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.
-
news
Your Tax Dollars Could Soon Pay for Political Campaigns in California
California voters will decide in November whether politicians can receive taxpayer-funded campaign money under a ballot measure that would repeal the state’s decades-old ban on public financing. Proposition 4, titled the Allow Public Financing of Election Campaigns measure, will appear on the Nov. 3 statewide ballot. If approved, the measure would allow local governments across… -
news
Newsom’s Socialist Alliance? Leaked Video Fuels New Backlash
Just months after courting moderates, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is defending closer ties with the Democratic Socialists of America, even after a leaked video showed a member of the group calling for America’s takedown. “The most important thing that we can do is take that empire down from within,” the DSA member said. Newsom, speaking… -
news
How One Duo Uses California Voting Rights Act to Flip Red Cities—With Your Tax Dollars
Huntington Beach’s grip as Orange County’s conservative stronghold is under threat from a new court ruling. But this isn’t the first time the attorney and one of the plaintiffs have led the charge to reshape a conservative city. In late June, Orange County Superior Court Judge Craig Griffin tentatively ruled that the city must switch… -
news
California Was Once the American Dream. Now It’s Ranked the 3rd Worst State to Move To
For generations, California represented the American dream—a place where families moved in search of opportunity, good-paying jobs, and a better life. Today, the Golden State is earning a very different reputation. For 2026, California has been ranked the third-worst state to move to, according to Consumer Affairs’ annual state rankings, placing behind only Louisiana and… -
news
Homeowner Faces $100 Fine for Flying American Flag in California HOA
One California neighborhood says it’s fighting for patriotism after its homeowners association banned residents from flying the American flag. Amy Cooke, a resident of this San Marcos, California, community, was told she would be fined $100 if she did not remove the flag she has displayed outside her home for the last 20 years. “I’m… -
analysis
Filthy Rich Democrats JB Pritzker, Ro Khanna Attack the Wealthy
Democrats are at a crossroads as Democratic Socialists of America candidates win primaries, even unseating incumbents. Particularly vexed are well-off Democrat politicians as the DSA engages in its war against the wealthy. Two prime examples: Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and California Rep. Ro Khanna. Pritzker is a billionaire in a party that demonizes wealth. Khanna,… -
news
How California’s ‘Teen Takeover’ Crime Trend Is Spreading
One of California’s wealthiest and safest cities descended into chaos over the Independence Day weekend after a social media-fueled “teen takeover” led to more than 400 arrests, an officer being struck by a mortar firework, and the looting of a grocery store. According to Newport Beach city officials, thousands of unruly juveniles and young adults… -
news
‘SACRED RIGHT’: DOJ Sues Gavin Newsom’s California Over Glock Ban
DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit Wednesday taking aim at California’s ban on Glock pistols the day it was slated to take effect. Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB1127 into law in October 2025, making California the first state to ban the popular pistol. The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for… -
news
No All-Gender Bathroom, No School Modernization Funds? How California Is Enforcing Its New School Bathroom Law
California public schools are now required to provide students with access to at least one all-gender restroom under a law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2023. Senate Bill 760 took effect July 1, with Newsom stating that the addition of all-gender restrooms will “help protect vulnerable youth, promote acceptance, and create more supportive environments… -
news
DOJ Sues California, Virginia Over Gun Restrictions After Supreme Court Ruling
The Justice Department has filed lawsuits against both California and Virginia over the states’ gun restrictions. On Wednesday, the Justice Department sued to stop California’s newly enacted ban on Glocks, a popular handgun. The California law that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed in June would ban the retail purchase of common handguns manufactured by Glock and… -
news
Newsom Grew California’s Budget by 40%—Former State Senator Says It Got Squandered
California’s budget has grown roughly 40% since Gov. Gavin Newsom took office in 2019, but a former state senator who helped oversee the budget says the governor squandered a once-in-a-generation opportunity to put the state’s finances on stronger footing. In some of Newsom’s final acts as governor, he passed a $351 billion spending budget for… -
opinion
This California Disaster Didn’t Have to Happen
The Pacific Palisades fire tragedy was totally preventable. The failure to rebuild since that tragedy is inexcusable. Today, my new documentary exposes how California Gov. Gavin Newsom turned the California Dream into Newsom’s Nightmare. Under Newsom’s leadership, California has the highest poverty rate in America. Amazing places like Pacific Palisades burned to ashes because of… -
opinion
Newsom Wants the Jacobins Cheering and the Billionaires Staying
Gavin Newsom has discovered the limits of his own revolution. After the California governor’s opposition failed to keep a union-backed wealth tax off the ballot, he had to explain himself to voters he has spent years training to believe billionaires are the problem. He chose Substack. There, in the same political breath, Newsom opposed a California billionaire tax while… -
news
Firefighters Say Karen Bass Failed Them—Now They’re Taking Their Case to Voters
Los Angeles firefighters are taking fire protection into their own hands after Mayor Karen Bass cut funding to the Los Angeles Fire Department. In June 2024, Mayor Karen Bass signed the city’s 2024-2025 budget, which cut the department’s funding by $17.6 million, according to data shared by Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia. The cuts… -
exclusive
EXCLUSIVE: EPA’s Zeldin Exposes China as Top Smuggler of Dangerous Pesticides at CA Ports
LONG BEACH, Calif.—Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin on Thursday put China on notice, naming it the No. 1 source of illegal pesticide smuggling attempts into California’s ports. Appearing at an undisclosed location near the Port of Long Beach and standing in front of a table full of the illegal pesticide DDVP, Zeldin said the… -
opinion
California Demands Proof You’re LGBTQ for Contracts—but Not Proof You’re a Citizen to Vote
California has achieved something almost impossible in the annals of bureaucratic absurdity: It has made citizenship easier to assert for voting than sexual orientation is to document for favored utility contracting. To register to vote, a person fills out a form, signs an affidavit, and attests under penalty of perjury that he is a U.S…. -
opinion
Victor Davis Hanson: The Law Has Finally Caught Up to Gavin Newsom
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. We’ve talked a lot about [Gov.] Gavin Newsom and California in particular. Apparently, Gavin Newsom will be running for president in 2028…. -
news
Can You Prove You’re Gay? Inside California’s LGBTQ Business Certification Program
How can you know for certain that someone is gay? Well, the National LGBTQ+ & Allied Chamber of Commerce says it has it all figured out. As of April 2022, under the Supplier Diversity Program managed by the California Public Utilities Commission, if you’re a large-scale utility company in California, you have the option to… -
opinion
Sacramento Dems Ban Glocks Before They’re Illegal—and Release Criminals After They Are
California’s Assembly Bill 1127 is sold as gun safety. In reality, it is the Sacramento Democrats engaging yet again in their favorite sport: punishing the law-abiding for the failures of the government. The bill bars licensed dealers, beginning July 1, 2026, from selling so-called machinegun-convertible pistols—Glock-style handguns that criminals can illegally alter with switches. But the switch… -
news
Solar-Covered Warehouse Fire Sparks Air Quality Fears in Los Angeles
A fire at a 500,000-square-foot Los Angeles warehouse covered in solar panels has blanketed nearby communities with smoke for days, prompting residents to ask a simple question: What exactly are we breathing? The frozen-food storage facility, operated by Michigan-based Lineage Logistics, has walls densely lined with insulation. According to firefighters, the insulation continued to smolder…