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Attorney General Rob Bonta filed an appeal in the California 4th District Court of Appeals after an Orange County Superior Court backed Huntington Beach’s authority to…Fred Lucas -
California Records Show How Attorney General Skewed Transgender Ballot Measure
While gathering signatures for a proposed California ballot measure, Korey Wells found people who had opposed allowing boys to play girls scholastic sports, but nevertheless “refused to sign and/or donate” to an initiative that would prevent it. The reason was “because they do not believe the substance of the Initiative could be so different than…Fred Lucas