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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news
Hilton Appears Set for Showdown With Becerra, Giving Republicans Hope in California
Trump-endorsed Fox News host Steve Hilton will likely face off against Xavier Becerra this November, leaving California conservatives hopeful that they have a shot at the first Republican governor in over a decade. California’s top-two primary system advances the two highest vote-getters to the November general election regardless of party affiliation. After months of waiting… -
news
Will California’s Climate Goals Make Gas More Expensive?
The war between affordability and climate activism continues to rage on in California after a recent decision by the California Air Resources Board to update its cap-and-invest program left both environmental activists and the oil industry upset. The program was first authorized in 2006 as a way to limit greenhouse gas emissions and incentivize “major… -
opinion
California’s Slow Roll Vote-Counting Is an Outrage
Americans should expect, at a minimum, to have elections that are free and fair, and results that are delivered promptly. But California is taking its laid-back reputation too far, failing to deliver its election results in a timely manner and creating the perception that they are neither free nor fair. Slothful election results have plagued California for… -
analysis
What Are ‘California Values’?
What are California values? Are they sprawling homeless encampments, public intoxication and drug use, and naked people walking through the streets? Are they rising crime rates, small businesses closing, families being driven out of their communities, and parents who cannot safely take their children to a park? Those were the questions the Daily Signal’s senior… -
news
Pratt on Track for LA Mayor Showdown With Bass
Spencer Pratt, the reality television villain turned Los Angeles mayoral candidate, is on track for a showdown with incumbent Democrat Mayor Karen Bass. While Pratt has not yet officially locked in a top-two finish, returns coming in from the Golden State on Wednesday morning show him in second place and maintaining a comfortable lead over… -
opinion
California Was a Paradise, Then Newsom Happened
Editor’s note: This is a lightly edited transcript of today’s video from Daily Signal Senior Contributor Victor Davis Hanson. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to see more of his videos. Hello, this is Victor Davis Hanson for the Daily Signal. People talk about the California disaster, but I don’t think we fully appreciate the severity and the manifestations of… -
Hit-and-Run, Homicide, Assault, Robbery: Congress Probes Effects of California Sanctuary Policies
Pointing to rising crime rates and a crash that killed an 11-year-old boy last December, leaders of the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday asked law enforcement leaders in two major California cities to provide information on sanctuary policies they say shield criminal illegal aliens. House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and two subcommittee chairmen—Republican Reps…. -
opinion
Time Is Almost Up on California’s Ticking Medicaid Time Bomb
Today is primary day in California—with high-profile races for governor and Los Angeles mayor—so voters should prioritize candidates with strong records of fiscal discipline. The Golden State has a history of fiscal irresponsibility that has strained budgets, and Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program, is the clearest example. The program has expanded drastically over time,… -
opinion
The ‘Wrinkle’ in LA Democrats’ Plans
Editor’s note: This is a lightly edited transcript of today’s video from Daily Signal Senior Contributor Victor Davis Hanson. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to see more of his videos. Hello, this is Victor Davis Hanson for the Daily Signal. This Tuesday, June 2, there are many national, state, and local races throughout the country. Here in California, we’re looking at… -
opinion
If 2 Dems Advance in CA Gov’s Race, Conservative Vote Split Will Be a Key Factor
Tuesday is decision day in California. Voters head to the polls in the state’s top-two “jungle” primary, a system in which every candidate competes on a single ballot and only the top two vote-getters advance to November—regardless of party affiliation. Designed to produce more moderate outcomes, the jungle primary instead often functions as a trap for… -
news
Democrats Are Ditching Karen Bass—and Rallying Behind Spencer Pratt
Democrats are abandoning Mayor Karen Bass as the June 2 primary approaches. A new poll shows Spencer Pratt has taken a narrow lead in the Los Angeles mayoral race, receiving 30.1% support among likely voters. The poll, conducted by McLaughlin & Associates in conjunction with the California Post, has Bass in second, at 29.5%, followed… -
opinion
Newsom’s Reign of Madness: California’s Modern-Day Caligula
Just as the deranged Roman emperors—Caligula, Nero, and Commodus—turned the empire’s treasury and laws into weapons against their own people, Gov. Gavin Newsom now seeks to seize 100% of any federal compensation awarded to Californians harmed by government weaponization. Insulated by absolute power, these rulers squandered vast resources on vendettas, bizarre decrees, and self-glorification while… -
news
City of Los Angeles Paid Alleged 18th Street Gang Member $58K as a ‘Peace Ambassador’
A convicted murderer and alleged gang member was being paid by Los Angeles taxpayers to patrol neighborhoods as a “peace ambassador” until federal authorities arrested him Friday morning. Now, city leaders are facing questions about how he got the job in the first place. Michael Angel Alvarez, 41, aka “Diablo,” was arrested on Friday during… -
opinion
California’s June 2 Elections Offer Rare Potential for Conservative Gains
As Californians count their primary votes Tuesday night, three results could advance conservatism in the once-Golden State. If Spencer Pratt secures first or second place in Los Angeles’ mayoral race, the former villain of MTV’s “The Hills” will emerge as a hero to Angelenos desperate to liberate City Hall from the feeble, fumbling, feckless Karen Bass. My birthplace has devolved… -
news
Skid Row Residents Say Mayor Karen Bass Doesn’t Deserve Reelection
LOS ANGELES—With voters set to decide who will lead California’s largest city for the next four years, some residents who live on the streets of Los Angeles, or have been affected by homelessness, spoke out against the current leadership, calling for change. Angelenos have less than a week to decide who their next mayor will… -
news
California Dem Congressman Starts Prison Sentence for Fraud Conviction
Former Democrat Rep. TJ Cox of California started his yearlong prison sentence Wednesday after being convicted of wire fraud last December. His surrender date was scheduled to allow him to attend his child’s graduation. Cox, who represented California’s 21st Congressional District from 2019 to 2021, was found guilty of setting up illegal bank accounts between… -
news
California Advances Controversial ‘Stop Nick Shirley Act’
California Assembly Bill 2624, dubbed by critics the “Stop Nick Shirley Act,” passed the California Assembly on Tuesday, raising concerns among opponents that undercover journalism and fraud investigations could be restricted—including investigations conducted by independent journalist Nick Shirley. Shirley, who uncovered hundreds of millions of dollars of daycare fraud in Minnesota and hospice fraud in… -
news
Congress Investigates Alleged Taxpayer-Funded Prison Sex Scandal Newsom Funded
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has launched an investigation to determine whether Democrats are using American taxpayer dollars to fund an online, abusive sex scandal catering to inmates on death row. All California prisoners are given “free” government-issued tablets meant for “education, rehabilitation, family communication, and reentry support proven to reduce crime,”… -
opinion
Why California Proves the Extreme Left Is Now the Democrat Mainstream
The Democratic Party did not merely drift left over the decades, as some still politely maintain. It was captured, body and soul, by its radical socialist wing—hijacked, thrown into the trunk, and driven straight off the cliff into the ideological abyss. The old moderates are extinct, reduced to fossils of a bygone order that once… -
opinion
The Steyer Smear
Billionaire Tom Steyer used his money to attack a lone climate researcher. Roger Pielke Jr.’s research on climate and disaster policy wins awards and is cited by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. “My views are entirely mainstream,” says Pielke. “My work is cited by all three working groups of the IPCC. There’s…