Here are the morning’s top stories on Thursday, January 22, 2026
- The race for California governor is coming into focus — after Attorney General Rob Bonta and Los Angeles developer Rick Caruso announced last week that they will not join the field. But one important constituency has yet to agree on a candidate: organized labor.
- A federal immigration agent shot at a suspect during what’s being called a targeted operation in South Los Angeles Wednesday. No one was hit by the gunfire.
Who Will Labor Support In The Race For California Governor?
With less than five months until California’s primary election for governor, no candidate has emerged as the consensus choice of the most powerful force in state Democratic politics: organized labor.
Attorney General Rob Bonta, a longtime labor ally, announced last week he would not run for governor, despite behind-the-scenes encouragement from many in the state’s labor movement. His decision increased the likelihood that no single candidate will be able to consolidate labor support, even as a handful of unions have already made early endorsements.
“This is probably the least clear, most muddled gubernatorial primary field we’ve seen in California in more than half a century,” said Dan Schnur, who teaches political communications at USC and UC Berkeley. “There are several candidates with solid labor credentials, but no one who stands out to a point where you see unions flocking to them the way you have in most past campaigns.”
Unions remain the lifeblood of Democratic campaigns in the state, Schnur said. The groups bankroll independent political committees that typically spend tens of millions of dollars on television ads and mailers, and their network of members provides favored candidates with a ready-made field operation to knock on doors and make phone calls. Not since 1990, when Dianne Feinstein defeated John Van de Kamp in the Democratic primary, has labor’s chosen candidate for governor in California failed to make the general election. Union support was a key force in the competitive primary victories of Gray Davis in 1998, Phil Angelides in 2006 and Gavin Newsom in 2018.
Federal Agent Fires Gun During Immigration Operation In Willowbrook
A federal agent fired his gun during an immigration enforcement operation in Willowbrook Wednesday morning, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Federal officials said one Border Patrol officer was hurt, though the nature and severity of the injury is unclear.
