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In response, two state senators \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kvcrnews.org/local-news/2026-04-16/ice-court-raids-have-ramped-up-in-southern-california-two-state-lawmakers-introduce-two-bills-to-try-to-stop-it\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">have introduced bills\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the California legislature that aim to curb raids at courthouses.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/education/early-childhood-education-pre-k/transitional-kindergarten-nieer-report-california-preschool-quality\">\u003cb>California expanded preschool access, but report says state needs to improve quality\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While enrollment for public preschool programs grows in California, researchers say they lag behind other states when it comes to quality measures.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the 2024-25 school year, California served 278,273 kids in its two state-funded programs, up more than 25,000 over the year before:\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Transitional kindergarten, a new grade for 4-year-olds in public schools\u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">California State Preschool Program, which serves families based on income\u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://nieer.org/yearbook/2025\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">new report\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, researchers found both programs lacked several quality measures.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Republican gubernatorial candidates say they’ll be tough on abortion\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, one of the top polling candidates for California governor, told KQED he would allow Louisiana to extradite a Bay Area doctor in an abortion case if he’s elected. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Healdsburg Doctor Rémy Coeytaux was indicted by Louisiana’s attorney general for allegedly mailing abortion pills to a woman there. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“He broke the law,” said Bianco. “He’s going to suffer consequences and he has to suffer consequences.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The other Republican candidate in the race, Steve Hilton, told KQED earlier this year he would also extradite the doctor.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/newsletter/ban-on-ice-in-california-police/\">\u003cb>California Democrats to Trump immigration agents: Don’t apply here\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Should someone’s work in immigration enforcement during the Trump administration preclude them from having a job in California civil service?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many California Democrats, alarmed by the administration’s aggressive immigration tactics, are prepared to take that step.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On a party line vote, legislators in the state Senate’s public safety committee passed a bill Tuesday that would \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb938\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">disqualify people from becoming local or state police officers\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> if they personally participated in federal immigration enforcement beginning on or after Jan. 20, 2025 — the date when President Donald Trump started his second term.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kvcrnews.org/local-news/2026-04-17/4-17-kvcr-midday-news-lawmakers-introduce-bills-to-stop-ice-courthouse-raids\">\u003cb>Lawmakers introduce bills to stop ICE courthouse raids\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Susan Rubio, who represents the San Gabriel Valley and Pomona, has introduced a bill that will allow people to schedule remote court hearings. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">State Senator Eloise Gomez Reyes says watching videos of arrests at a Rancho Cucamonga courthouse was “sickening.” She represents San Bernardino County.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reyes’ bill will require federal agents to identify themselves and present judicial warrants when making arrests within 1000 feet of a courthouse. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Healdsburg Doctor Rémy Coeytaux was indicted by Louisiana’s attorney general for allegedly mailing abortion pills to a woman there. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“He broke the law,” said Bianco. “He’s going to suffer consequences and he has to suffer consequences.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The other Republican candidate in the race, Steve Hilton, told KQED earlier this year he would also extradite the doctor.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/newsletter/ban-on-ice-in-california-police/\">\u003cb>California Democrats to Trump immigration agents: Don’t apply here\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Should someone’s work in immigration enforcement during the Trump administration preclude them from having a job in California civil service?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many California Democrats, alarmed by the administration’s aggressive immigration tactics, are prepared to take that step.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On a party line vote, legislators in the state Senate’s public safety committee passed a bill Tuesday that would \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb938\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">disqualify people from becoming local or state police officers\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> if they personally participated in federal immigration enforcement beginning on or after Jan. 20, 2025 — the date when President Donald Trump started his second term.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kvcrnews.org/local-news/2026-04-17/4-17-kvcr-midday-news-lawmakers-introduce-bills-to-stop-ice-courthouse-raids\">\u003cb>Lawmakers introduce bills to stop ICE courthouse raids\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Susan Rubio, who represents the San Gabriel Valley and Pomona, has introduced a bill that will allow people to schedule remote court hearings. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">State Senator Eloise Gomez Reyes says watching videos of arrests at a Rancho Cucamonga courthouse was “sickening.” She represents San Bernardino County.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reyes’ bill will require federal agents to identify themselves and present judicial warrants when making arrests within 1000 feet of a courthouse. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco is one of the top polling candidates in the race for California governor. The Republican contender has spent his career in law enforcement, and despite being a longtime supporter of President Donald Trump, Bianco did not win the president’s endorsement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bianco sits down with Marisa to talk about his pledge to cut taxes and spending. They discuss his being “raised by a town of men” in Utah, how his evangelical faith shapes his approach to public service and how his experience as a sheriff equips him to govern the state. He also addresses his past membership in the Oath Keepers militia group and why his office \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12080702/internal-emails-show-how-fringe-groups-fueled-sheriff-chad-biancos-ballot-seizure\">seized hundreds of thousands of ballots\u003c/a> from the 2025 election.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KygOFVgDmPU\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This interview is part of a series of conversations with the 2026 gubernatorial candidates for California. The primary election is June 2.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Check out \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/newsletters/political-breakdown\">Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter\u003c/a>, delivered straight to your inbox.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco is one of the top polling candidates in the race for California governor. The Republican contender has spent his career in law enforcement, and despite being a longtime supporter of President Donald Trump, Bianco did not win the president’s endorsement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bianco sits down with Marisa to talk about his pledge to cut taxes and spending. They discuss his being “raised by a town of men” in Utah, how his evangelical faith shapes his approach to public service and how his experience as a sheriff equips him to govern the state. He also addresses his past membership in the Oath Keepers militia group and why his office \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12080702/internal-emails-show-how-fringe-groups-fueled-sheriff-chad-biancos-ballot-seizure\">seized hundreds of thousands of ballots\u003c/a> from the 2025 election.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/KygOFVgDmPU'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/KygOFVgDmPU'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>This interview is part of a series of conversations with the 2026 gubernatorial candidates for California. The primary election is June 2.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Check out \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/newsletters/political-breakdown\">Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter\u003c/a>, delivered straight to your inbox.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Six leading \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12080415/california-governor-candidates-compete-for-swalwells-endorsements-donors-and-voters\">candidates\u003c/a> for California governor broke largely along party lines on questions related to taxes, homelessness and the Trump administration at a fast-moving televised debate in San Francisco on Wednesday evening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The debate, broadcast statewide on Nexstar stations, marked a major test for former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and billionaire investor Tom Steyer, who have emerged as the top polling Democrats after former Rep. Eric Swalwell \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079583/eric-swalwell-ends-california-governor-campaign-after-sexual-assault-allegations\">ended his campaign\u003c/a> amid \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079502/rep-eric-swalwell-candidate-for-california-governor-is-accused-of-sexual-assault\">sexual assault allegations\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Throughout a largely tame event, Steyer and Becerra at times came under fire from fellow Democrats on stage, former Rep. Katie Porter and San José Mayor Matt Mahan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By contrast, the two Republicans onstage, businessman and conservative commentator Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, avoided criticizing each other, instead focusing on what they called Democratic failures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Steyer faced the most attacks of the night — largely centered on his wealth and the investments he made in private prisons and the oil industry as a hedge fund manager decades ago. Porter poked at Steyer’s personal fortune while also jabbing Becerra for his backing by corporate interests and a lack of policy details.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12081067\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12081067\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3742_1-1-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3742_1-1-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3742_1-1-2000x1334.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3742_1-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3742_1-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3742_1-1-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tom Steyer, a Democratic candidate for California governor, defended his record and pitched himself as a “change agent” during a televised debate at KRON Studios in San Francisco on April 22, 2026. \u003ccite>(Jason Henry/Nexstar/Bloomberg)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And she stressed her own experience as a consumer advocate and single mom who understands the struggles of everyday Californians.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One candidate is a billionaire who got rich off polluters and ICE prisons and is now using that money to fund this election,” Porter said, even as she and every other Democrat pledged to support whichever Democrat makes it to a November runoff. “Another candidate for nearly 40 years cashed corporate checks and then lacked the courage to take them on. I’m not like them — I have never taken corporate money.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mahan echoed the former Orange County congresswoman, calling Steyer “a billionaire who made his money in private prisons” and Becerra “a D.C. insider who the Sacramento establishment is now rallying around.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12081061\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12081061\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3948_1_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3948_1_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3948_1_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3948_1_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Katie Porter, right, sharpened her attacks on rival Tom Steyer over his wealth and past investments during a televised debate at KRON Studios in San Francisco on April 22, 2026. \u003ccite>(Jason Henry/Nexstar/Bloomberg)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In general, though, the Democrats focused more on defining their own platforms than criticizing one another — perhaps because, with ballots set to reach voters in less than two weeks, Californians \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079947/with-swalwell-out-who-will-bay-area-voters-support-for-california-governor\">seem to just be tuning in,\u003c/a> and the crowded field is still working to introduce themselves to the electorate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Becerra, who has seen the largest uptick in polling and endorsements since Swalwell’s exit, pitched his candidacy as a steady hand in the wake of the shocking scandal. On Tuesday, Becerra was endorsed by Democratic Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need someone with experience, someone who doesn’t need on-the-job training,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12081060\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12081060\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3222_1_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3222_1_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3222_1_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3222_1_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San José Mayor Matt Mahan, left, and Xavier Becerra, both Democratic candidates for California governor, shook hands before a televised debate at KRON Studios in San Francisco on April 22, 2026. \u003ccite>(Jason Henry/Nexstar/Bloomberg)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Steyer parried criticisms of his career in finance by pointing to the wealthy interests opposing his campaign. In recent days, PG&E has poured millions into an anti-Steyer super-PAC that has also received funding from groups representing realtors and prison guards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The people raising the costs for California don’t want me to be governor,” he said. “I’m the change agent here, and they don’t want change.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Steyer has put more than $120 million of his own money into his campaign and has blanketed the state in digital and television ads.[aside postID=news_12080415 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CAGovDebateAP1.jpg']The gubernatorial candidates will appear on the ballot together in the June 2 primary. Under California’s top-two primary system, the top two finishers advance to November, regardless of party.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That left Democrats concerned that two Republicans could make it into a runoff, in a state where no GOP candidate has won statewide in two decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For months, the Democratic field has remained crowded, without a clear frontrunner, and Swalwell’s dramatic exit less than two weeks ago scrambled the race again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Wednesday evening, the partisan divide between the frontrunners on stage was particularly evident when the conversation turned to homelessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The four Democrats largely praised Gov. Gavin Newsom’s efforts on the issue and agreed on the need to spend more money on preventing homelessness, through programs such as rental assistance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bianco and Hilton said homelessness was instead an issue best addressed through substance use treatment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12081062\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12081062\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3852_1_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3852_1_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3852_1_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3852_1_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">At a televised gubernatorial debate at KRON Studios in San Francisco on Wednesday, April 22, 2026, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican candidate for California governor, argued that homelessness is driven by substance abuse. \u003ccite>(Jason Henry/Nexstar/Bloomberg)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“This is drug and alcohol induced psychosis,” Bianco said. “This has nothing to do with a home.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mahan, who entered the race late and is polling below the other candidates onstage, sought to draw a contrast with the other Democrats onstage by vowing to suspend the state gas tax — referencing his working-class childhood in the farming town of Watsonville.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I know what it means when gas prices go up a dollar or two unnecessarily,” Mahan said. “I’ll reform the gas tax so it’s no longer the poorest, hardest working people in our state who are paying an unfair share to maintain our infrastructure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12081063\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12081063\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3423_1_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3423_1_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3423_1_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3423_1_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Steve Hilton, a Republican candidate for California governor, leaned into President Donald Trump’s endorsement — calling it “a deep honor” — during a televised debate at KRON Studios in San Francisco on April 22, 2026. \u003ccite>(Jason Henry/Nexstar/Bloomberg)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>None of the other Democratic candidates would commit to suspending the gas tax, something both Hilton and Bianco have been campaigning on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hilton did not shy away from President Donald Trump, who’s deeply unpopular in this heavily Democratic state. Trump recently endorsed Hilton, a former Fox News host who emigrated from the United Kingdom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One of the proudest days of my life is the day I became an American citizen … so it is a deep honor for me to be endorsed by the President of the United States,” Hilton said, adding that Democratic attacks on Trump are only hurting the state. “Here’s what will help every Californian: when I am governor, we will have a deep, constructive relationship.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Six leading \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12080415/california-governor-candidates-compete-for-swalwells-endorsements-donors-and-voters\">candidates\u003c/a> for California governor broke largely along party lines on questions related to taxes, homelessness and the Trump administration at a fast-moving televised debate in San Francisco on Wednesday evening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The debate, broadcast statewide on Nexstar stations, marked a major test for former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and billionaire investor Tom Steyer, who have emerged as the top polling Democrats after former Rep. Eric Swalwell \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079583/eric-swalwell-ends-california-governor-campaign-after-sexual-assault-allegations\">ended his campaign\u003c/a> amid \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079502/rep-eric-swalwell-candidate-for-california-governor-is-accused-of-sexual-assault\">sexual assault allegations\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Throughout a largely tame event, Steyer and Becerra at times came under fire from fellow Democrats on stage, former Rep. Katie Porter and San José Mayor Matt Mahan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By contrast, the two Republicans onstage, businessman and conservative commentator Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, avoided criticizing each other, instead focusing on what they called Democratic failures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Steyer faced the most attacks of the night — largely centered on his wealth and the investments he made in private prisons and the oil industry as a hedge fund manager decades ago. Porter poked at Steyer’s personal fortune while also jabbing Becerra for his backing by corporate interests and a lack of policy details.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12081067\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12081067\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3742_1-1-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3742_1-1-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3742_1-1-2000x1334.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3742_1-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3742_1-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3742_1-1-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tom Steyer, a Democratic candidate for California governor, defended his record and pitched himself as a “change agent” during a televised debate at KRON Studios in San Francisco on April 22, 2026. \u003ccite>(Jason Henry/Nexstar/Bloomberg)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And she stressed her own experience as a consumer advocate and single mom who understands the struggles of everyday Californians.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One candidate is a billionaire who got rich off polluters and ICE prisons and is now using that money to fund this election,” Porter said, even as she and every other Democrat pledged to support whichever Democrat makes it to a November runoff. “Another candidate for nearly 40 years cashed corporate checks and then lacked the courage to take them on. I’m not like them — I have never taken corporate money.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mahan echoed the former Orange County congresswoman, calling Steyer “a billionaire who made his money in private prisons” and Becerra “a D.C. insider who the Sacramento establishment is now rallying around.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12081061\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12081061\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3948_1_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3948_1_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3948_1_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3948_1_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Katie Porter, right, sharpened her attacks on rival Tom Steyer over his wealth and past investments during a televised debate at KRON Studios in San Francisco on April 22, 2026. \u003ccite>(Jason Henry/Nexstar/Bloomberg)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In general, though, the Democrats focused more on defining their own platforms than criticizing one another — perhaps because, with ballots set to reach voters in less than two weeks, Californians \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079947/with-swalwell-out-who-will-bay-area-voters-support-for-california-governor\">seem to just be tuning in,\u003c/a> and the crowded field is still working to introduce themselves to the electorate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Becerra, who has seen the largest uptick in polling and endorsements since Swalwell’s exit, pitched his candidacy as a steady hand in the wake of the shocking scandal. On Tuesday, Becerra was endorsed by Democratic Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need someone with experience, someone who doesn’t need on-the-job training,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12081060\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12081060\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3222_1_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3222_1_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3222_1_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3222_1_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San José Mayor Matt Mahan, left, and Xavier Becerra, both Democratic candidates for California governor, shook hands before a televised debate at KRON Studios in San Francisco on April 22, 2026. \u003ccite>(Jason Henry/Nexstar/Bloomberg)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Steyer parried criticisms of his career in finance by pointing to the wealthy interests opposing his campaign. In recent days, PG&E has poured millions into an anti-Steyer super-PAC that has also received funding from groups representing realtors and prison guards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The people raising the costs for California don’t want me to be governor,” he said. “I’m the change agent here, and they don’t want change.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Steyer has put more than $120 million of his own money into his campaign and has blanketed the state in digital and television ads.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The gubernatorial candidates will appear on the ballot together in the June 2 primary. Under California’s top-two primary system, the top two finishers advance to November, regardless of party.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That left Democrats concerned that two Republicans could make it into a runoff, in a state where no GOP candidate has won statewide in two decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For months, the Democratic field has remained crowded, without a clear frontrunner, and Swalwell’s dramatic exit less than two weeks ago scrambled the race again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Wednesday evening, the partisan divide between the frontrunners on stage was particularly evident when the conversation turned to homelessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The four Democrats largely praised Gov. Gavin Newsom’s efforts on the issue and agreed on the need to spend more money on preventing homelessness, through programs such as rental assistance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bianco and Hilton said homelessness was instead an issue best addressed through substance use treatment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12081062\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12081062\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3852_1_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3852_1_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3852_1_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3852_1_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">At a televised gubernatorial debate at KRON Studios in San Francisco on Wednesday, April 22, 2026, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican candidate for California governor, argued that homelessness is driven by substance abuse. \u003ccite>(Jason Henry/Nexstar/Bloomberg)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“This is drug and alcohol induced psychosis,” Bianco said. “This has nothing to do with a home.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mahan, who entered the race late and is polling below the other candidates onstage, sought to draw a contrast with the other Democrats onstage by vowing to suspend the state gas tax — referencing his working-class childhood in the farming town of Watsonville.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I know what it means when gas prices go up a dollar or two unnecessarily,” Mahan said. “I’ll reform the gas tax so it’s no longer the poorest, hardest working people in our state who are paying an unfair share to maintain our infrastructure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12081063\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12081063\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3423_1_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3423_1_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3423_1_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3423_1_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Steve Hilton, a Republican candidate for California governor, leaned into President Donald Trump’s endorsement — calling it “a deep honor” — during a televised debate at KRON Studios in San Francisco on April 22, 2026. \u003ccite>(Jason Henry/Nexstar/Bloomberg)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>None of the other Democratic candidates would commit to suspending the gas tax, something both Hilton and Bianco have been campaigning on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hilton did not shy away from President Donald Trump, who’s deeply unpopular in this heavily Democratic state. Trump recently endorsed Hilton, a former Fox News host who emigrated from the United Kingdom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One of the proudest days of my life is the day I became an American citizen … so it is a deep honor for me to be endorsed by the President of the United States,” Hilton said, adding that Democratic attacks on Trump are only hurting the state. “Here’s what will help every Californian: when I am governor, we will have a deep, constructive relationship.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "the-governors-race-changes-shape-again",
"title": "The Governor’s Race Changes Shape — Again",
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"headTitle": "The Governor’s Race Changes Shape — Again | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s been one week since Rep. Eric Swalwell ended his run for governor after \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/chronicle-eric-swalwell-story-22208898.php\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">multiple allegations of sexual assault and misconduct\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Before that, he was starting to consolidate support from voters in the progressive, vote-rich Bay Area.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now that he’s out of the race, the remaining candidates – especially the leading Democrats – are trying to win over his supporters before the June 2 primary.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kron4.com/news/politics/inside-california-politics/how-to-watch-the-california-governors-debate-on-kron4-and-kron4/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">How to watch the California governor’s debate on KRON4 and KRON4+\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079911/the-rise-and-fall-of-eric-swalwell\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Rise and Fall of Eric Swalwell\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (The Bay)\u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12080603/betty-yee-becomes-latest-democrat-to-exit-california-governors-race\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Betty Yee Becomes Latest Democrat to Exit California Governor’s Race\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079947/with-swalwell-out-who-will-bay-area-voters-support-for-california-governor\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">With Swalwell Out, Who Will Bay Area Voters Support for California Governor?\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12080415/california-governor-candidates-compete-for-swalwells-endorsements-donors-and-voters\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">California Governor Candidates Compete for Swalwell’s Endorsements, Donors and Voters\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco-Northern California Local.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm?e=KQINC9756678676\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Episode transcript\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:00] \u003c/em>I’m Ericka Cruz Guevara and welcome to The Bay, local news to keep you rooted. Democratic voters in the Bay Area were starting to throw their support behind East Bay representative Eric Swalwell for governor. That was until last week, when he suddenly dropped out of the race and left Congress after reports of sexual assault allegations. Now, the remaining Democratic candidates are trying to catch those voters ahead of the June primary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:38] \u003c/em>And I actually think now we’re in a place where, yeah, it’s a huge win for voters to have this wide open field and have these candidates actually try to win over voters because these are very different visions for democratic leadership.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:53] \u003c/em>Today, a vibe check with Bay Area voters on California’s governor’s race.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:05] \u003c/em>It’s been a week now since East Bay congressman Eric Swalwell has dropped out and also resigned from Congress. We also had Betty Yee drop out of the race earlier this week. And Swalwall was a front-runner in this race before he dropped out, right? So I guess how much has him dropping out of this race really changed the shape of thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:27] \u003c/em>I would say the state of the governor’s race right now is completely wide open.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:34] \u003c/em>Guy Marzorati is a politics and government correspondent for KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:40] \u003c/em>Swalwell was one of the Democratic frontrunners. I think most of the public polling had him kind of bunched up with investor Tom Steyer and former Congress member Katie Porter, but he definitely had momentum in terms of consolidating a lot of establishment support. Big labor unions in California, big business groups in California kind of all coalescing around his candidacy. So he did seem to have that kind of momentum. And certainly here locally in the Bay Area, he had a lot of support. There was a survey released by the Public Policy Institute of California. 28% of likely voters in the Bay Area said that they were planning to vote. First of all, that was more than double the support of Steyer, of Porter, of Republican Steve Hilton, even more than doubled San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:34] \u003c/em>Anyone at this point risen to the top or does the race still feel super crowded at this point?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:43] \u003c/em>Well, it still feels very crowded, but the biggest change and dynamic that we’ve seen since Swalwell exited the race was this huge rise from former Attorney General Xavier Becerra. Really an incredible turnaround for someone whose campaign seemed kind of like on life support just a few weeks ago, like he wasn’t moving at all in the polls. He has suddenly risen up the ranks in a lot of recent polling since Swalwell dropped out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Xavier Becerra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:03:14] \u003c/em>I am not the shiny object. I am the flamethrower. You know, I go back to what I said about my parents. They just wanted me to get my work done.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:03:22] \u003c/em>The things that seem to be working against him are now suddenly working for him, right? He had the resume, attorney general, health and human services secretary, but he was never really seen as someone who was maybe that exciting or change agent given how long he’s been in government. Well now suddenly like after this Swalwell scandal, his argument is I’m the steady hand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Xavier Becerra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:03:43] \u003c/em>I am politically the son of those hardworking parents who recognizes that I have to open the same doors for that next generation of kids so that the next generation of construction workers and clerical workers who are married together will have the chance to do what my parents did.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:04:01] \u003c/em>Yeah. It’s so crazy to see how quickly things are changing in this race. And I guess at this point, you mentioned Katie Porter, Xavier Becerra, San Jose mayor, Matt Mahan, and Tom Steyer. How are they all at this point trying to distinguish themselves at this stage in the race?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:04:23] \u003c/em>Right. So I think starting with Steyer, who now appears, you know, about even with Becerra and a lot of polling, he’s been by far the most progressive candidate just in terms of the policy agenda that he’s putting forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tom Steyer: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:04:36] \u003c/em>Working people built this state. The idea that you can come here from all over the world, which we want people to do, to create the future, to build the businesses of the future. We want that. That’s great for California. But you don’t come here to rip us off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:04:48] \u003c/em>Steyer is a billionaire former hedge fund manager who has basically unlimited resources. Like he’s been on the airwaves with ads constantly. Bernie Sanders’ political group, Our Revolution is supporting him. So a fascinating paradox in Steyer’s candidacy. Porter probably operating somewhere between Becerra and Steyer. Yes, she has worked in government. She served in Congress representing Orange County. Um, but she’s also promised to bring in more independence and kind of more oversight, uh, shake up state government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Katie Porter: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:05:23] \u003c/em>I want Californians to understand that when I make a decision, it’s because it’s what I think is best for California. It is not about who my donors are. And there’s kind of an established path in California. You do the assembly, you do the Senate. And I was part of a group of people who had never been in office before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:05:41] \u003c/em>And then Mahan, I would describe as like, furthest to the center of all these Democrats. Like, he’s running, yes, on his record in San Jose, reducing unsheltered homelessness, but he’s also running a very like, centrist campaign. He opposes tax increases. He’s instead focusing on rooting out waste, making government more efficient.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Matt Mahan: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:03] \u003c/em>The best resistance is delivering results for people. And to do that, we have to be radically more focused. So I’m really focused on execution, implementation of policy. How do we make people’s lives better with the limited resources we have and grow trust in government?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:29] \u003c/em>Coming up, how Bay Area Democratic voters are feeling at this point in the governor’s race. We’ll be right back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:51] \u003c/em>So Guy, we’re heading, it feels really quickly towards the June primary at this point. And I know you checked in with some Bay Area voters about how they’re feeling at this in the race. What would you say is like the range of feelings that you heard from voters about the governor’s race as it stands now?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:07:12] \u003c/em>At KQED we had a town hall scheduled with Eric Swalwell where he was going to get to take questions from voters. Obviously that got scrapped after he dropped out of the race. So I called up some folks who would register to come to that town hall and hear from Swalwell to kind of get a sense of how they were feeling about the election for governor. And I heard a wide variety of opinions. But one thing that kind of… I felt like I heard from across the board was folks, even if they had decided which candidates they liked and which candidates they were leaning towards, an overall sense of like people have not really started paying attention yet really diving in on the candidates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Shekhar Sakhalkar: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:07:52] \u003c/em>Okay, so to be honest, I have not been paying that much of a close attention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:08:00] \u003c/em>Shekhar Sakhalkar, who’s a San Jose resident, he told me that he likes Tom Steyer because of Steyr’s early moves to try to push towards the impeachment of President Trump. But he also said, like, he wants to start seeing these candidates debate. He wants to see more contrast between them and maybe learn more about the candidates before making his choice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Shekhar Sakhalkar: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:08:20] \u003c/em>I mean, I have litany of complaints against Democratic Party, but, you know, the complaints that I have with Republican Party are much, much more grave.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:08:34] \u003c/em>Heard something similar from Cindy Robbins-Roth, a San Mateo resident. She likes a lot of the candidates based on their past experience and kind of has considered herself open to learning more. Ultimately with Swalwell out of the race, she says she’s with Katie Porter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Cindy Robbins-Roth: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:08:50] \u003c/em>I mean, I think she’s amazing. I followed her career in Congress, you know, was pretty familiar with what she’d been doing, many academic and otherwise with Elizabeth Warren, you know, I don’t want to hear a bunch of stuff about how she’s going to deal with Trump. I want to here what she’s gonna do for the state and how does she, how is she going to build the coalitions that must be built?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:09:14] \u003c/em>Susanna Porte, I talked to from Berkeley. She was supporting Betty Yee and Tom Steyer. Now Betty Ye recently dropped out of the election this week. Her issue was mainly around the management of utilities. She felt like those two candidates would bring the most reform to investor-owned utilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Susanna Porte: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:09:32] \u003c/em>I don’t want to support a billionaire, but my top two issues are the environment and economic justice, and I think Betty Yee, Tom Steyer, are the only ones who’ve decided to challenge PG&E.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:09:49] \u003c/em>The last voter I’ll mention is Dion Coakley in San Francisco, who initially supported Becerra and found himself kind of coming around to Swalwell because of fears that two Republicans could make the general election.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Dion Coakley: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:10:03] \u003c/em>You know, if there was a candidate, democratic candidate, that was sort of leading the field, then I might be supporting them, which is kind of how I was coming to Swalwell. I mean, thank God this didn’t come out six weeks from now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:10:19] \u003c/em>Now he says he’s giving Xavier Becerra a second chance and a second look, which I think seems to be what a lot of voters are doing in the wake of Swalwell leaving the race.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Dion Coakley: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:10:28] \u003c/em>I mean, I like Xavier Becerra’s experience. I’ve listened to him and I’ve listen to some of the other candidates on political breakdowns. So, you know, I feel like I’ve had to go to them to hear about what their position is, as opposed to them coming to me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:10:51] \u003c/em>It seems like folks are really still shopping around for their choice at this point. And I guess, like, do you feel like maybe people aren’t paying so much attention to this governor’s race still because there hasn’t really been a standout star among the Democrats?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:11:12] \u003c/em>Yeah, I mean, I think that has certainly contributed perhaps to voters not being super attuned. There’s also just a lot going on in the news and in the world that I think it makes sense that maybe people haven’t totally focused in on this election. I do think the Swalwell scandal and the allegations reported about the Chronicle and CNN that led to his leaving the race and led to him resigning, I think that caught a lot of folks’ attention and maybe as a byproduct. People will start focusing on the governor’s race, like, ‘Oh, Swalwell’s leaving the race. Okay, where does that leave me as a voter? Maybe let me start tuning in.’\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:11:52] \u003c/em>I know there’s actually a debate happening later today. What are you going to be watching for in that debate, Guy? And what are you gonna be watching for in this race moving forward?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:12:05] \u003c/em>I think in the debate, I would expect a lot of heat to come at Tom Steyer, given his position in the polls, given kind of his personal wealth. I would probably expect him to take a lot of incoming about being a progressive billionaire and former hedge fund manager. I’d be interested to see Becerra now that he’s kind of moved up in this race. What’s the vision that he puts for? What would he do as governor? What’s his kind of vision for leading the state? It’s a huge win for voters to have this wide open field and have these candidates actually try to win over voters because these are very different visions for democratic leadership from Steyer, Becerra, from Porter, from Mahan, like very different vision of what it means to be a democrat in a leadership position and it makes sense. Voters in the nation’s largest democratic state are going to get to make their pick.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:01] \u003c/em>Guy Marzorati, thanks so much, as always.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:04] \u003c/em>Yeah, thank you for having me.\u003c/p>\n\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s been one week since Rep. Eric Swalwell ended his run for governor after \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/chronicle-eric-swalwell-story-22208898.php\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">multiple allegations of sexual assault and misconduct\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Before that, he was starting to consolidate support from voters in the progressive, vote-rich Bay Area.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now that he’s out of the race, the remaining candidates – especially the leading Democrats – are trying to win over his supporters before the June 2 primary.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kron4.com/news/politics/inside-california-politics/how-to-watch-the-california-governors-debate-on-kron4-and-kron4/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">How to watch the California governor’s debate on KRON4 and KRON4+\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079911/the-rise-and-fall-of-eric-swalwell\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Rise and Fall of Eric Swalwell\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (The Bay)\u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12080603/betty-yee-becomes-latest-democrat-to-exit-california-governors-race\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Betty Yee Becomes Latest Democrat to Exit California Governor’s Race\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079947/with-swalwell-out-who-will-bay-area-voters-support-for-california-governor\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">With Swalwell Out, Who Will Bay Area Voters Support for California Governor?\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12080415/california-governor-candidates-compete-for-swalwells-endorsements-donors-and-voters\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">California Governor Candidates Compete for Swalwell’s Endorsements, Donors and Voters\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco-Northern California Local.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm?e=KQINC9756678676\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Episode transcript\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:00] \u003c/em>I’m Ericka Cruz Guevara and welcome to The Bay, local news to keep you rooted. Democratic voters in the Bay Area were starting to throw their support behind East Bay representative Eric Swalwell for governor. That was until last week, when he suddenly dropped out of the race and left Congress after reports of sexual assault allegations. Now, the remaining Democratic candidates are trying to catch those voters ahead of the June primary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:38] \u003c/em>And I actually think now we’re in a place where, yeah, it’s a huge win for voters to have this wide open field and have these candidates actually try to win over voters because these are very different visions for democratic leadership.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:53] \u003c/em>Today, a vibe check with Bay Area voters on California’s governor’s race.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:05] \u003c/em>It’s been a week now since East Bay congressman Eric Swalwell has dropped out and also resigned from Congress. We also had Betty Yee drop out of the race earlier this week. And Swalwall was a front-runner in this race before he dropped out, right? So I guess how much has him dropping out of this race really changed the shape of thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:27] \u003c/em>I would say the state of the governor’s race right now is completely wide open.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:34] \u003c/em>Guy Marzorati is a politics and government correspondent for KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:40] \u003c/em>Swalwell was one of the Democratic frontrunners. I think most of the public polling had him kind of bunched up with investor Tom Steyer and former Congress member Katie Porter, but he definitely had momentum in terms of consolidating a lot of establishment support. Big labor unions in California, big business groups in California kind of all coalescing around his candidacy. So he did seem to have that kind of momentum. And certainly here locally in the Bay Area, he had a lot of support. There was a survey released by the Public Policy Institute of California. 28% of likely voters in the Bay Area said that they were planning to vote. First of all, that was more than double the support of Steyer, of Porter, of Republican Steve Hilton, even more than doubled San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:34] \u003c/em>Anyone at this point risen to the top or does the race still feel super crowded at this point?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:43] \u003c/em>Well, it still feels very crowded, but the biggest change and dynamic that we’ve seen since Swalwell exited the race was this huge rise from former Attorney General Xavier Becerra. Really an incredible turnaround for someone whose campaign seemed kind of like on life support just a few weeks ago, like he wasn’t moving at all in the polls. He has suddenly risen up the ranks in a lot of recent polling since Swalwell dropped out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Xavier Becerra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:03:14] \u003c/em>I am not the shiny object. I am the flamethrower. You know, I go back to what I said about my parents. They just wanted me to get my work done.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:03:22] \u003c/em>The things that seem to be working against him are now suddenly working for him, right? He had the resume, attorney general, health and human services secretary, but he was never really seen as someone who was maybe that exciting or change agent given how long he’s been in government. Well now suddenly like after this Swalwell scandal, his argument is I’m the steady hand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Xavier Becerra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:03:43] \u003c/em>I am politically the son of those hardworking parents who recognizes that I have to open the same doors for that next generation of kids so that the next generation of construction workers and clerical workers who are married together will have the chance to do what my parents did.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:04:01] \u003c/em>Yeah. It’s so crazy to see how quickly things are changing in this race. And I guess at this point, you mentioned Katie Porter, Xavier Becerra, San Jose mayor, Matt Mahan, and Tom Steyer. How are they all at this point trying to distinguish themselves at this stage in the race?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:04:23] \u003c/em>Right. So I think starting with Steyer, who now appears, you know, about even with Becerra and a lot of polling, he’s been by far the most progressive candidate just in terms of the policy agenda that he’s putting forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tom Steyer: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:04:36] \u003c/em>Working people built this state. The idea that you can come here from all over the world, which we want people to do, to create the future, to build the businesses of the future. We want that. That’s great for California. But you don’t come here to rip us off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:04:48] \u003c/em>Steyer is a billionaire former hedge fund manager who has basically unlimited resources. Like he’s been on the airwaves with ads constantly. Bernie Sanders’ political group, Our Revolution is supporting him. So a fascinating paradox in Steyer’s candidacy. Porter probably operating somewhere between Becerra and Steyer. Yes, she has worked in government. She served in Congress representing Orange County. Um, but she’s also promised to bring in more independence and kind of more oversight, uh, shake up state government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Katie Porter: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:05:23] \u003c/em>I want Californians to understand that when I make a decision, it’s because it’s what I think is best for California. It is not about who my donors are. And there’s kind of an established path in California. You do the assembly, you do the Senate. And I was part of a group of people who had never been in office before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:05:41] \u003c/em>And then Mahan, I would describe as like, furthest to the center of all these Democrats. Like, he’s running, yes, on his record in San Jose, reducing unsheltered homelessness, but he’s also running a very like, centrist campaign. He opposes tax increases. He’s instead focusing on rooting out waste, making government more efficient.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Matt Mahan: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:03] \u003c/em>The best resistance is delivering results for people. And to do that, we have to be radically more focused. So I’m really focused on execution, implementation of policy. How do we make people’s lives better with the limited resources we have and grow trust in government?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:29] \u003c/em>Coming up, how Bay Area Democratic voters are feeling at this point in the governor’s race. We’ll be right back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:51] \u003c/em>So Guy, we’re heading, it feels really quickly towards the June primary at this point. And I know you checked in with some Bay Area voters about how they’re feeling at this in the race. What would you say is like the range of feelings that you heard from voters about the governor’s race as it stands now?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:07:12] \u003c/em>At KQED we had a town hall scheduled with Eric Swalwell where he was going to get to take questions from voters. Obviously that got scrapped after he dropped out of the race. So I called up some folks who would register to come to that town hall and hear from Swalwell to kind of get a sense of how they were feeling about the election for governor. And I heard a wide variety of opinions. But one thing that kind of… I felt like I heard from across the board was folks, even if they had decided which candidates they liked and which candidates they were leaning towards, an overall sense of like people have not really started paying attention yet really diving in on the candidates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Shekhar Sakhalkar: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:07:52] \u003c/em>Okay, so to be honest, I have not been paying that much of a close attention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:08:00] \u003c/em>Shekhar Sakhalkar, who’s a San Jose resident, he told me that he likes Tom Steyer because of Steyr’s early moves to try to push towards the impeachment of President Trump. But he also said, like, he wants to start seeing these candidates debate. He wants to see more contrast between them and maybe learn more about the candidates before making his choice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Shekhar Sakhalkar: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:08:20] \u003c/em>I mean, I have litany of complaints against Democratic Party, but, you know, the complaints that I have with Republican Party are much, much more grave.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:08:34] \u003c/em>Heard something similar from Cindy Robbins-Roth, a San Mateo resident. She likes a lot of the candidates based on their past experience and kind of has considered herself open to learning more. Ultimately with Swalwell out of the race, she says she’s with Katie Porter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Cindy Robbins-Roth: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:08:50] \u003c/em>I mean, I think she’s amazing. I followed her career in Congress, you know, was pretty familiar with what she’d been doing, many academic and otherwise with Elizabeth Warren, you know, I don’t want to hear a bunch of stuff about how she’s going to deal with Trump. I want to here what she’s gonna do for the state and how does she, how is she going to build the coalitions that must be built?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:09:14] \u003c/em>Susanna Porte, I talked to from Berkeley. She was supporting Betty Yee and Tom Steyer. Now Betty Ye recently dropped out of the election this week. Her issue was mainly around the management of utilities. She felt like those two candidates would bring the most reform to investor-owned utilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Susanna Porte: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:09:32] \u003c/em>I don’t want to support a billionaire, but my top two issues are the environment and economic justice, and I think Betty Yee, Tom Steyer, are the only ones who’ve decided to challenge PG&E.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:09:49] \u003c/em>The last voter I’ll mention is Dion Coakley in San Francisco, who initially supported Becerra and found himself kind of coming around to Swalwell because of fears that two Republicans could make the general election.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Dion Coakley: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:10:03] \u003c/em>You know, if there was a candidate, democratic candidate, that was sort of leading the field, then I might be supporting them, which is kind of how I was coming to Swalwell. I mean, thank God this didn’t come out six weeks from now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:10:19] \u003c/em>Now he says he’s giving Xavier Becerra a second chance and a second look, which I think seems to be what a lot of voters are doing in the wake of Swalwell leaving the race.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Dion Coakley: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:10:28] \u003c/em>I mean, I like Xavier Becerra’s experience. I’ve listened to him and I’ve listen to some of the other candidates on political breakdowns. So, you know, I feel like I’ve had to go to them to hear about what their position is, as opposed to them coming to me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:10:51] \u003c/em>It seems like folks are really still shopping around for their choice at this point. And I guess, like, do you feel like maybe people aren’t paying so much attention to this governor’s race still because there hasn’t really been a standout star among the Democrats?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:11:12] \u003c/em>Yeah, I mean, I think that has certainly contributed perhaps to voters not being super attuned. There’s also just a lot going on in the news and in the world that I think it makes sense that maybe people haven’t totally focused in on this election. I do think the Swalwell scandal and the allegations reported about the Chronicle and CNN that led to his leaving the race and led to him resigning, I think that caught a lot of folks’ attention and maybe as a byproduct. People will start focusing on the governor’s race, like, ‘Oh, Swalwell’s leaving the race. Okay, where does that leave me as a voter? Maybe let me start tuning in.’\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:11:52] \u003c/em>I know there’s actually a debate happening later today. What are you going to be watching for in that debate, Guy? And what are you gonna be watching for in this race moving forward?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:12:05] \u003c/em>I think in the debate, I would expect a lot of heat to come at Tom Steyer, given his position in the polls, given kind of his personal wealth. I would probably expect him to take a lot of incoming about being a progressive billionaire and former hedge fund manager. I’d be interested to see Becerra now that he’s kind of moved up in this race. What’s the vision that he puts for? What would he do as governor? What’s his kind of vision for leading the state? It’s a huge win for voters to have this wide open field and have these candidates actually try to win over voters because these are very different visions for democratic leadership from Steyer, Becerra, from Porter, from Mahan, like very different vision of what it means to be a democrat in a leadership position and it makes sense. Voters in the nation’s largest democratic state are going to get to make their pick.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:01] \u003c/em>Guy Marzorati, thanks so much, as always.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:04] \u003c/em>Yeah, thank you for having me.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "internal-emails-show-how-fringe-groups-fueled-sheriff-chad-biancos-ballot-seizure",
"title": "Internal Emails Show How Fringe Groups Fueled Sheriff Chad Bianco’s Ballot Seizure",
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"headTitle": "Internal Emails Show How Fringe Groups Fueled Sheriff Chad Bianco’s Ballot Seizure | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the spring of 2022, a woman named Shelby Bunch began appearing at government hearings in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/riverside-county\">Riverside County\u003c/a>, demanding that officials there address what she believed was an epidemic of fraud in local elections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bunch often introduced herself as a representative of New California, a secessionist movement that seeks to break away from what it describes as the tyranny of a Democratic-controlled state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She accused Riverside officials of colluding in criminal activity and warned that they would soon “be answering to law enforcement.” She once closed her comments by telling the Riverside County Board of Supervisors to “have a crappy day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The supervisors didn’t seem to take Bunch seriously, but she found a powerful ally in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/chad-bianco\">Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Based on her various claims, including that the county’s electronic voting machines had been remotely manipulated, the sheriff put one of his senior investigators in charge of a criminal probe into the registrar of voters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12080718\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1536px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/032026-Chad-Bianco-GETTY-CM.jpeg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12080718\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/032026-Chad-Bianco-GETTY-CM.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1536\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/032026-Chad-Bianco-GETTY-CM.jpeg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/032026-Chad-Bianco-GETTY-CM-160x107.jpeg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco speaks during a news conference about his department’s investigation into alleged election fraud in the county on March 20, 2026. \u003ccite>(Anjali Sharif-Paul/The Sun via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The investigator, Christopher Poznanski, quickly came to the conclusion that there was no evidence of a crime. On July 20, 2022, he sent Bunch an email letting her know he was closing the case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I understand this may not be the desired outcome,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28059055-email-poznanski-on-closing-investigation/#document/p1\">he wrote\u003c/a>. “But know that I did not take this case lightly and considered all of the information.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bunch was furious. She demanded that Poznanski investigate the “corrupt machines.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Poznanski was unmoved. “I respect your passion for this cause, but I will conduct no further investigation into the matter,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28059059-emails-bunchpoznanski/#document/p1/a2812000\">he wrote\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bunch continued to write Bianco directly, urging him to reopen the case. Then, in early September, she got some help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A figure in the “constitutional sheriff” movement, which asserts that elected sheriffs are more powerful than anyone — including the president and the courts — sent Bianco an email. [aside postID=news_12079441 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260226-GovRaceForum-49-BL_qed.jpg'] “I just heard this past week that a group of your constituents requested that you investigate election fraud in Riverside County and that your investigator was unable to find anything and you closed your investigation,” Steve Tuminello \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28059057-email-from-cspoa-to-bianco/#document/p1/a2811996\">wrote to Bianco\u003c/a>. “I know that as a Constitutional Sheriff you realize how extremely important Election Integrity is, and that you would welcome any assistance in these investigations.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bianco, whose career has been guided by the movement, wrote back to say he had launched another, more ambitious investigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Emails obtained by CalMatters trace the development of a years-long case that ultimately led to Bianco’s unprecedented seizure of 650,000 ballots in March. They reveal that his sprawling investigation was based on the thinnest of evidence and raise alarms over how the November elections could be disrupted by the unproven claims of fringe groups and ideologically aligned officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That scenario is particularly troubling in Riverside County, which is home to one of a few dozen congressional districts in the country that could determine control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the midterm elections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bianco’s emails with Bunch also show that he doubted some of her group’s allegations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In one exchange in 2023, Bunch suggested the county supervisors were complicit in election fraud and might have ties to drug cartels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is absolutely ridiculous,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28059058-email-from-bianco-to-bunch-good-grief/?mode=document#document/p1/a2811992\">Bianco responded\u003c/a>. “Just because ‘someone’ convinced themselves of something doesn’t mean its reality.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bianco told Bunch her group was “acting stupid.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I actually cant believe I took the time to respond,” he wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, he pushed the investigation forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a 2024 podcast interview, Bunch said the sheriff had been hamstrung by the courts. She told her host that Bianco had “tried to get a search warrant on the machines … but the judge, he just laughed. He said, ‘I’m not giving you anything.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her coalition, she said, needed a judge who was ideologically aligned with Bianco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we can get just one judge,” she said, “the whole dam will break.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Who’s gonna be the one judge that steps up?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2026, she would get her answer.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Don’t have to ask permission from anybody’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The “constitutional sheriff” movement is rooted in the beliefs of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/17/books/chapters/the-terrorist-next-door.html\">Southern California-based white supremacist\u003c/a> who was active in the 1970s and 1980s and argued that sheriffs were the country’s only legitimate law enforcement officials. Its members cite the 10th Amendment, which says that powers not specifically delegated to the federal government fall to the states. The amendment, however, makes no mention of sheriffs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The main organization behind the movement, the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, is led by a former sheriff named Richard Mack. [aside postID=news_12080603 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260226-GOVRACEFORUM-67-BL-KQED.jpg'] Since 2020, Mack has held a series of events alongside prominent election conspiracy theorists, encouraging sheriffs to investigate voter fraud in their own counties. Sheriffs, \u003ca href=\"https://www.reuters.com/world/us/right-wing-us-sheriffs-vow-probe-2020-voter-fraud-claims-2022-07-20/\">he said\u003c/a>, “don’t have to ask permission from anybody.” As a result, many conspiracy-minded local groups have flocked to their county sheriffs for support when other officials have rejected their theories of election fraud.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even though claims of widespread voter fraud have been \u003ca href=\"https://www.brennancenter.org/topics/voting-elections/vote-suppression/myth-voter-fraud\">debunked\u003c/a>, these sheriffs have used their discretionary power to open investigations, many of them based on allegations that echo President Donald Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bianco, who could not be reached for comment for this story, describes himself as a constitutional sheriff and agrees with the movement’s core tenets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He has maintained power in Riverside even as the county’s shifting demographics have altered its historically conservative political landscape. Today there are more registered Democrats in Riverside than there are Republicans. But that shift to the left has coincided with a religiously fueled radicalization on the right.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the key figures of that movement is Tim Thompson, the pastor of a powerful Riverside church and Bianco’s political ally. Thompson has led an effort to stack local school boards with members who have rolled back transgender student rights and rejected textbooks that mention Harvey Milk, one of the nation’s first openly gay elected officials. He recently \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvcrnews.org/local-news/2025-01-27/temecula-church-celebrates-man-pardoned-for-jan-6-crimes\">celebrated a parishioner\u003c/a> who was pardoned by Trump after being convicted for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thompson has also taken an interest in the local judiciary. In 2022, he supported a former prosecutor named Jay Kiel, who was running to fill a seat on Riverside’s Superior Court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Kiel joined Thompson on his popular podcast, he promised to “bring a little balance back to the bench” to counteract the state’s liberal Legislature. Kiel also praised Bianco and said Riverside needed “judges that are willing to stand up and say, this is the law, and I’m going to follow it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He won the election.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A new group emerges\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>By late 2024, a new group had taken control of the effort to prove voter fraud in Riverside County. The Riverside Election Integrity Team included many of the same people who had been working closely with Bunch, but they had very different tactics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group’s leader, Greg Langworthy, had testified alongside Bunch for years. While he was part of the same Christian conservative circles, he rejected her antagonistic approach. Langworthy is soft-spoken and polite. [aside postID=news_12080415 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CAGovDebateAP1.jpg'] At board hearings, he wears button-down shirts and the occasional pocket protector. If Bunch was the movement’s firebrand, Langworthy is its genial middle school math teacher. He focused his group’s efforts on ballot counting, conducting audits of past elections to prove to local officials that the county’s voting system is rife with error.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Langworthy’s group asked the county registrar for records from the November 2025 election for California’s redistricting measure, Proposition 50, which passed with overwhelming support across the state and by a wide margin in Riverside. The measure redrew California’s congressional maps and gave Democrats a chance to pick up several House seats in the midterms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Langworthy said he reviewed the data and found that the registrar’s office had counted 45,896 more ballots than it had received. His group demanded meetings with individual supervisors and asked the district attorney and the sheriff to look into the matter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The alleged discrepancy wasn’t enough to change the election results in Riverside, and Langworthy said he was not interested in overturning the measure. “Prop. 50 just happened to be the next election,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Feb. 10, the Riverside supervisors held a special hearing on the issue. Langworthy’s group had met with several officials but wanted to present its findings to the full board.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hoping to lay the matter to rest, the board asked the Riverside registrar, Art Tinoco, to show the group that it had misread the data his office had provided. Tinoco said Langworthy and others had relied on raw data that did not include provisional and other ballots. The actual discrepancy between ballots cast and ballots counted, he said, was 103 — a figure independently \u003ca href=\"https://riversiderecord.org/riverside-county-sheriffs-office-investigating-alleged-election-irregularities/\">confirmed by the Riverside Record\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tinoco spoke for more than an hour, but members of the Riverside Election Integrity Team were not convinced. One by one they approached the podium with prepared statements, laying out their audit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The supervisors struggled to hide their frustration. But Langworthy didn’t need the board; he had Bianco. Just one day before that hearing, an investigator from the sheriff’s office had appeared in court asking for a warrant to take hundreds of thousands of ballots from Tinoco’s office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The judge handling the matter was Jay Kiel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The investigator’s sworn statement, intended to justify the warrant, focused almost entirely on Langworthy’s audit and Bunch’s claims. In three years of investigating the matter, the sheriff’s office had failed to produce any of its own evidence to support a case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kiel signed off on the warrant and sealed it, preventing the public from seeing the justification for Bianco’s seizure of the ballots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the next few weeks, Bianco’s office removed 1,500 boxes of election materials from the registrar’s office. If stacked, they would rise as high as the Empire State Building.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was the first time in the nation’s history that a sheriff took possession of previously cast ballots.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘You intend to ignore my directives’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The California attorney general, Rob Bonta, appears to have been caught off guard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A day after Bianco seized the first batch of ballots, Bonta sent him a letter asking him to “pause” his investigation. Bonta wrote that he was “concerned” that Bianco had taken the boxes without probable cause that a crime had occurred.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bianco ignored him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12032361\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/020425-Rob-Bonta-Presser-FG-CM-04-copy.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12032361\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/020425-Rob-Bonta-Presser-FG-CM-04-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/020425-Rob-Bonta-Presser-FG-CM-04-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/020425-Rob-Bonta-Presser-FG-CM-04-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/020425-Rob-Bonta-Presser-FG-CM-04-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/020425-Rob-Bonta-Presser-FG-CM-04-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/020425-Rob-Bonta-Presser-FG-CM-04-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">California Attorney General Rob Bonta addresses the media during a press conference at the California Department of Justice in Sacramento on Feb. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Fred Greaves/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A few days later Bonta sent another letter. “I learned that you intend to ignore my directives and plan to start counting the seized ballots tomorrow,” Bonta wrote. “Let me be clear: this is unacceptable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bianco called a press conference to tell reporters he would continue counting ballots and that the attorney general did not have the authority to stop him. What had been a behind-the-scenes battle immediately became national news.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I will carry out my constitutional duty to pursue justice,” Bianco said. He called the attorney general “an embarrassment to law enforcement.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the \u003ca href=\"https://law.justia.com/constitution/california/article-v/section-13/\">California Constitution\u003c/a>, the attorney general has “direct supervision over every district attorney and sheriff … in all matters pertaining to the duties of their respective offices.” There is no California case law directly addressing this provision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bianco believes he is the final authority on everything that happens in his county. In flouting Bonta’s orders, he has sparked a high-stakes legal showdown testing the constitutional separation of powers. The case is currently in front of the state Supreme Court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bonta didn’t file a lawsuit to try to stop Bianco until almost a month after he first learned about the ballot seizure, and only after the story exploded in the national press. At that point, according to sworn statements by investigators, Bianco’s office had already begun counting the ballots, opening about 22 boxes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During that same period, Bonta filed at least a dozen lawsuits on other issues, many of them against the Trump administration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for Bonta said the attorney general was trying to “work cooperatively with the sheriff’s office in order to better understand the basis for its investigation,” and that Bonta believed Bianco was complying with his directives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state’s initially tepid response, and its inability, thus far, to get Bianco to return the ballots raise concerns about how officials here will be able to protect future elections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bianco has already said he wouldn’t hesitate to \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/04/07/chad-bianco-riverside-ballot-seizure/\">seize ballots again\u003c/a>, even in the June primary for California governor, when his own name will be on the ballot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And there’s another critical election that Bianco could throw into flux: In the November midterms, the Riverside registrar will be responsible for counting a significant percentage of the ballots in California’s 48th Congressional District. Last year’s redistricting effort made the district competitive for Democrats. Of the 435 House seats nationwide, it’s one of fewer than three dozen that analysts consider too close to call. These races will ultimately determine which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If Bianco takes ballots cast in the race for the California 48th, the ensuing chaos could transcend Riverside County.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A broader network\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In the months before Bianco’s ballot seizure, the FBI seized reams of paper ballots cast in Fulton County, Georgia, based on debunked claims from citizen election-deniers, and sought electronic voter data from Maricopa County, Arizona, \u003ca href=\"https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2021/02/23/maricopa-countys-election-audits-show-2020-votes-counted-correctly/4550644001/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=false&gca-epti=z1177xxe1177xxv000096&gca-ft=209&gca-ds=sophi\">despite multiple investigations\u003c/a> that have turned up no evidence of fraud.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Justice Department has demanded voter information in dozens of states, leaving many attorneys general to fight those demands in court. In speeches and on social media, Trump has escalated his voter fraud claims. He has said Republicans should “nationalize the voting.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the administration officials pushing these efforts are associated with the Claremont Institute, a conservative think tank that has consistently supported unverified election conspiracy theories. The founding director of the institute’s Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, John Eastman, was \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/john-eastman-trump-2020-election-loss-disbarred-abf3b3ab8f83a692992615c59db73c92\">disbarred in California\u003c/a> last week for being one of the legal masterminds behind the attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 presidential election.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several years ago, the Claremont Institute set its sights on sheriffs and began hosting week-long education sessions to provide them with a roadmap for promoting Trump’s brand of conservatism in their counties. Bianco attended the training, and the institute later gave him its “Sheriff of the Year” award — a bust of John Wayne — at a fundraiser in Huntington Beach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other sheriffs who were trained at the institute have since dedicated the resources of their offices to investigate baseless allegations of election fraud, but all of those efforts have failed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2022, when it seemed as though Bianco’s investigation into Bunch’s claims had also reached a dead end, Mack’s constitutional sheriff’s organization offered the services of “an expert in cyber crimes” who could “provide Sheriffs with immutable evidence of election fraud” to help them push their investigations forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That expert was Gregg Phillips. Before Trump tapped him to lead emergency services at FEMA, he had \u003ca href=\"https://revealnews.org/article/true-the-vote-big-lie-election-fraud/\">a history\u003c/a> of profiting from unfounded allegations of voter fraud, asking donors to fund his pursuit of concrete evidence and pocketing much of the money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recently, Phillips was back in the news with \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/03/us/fema-gregg-phillips-waffle-house-teleportation.html\">a different claim\u003c/a>: He said he had been “teleported” against his will to a Waffle House in Rome, Georgia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Jeanne Kuang contributed reporting for this story.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/investigation/2026/04/chad-bianco-emails/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Records reveal that the unprecedented taking of 650,000 ballots was based on the thinnest of evidence, raising alarms over how the November election could be disrupted.\r\n\r\n",
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"title": "Internal Emails Show How Fringe Groups Fueled Sheriff Chad Bianco’s Ballot Seizure | KQED",
"description": "Records reveal that the unprecedented taking of 650,000 ballots was based on the thinnest of evidence, raising alarms over how the November election could be disrupted.\r\n\r\n",
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"nprByline": "\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/author/anat-rubin/\">Anat Rubin\u003c/a> , \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/author/jessica-pishko/\">Jessica Pishko\u003c/a>, CalMatters",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the spring of 2022, a woman named Shelby Bunch began appearing at government hearings in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/riverside-county\">Riverside County\u003c/a>, demanding that officials there address what she believed was an epidemic of fraud in local elections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bunch often introduced herself as a representative of New California, a secessionist movement that seeks to break away from what it describes as the tyranny of a Democratic-controlled state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She accused Riverside officials of colluding in criminal activity and warned that they would soon “be answering to law enforcement.” She once closed her comments by telling the Riverside County Board of Supervisors to “have a crappy day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The supervisors didn’t seem to take Bunch seriously, but she found a powerful ally in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/chad-bianco\">Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Based on her various claims, including that the county’s electronic voting machines had been remotely manipulated, the sheriff put one of his senior investigators in charge of a criminal probe into the registrar of voters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12080718\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1536px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/032026-Chad-Bianco-GETTY-CM.jpeg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12080718\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/032026-Chad-Bianco-GETTY-CM.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1536\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/032026-Chad-Bianco-GETTY-CM.jpeg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/032026-Chad-Bianco-GETTY-CM-160x107.jpeg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco speaks during a news conference about his department’s investigation into alleged election fraud in the county on March 20, 2026. \u003ccite>(Anjali Sharif-Paul/The Sun via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The investigator, Christopher Poznanski, quickly came to the conclusion that there was no evidence of a crime. On July 20, 2022, he sent Bunch an email letting her know he was closing the case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I understand this may not be the desired outcome,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28059055-email-poznanski-on-closing-investigation/#document/p1\">he wrote\u003c/a>. “But know that I did not take this case lightly and considered all of the information.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bunch was furious. She demanded that Poznanski investigate the “corrupt machines.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Poznanski was unmoved. “I respect your passion for this cause, but I will conduct no further investigation into the matter,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28059059-emails-bunchpoznanski/#document/p1/a2812000\">he wrote\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bunch continued to write Bianco directly, urging him to reopen the case. Then, in early September, she got some help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A figure in the “constitutional sheriff” movement, which asserts that elected sheriffs are more powerful than anyone — including the president and the courts — sent Bianco an email. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp> “I just heard this past week that a group of your constituents requested that you investigate election fraud in Riverside County and that your investigator was unable to find anything and you closed your investigation,” Steve Tuminello \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28059057-email-from-cspoa-to-bianco/#document/p1/a2811996\">wrote to Bianco\u003c/a>. “I know that as a Constitutional Sheriff you realize how extremely important Election Integrity is, and that you would welcome any assistance in these investigations.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bianco, whose career has been guided by the movement, wrote back to say he had launched another, more ambitious investigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Emails obtained by CalMatters trace the development of a years-long case that ultimately led to Bianco’s unprecedented seizure of 650,000 ballots in March. They reveal that his sprawling investigation was based on the thinnest of evidence and raise alarms over how the November elections could be disrupted by the unproven claims of fringe groups and ideologically aligned officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That scenario is particularly troubling in Riverside County, which is home to one of a few dozen congressional districts in the country that could determine control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the midterm elections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bianco’s emails with Bunch also show that he doubted some of her group’s allegations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In one exchange in 2023, Bunch suggested the county supervisors were complicit in election fraud and might have ties to drug cartels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is absolutely ridiculous,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28059058-email-from-bianco-to-bunch-good-grief/?mode=document#document/p1/a2811992\">Bianco responded\u003c/a>. “Just because ‘someone’ convinced themselves of something doesn’t mean its reality.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bianco told Bunch her group was “acting stupid.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I actually cant believe I took the time to respond,” he wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, he pushed the investigation forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a 2024 podcast interview, Bunch said the sheriff had been hamstrung by the courts. She told her host that Bianco had “tried to get a search warrant on the machines … but the judge, he just laughed. He said, ‘I’m not giving you anything.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her coalition, she said, needed a judge who was ideologically aligned with Bianco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we can get just one judge,” she said, “the whole dam will break.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Who’s gonna be the one judge that steps up?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2026, she would get her answer.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Don’t have to ask permission from anybody’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The “constitutional sheriff” movement is rooted in the beliefs of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/17/books/chapters/the-terrorist-next-door.html\">Southern California-based white supremacist\u003c/a> who was active in the 1970s and 1980s and argued that sheriffs were the country’s only legitimate law enforcement officials. Its members cite the 10th Amendment, which says that powers not specifically delegated to the federal government fall to the states. The amendment, however, makes no mention of sheriffs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The main organization behind the movement, the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, is led by a former sheriff named Richard Mack. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp> Since 2020, Mack has held a series of events alongside prominent election conspiracy theorists, encouraging sheriffs to investigate voter fraud in their own counties. Sheriffs, \u003ca href=\"https://www.reuters.com/world/us/right-wing-us-sheriffs-vow-probe-2020-voter-fraud-claims-2022-07-20/\">he said\u003c/a>, “don’t have to ask permission from anybody.” As a result, many conspiracy-minded local groups have flocked to their county sheriffs for support when other officials have rejected their theories of election fraud.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even though claims of widespread voter fraud have been \u003ca href=\"https://www.brennancenter.org/topics/voting-elections/vote-suppression/myth-voter-fraud\">debunked\u003c/a>, these sheriffs have used their discretionary power to open investigations, many of them based on allegations that echo President Donald Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bianco, who could not be reached for comment for this story, describes himself as a constitutional sheriff and agrees with the movement’s core tenets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He has maintained power in Riverside even as the county’s shifting demographics have altered its historically conservative political landscape. Today there are more registered Democrats in Riverside than there are Republicans. But that shift to the left has coincided with a religiously fueled radicalization on the right.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the key figures of that movement is Tim Thompson, the pastor of a powerful Riverside church and Bianco’s political ally. Thompson has led an effort to stack local school boards with members who have rolled back transgender student rights and rejected textbooks that mention Harvey Milk, one of the nation’s first openly gay elected officials. He recently \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvcrnews.org/local-news/2025-01-27/temecula-church-celebrates-man-pardoned-for-jan-6-crimes\">celebrated a parishioner\u003c/a> who was pardoned by Trump after being convicted for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thompson has also taken an interest in the local judiciary. In 2022, he supported a former prosecutor named Jay Kiel, who was running to fill a seat on Riverside’s Superior Court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Kiel joined Thompson on his popular podcast, he promised to “bring a little balance back to the bench” to counteract the state’s liberal Legislature. Kiel also praised Bianco and said Riverside needed “judges that are willing to stand up and say, this is the law, and I’m going to follow it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He won the election.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A new group emerges\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>By late 2024, a new group had taken control of the effort to prove voter fraud in Riverside County. The Riverside Election Integrity Team included many of the same people who had been working closely with Bunch, but they had very different tactics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group’s leader, Greg Langworthy, had testified alongside Bunch for years. While he was part of the same Christian conservative circles, he rejected her antagonistic approach. Langworthy is soft-spoken and polite. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp> At board hearings, he wears button-down shirts and the occasional pocket protector. If Bunch was the movement’s firebrand, Langworthy is its genial middle school math teacher. He focused his group’s efforts on ballot counting, conducting audits of past elections to prove to local officials that the county’s voting system is rife with error.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Langworthy’s group asked the county registrar for records from the November 2025 election for California’s redistricting measure, Proposition 50, which passed with overwhelming support across the state and by a wide margin in Riverside. The measure redrew California’s congressional maps and gave Democrats a chance to pick up several House seats in the midterms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Langworthy said he reviewed the data and found that the registrar’s office had counted 45,896 more ballots than it had received. His group demanded meetings with individual supervisors and asked the district attorney and the sheriff to look into the matter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The alleged discrepancy wasn’t enough to change the election results in Riverside, and Langworthy said he was not interested in overturning the measure. “Prop. 50 just happened to be the next election,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Feb. 10, the Riverside supervisors held a special hearing on the issue. Langworthy’s group had met with several officials but wanted to present its findings to the full board.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hoping to lay the matter to rest, the board asked the Riverside registrar, Art Tinoco, to show the group that it had misread the data his office had provided. Tinoco said Langworthy and others had relied on raw data that did not include provisional and other ballots. The actual discrepancy between ballots cast and ballots counted, he said, was 103 — a figure independently \u003ca href=\"https://riversiderecord.org/riverside-county-sheriffs-office-investigating-alleged-election-irregularities/\">confirmed by the Riverside Record\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tinoco spoke for more than an hour, but members of the Riverside Election Integrity Team were not convinced. One by one they approached the podium with prepared statements, laying out their audit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The supervisors struggled to hide their frustration. But Langworthy didn’t need the board; he had Bianco. Just one day before that hearing, an investigator from the sheriff’s office had appeared in court asking for a warrant to take hundreds of thousands of ballots from Tinoco’s office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The judge handling the matter was Jay Kiel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The investigator’s sworn statement, intended to justify the warrant, focused almost entirely on Langworthy’s audit and Bunch’s claims. In three years of investigating the matter, the sheriff’s office had failed to produce any of its own evidence to support a case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kiel signed off on the warrant and sealed it, preventing the public from seeing the justification for Bianco’s seizure of the ballots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the next few weeks, Bianco’s office removed 1,500 boxes of election materials from the registrar’s office. If stacked, they would rise as high as the Empire State Building.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was the first time in the nation’s history that a sheriff took possession of previously cast ballots.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘You intend to ignore my directives’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The California attorney general, Rob Bonta, appears to have been caught off guard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A day after Bianco seized the first batch of ballots, Bonta sent him a letter asking him to “pause” his investigation. Bonta wrote that he was “concerned” that Bianco had taken the boxes without probable cause that a crime had occurred.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bianco ignored him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12032361\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/020425-Rob-Bonta-Presser-FG-CM-04-copy.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12032361\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/020425-Rob-Bonta-Presser-FG-CM-04-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/020425-Rob-Bonta-Presser-FG-CM-04-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/020425-Rob-Bonta-Presser-FG-CM-04-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/020425-Rob-Bonta-Presser-FG-CM-04-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/020425-Rob-Bonta-Presser-FG-CM-04-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/020425-Rob-Bonta-Presser-FG-CM-04-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">California Attorney General Rob Bonta addresses the media during a press conference at the California Department of Justice in Sacramento on Feb. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Fred Greaves/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A few days later Bonta sent another letter. “I learned that you intend to ignore my directives and plan to start counting the seized ballots tomorrow,” Bonta wrote. “Let me be clear: this is unacceptable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bianco called a press conference to tell reporters he would continue counting ballots and that the attorney general did not have the authority to stop him. What had been a behind-the-scenes battle immediately became national news.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I will carry out my constitutional duty to pursue justice,” Bianco said. He called the attorney general “an embarrassment to law enforcement.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the \u003ca href=\"https://law.justia.com/constitution/california/article-v/section-13/\">California Constitution\u003c/a>, the attorney general has “direct supervision over every district attorney and sheriff … in all matters pertaining to the duties of their respective offices.” There is no California case law directly addressing this provision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bianco believes he is the final authority on everything that happens in his county. In flouting Bonta’s orders, he has sparked a high-stakes legal showdown testing the constitutional separation of powers. The case is currently in front of the state Supreme Court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bonta didn’t file a lawsuit to try to stop Bianco until almost a month after he first learned about the ballot seizure, and only after the story exploded in the national press. At that point, according to sworn statements by investigators, Bianco’s office had already begun counting the ballots, opening about 22 boxes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During that same period, Bonta filed at least a dozen lawsuits on other issues, many of them against the Trump administration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for Bonta said the attorney general was trying to “work cooperatively with the sheriff’s office in order to better understand the basis for its investigation,” and that Bonta believed Bianco was complying with his directives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state’s initially tepid response, and its inability, thus far, to get Bianco to return the ballots raise concerns about how officials here will be able to protect future elections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bianco has already said he wouldn’t hesitate to \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/04/07/chad-bianco-riverside-ballot-seizure/\">seize ballots again\u003c/a>, even in the June primary for California governor, when his own name will be on the ballot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And there’s another critical election that Bianco could throw into flux: In the November midterms, the Riverside registrar will be responsible for counting a significant percentage of the ballots in California’s 48th Congressional District. Last year’s redistricting effort made the district competitive for Democrats. Of the 435 House seats nationwide, it’s one of fewer than three dozen that analysts consider too close to call. These races will ultimately determine which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If Bianco takes ballots cast in the race for the California 48th, the ensuing chaos could transcend Riverside County.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A broader network\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In the months before Bianco’s ballot seizure, the FBI seized reams of paper ballots cast in Fulton County, Georgia, based on debunked claims from citizen election-deniers, and sought electronic voter data from Maricopa County, Arizona, \u003ca href=\"https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2021/02/23/maricopa-countys-election-audits-show-2020-votes-counted-correctly/4550644001/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=false&gca-epti=z1177xxe1177xxv000096&gca-ft=209&gca-ds=sophi\">despite multiple investigations\u003c/a> that have turned up no evidence of fraud.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Justice Department has demanded voter information in dozens of states, leaving many attorneys general to fight those demands in court. In speeches and on social media, Trump has escalated his voter fraud claims. He has said Republicans should “nationalize the voting.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the administration officials pushing these efforts are associated with the Claremont Institute, a conservative think tank that has consistently supported unverified election conspiracy theories. The founding director of the institute’s Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, John Eastman, was \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/john-eastman-trump-2020-election-loss-disbarred-abf3b3ab8f83a692992615c59db73c92\">disbarred in California\u003c/a> last week for being one of the legal masterminds behind the attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 presidential election.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several years ago, the Claremont Institute set its sights on sheriffs and began hosting week-long education sessions to provide them with a roadmap for promoting Trump’s brand of conservatism in their counties. Bianco attended the training, and the institute later gave him its “Sheriff of the Year” award — a bust of John Wayne — at a fundraiser in Huntington Beach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other sheriffs who were trained at the institute have since dedicated the resources of their offices to investigate baseless allegations of election fraud, but all of those efforts have failed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2022, when it seemed as though Bianco’s investigation into Bunch’s claims had also reached a dead end, Mack’s constitutional sheriff’s organization offered the services of “an expert in cyber crimes” who could “provide Sheriffs with immutable evidence of election fraud” to help them push their investigations forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That expert was Gregg Phillips. Before Trump tapped him to lead emergency services at FEMA, he had \u003ca href=\"https://revealnews.org/article/true-the-vote-big-lie-election-fraud/\">a history\u003c/a> of profiting from unfounded allegations of voter fraud, asking donors to fund his pursuit of concrete evidence and pocketing much of the money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recently, Phillips was back in the news with \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/03/us/fema-gregg-phillips-waffle-house-teleportation.html\">a different claim\u003c/a>: He said he had been “teleported” against his will to a Waffle House in Rome, Georgia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Jeanne Kuang contributed reporting for this story.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/investigation/2026/04/chad-bianco-emails/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Former state Controller Betty Yee said Monday that she is ending her campaign \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california-governors-race\">for California governor\u003c/a>, bowing to pressure from party leaders urging nonviable candidates to drop out of a fractured Democratic field.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yee ran \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073301/former-state-controller-betty-yee-says-shes-the-best-gubernatorial-candidate-to-fix-californias-budget-deficit\">on a platform of fiscal accountability\u003c/a>, drawing on her experience managing the state’s finances and tax system as controller and a member of the Board of Equalization. She spent months polling in the single digits, never managing to break through the crowded race, despite \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12074494/california-democrats-leave-governors-race-unsettled-as-gaza-fight-looms\">finishing second\u003c/a> in the state party’s endorsement vote in February.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In her announcement on Monday morning, Yee said her decision to drop out of the race was influenced by flagging poll numbers and the loss of donors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What has changed is the whole notion that voters are looking for experience and competence is not a top priority — and that’s been really my wheelhouse,” Yee said. “It really just came down to where I’m not going to have sufficient resources to get us to the finish line.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her exit comes roughly a week after the leading Democratic candidate, East Bay Rep. Eric Swalwell, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079583/eric-swalwell-ends-california-governor-campaign-after-sexual-assault-allegations\">dropped out\u003c/a> of the race and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079800/eric-swalwell-allegations-resign-congress-california-governor-race-who-is-running-primary\">resigned\u003c/a> his House seat following\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079502/rep-eric-swalwell-candidate-for-california-governor-is-accused-of-sexual-assault\"> accusations of sexual assault\u003c/a> and misconduct from former staffers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His abrupt departure reshuffled the race, as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12080415/california-governor-candidates-compete-for-swalwells-endorsements-donors-and-voters\">remaining contenders scramble\u003c/a> for his endorsements, donors and supporters — and greatly reduced the chances of two Republicans advancing through California’s top-two primary in June, according to \u003ca href=\"https://twins-production-9381.up.railway.app/\">a model\u003c/a> created by Political Data Inc. vice president Paul Mitchell.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12071100\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12071100\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260226-GOVRACEFORUM-04-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260226-GOVRACEFORUM-04-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260226-GOVRACEFORUM-04-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260226-GOVRACEFORUM-04-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra speaks during a gubernatorial candidate forum at the UCSF Mission Bay campus in San Francisco on Jan. 26, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Xavier Becerra, who served as Health and Human Services secretary under President Joe Biden, saw a \u003ca href=\"https://cadem.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/4.20.26-CA-Voter-Index-Tracking-Survey-II-Topline.pdf\">bump in polling\u003c/a>, putting him at the front of the Democratic field alongside billionaire investor and climate activist Tom Steyer. Steyer also landed endorsements from the California Teachers Association and Our Revolution, a progressive organization founded by Sen. Bernie Sanders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter picked up an endorsement on Monday from Rep. Robert Garcia, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yee, however, did not appear to be among the beneficiaries of the reshaped race.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She had first announced her \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11958502/betty-yee-on-a-lifetime-of-running-the-numbers\">intent to run\u003c/a> in 2023, hoping to become California’s first woman and person of color elected governor.[aside postID=news_12080415 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CAGovDebateAP1.jpg']“I think one of the disappointments I will carry from this campaign is, where was my community? And I think we had an opportunity to make history,” Yee said. “I did not see them there as I had robustly in the past with respect to my donors.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yee grew up in San Francisco, the daughter of Chinese immigrants and the second oldest of six kids. In \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073301/former-state-controller-betty-yee-says-shes-the-best-gubernatorial-candidate-to-fix-californias-budget-deficit\">a February interview\u003c/a> discussing her campaign with KQED’s Political Breakdown, she described helping manage the books for her parents’ laundry and dry cleaning business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every week, my father would hand me a cigar box of the receipts, and I’d add up what our expenses were, and we’d figure out how much we had brought in. And it was eye-opening,” she said. “We may have been poor, but we were rich in values.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her first political experience came when she was 13 years old and testified at a school district hearing to advocate against a school busing desegregation program that would have sent her younger sister across the city. In the same interview, she said she would not take that same position today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In her announcement, Yee teared up when thanking her family, including her 103-year-old mother.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every time I ask her, ‘How are you feeling about what’s going on in the world?’ Her response is always the same. ‘We know what we got to do,’” Yee said. “Mom, I’m just going to say: Yeah, I know. And I will continue to go do it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12075209\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12075209\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260226-GovRaceForum-14-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260226-GovRaceForum-14-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260226-GovRaceForum-14-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260226-GovRaceForum-14-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Betty Yee, former California State Controller, speaks during a state gubernatorial forum at the UCSF Mission Bay campus in San Francisco on Jan. 26, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>She did not endorse another candidate after dropping out but said she would assess the remaining candidates and announce her pick within the next few days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When asked what qualities she’ll be looking for, she said she wants someone with “a demonstrated history of making progress” and an “ability to work with diverse interests.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Looking ahead, Yee said she will continue standing up for immigrant and border communities and vowed to protect election integrity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I will be seeing you in the communities where I’ve been, but as of today, it will be in a different venue,” Yee said. “Not as a candidate, but as a fellow Californian.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Former state Controller Betty Yee said Monday that she is ending her campaign \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california-governors-race\">for California governor\u003c/a>, bowing to pressure from party leaders urging nonviable candidates to drop out of a fractured Democratic field.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yee ran \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073301/former-state-controller-betty-yee-says-shes-the-best-gubernatorial-candidate-to-fix-californias-budget-deficit\">on a platform of fiscal accountability\u003c/a>, drawing on her experience managing the state’s finances and tax system as controller and a member of the Board of Equalization. She spent months polling in the single digits, never managing to break through the crowded race, despite \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12074494/california-democrats-leave-governors-race-unsettled-as-gaza-fight-looms\">finishing second\u003c/a> in the state party’s endorsement vote in February.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In her announcement on Monday morning, Yee said her decision to drop out of the race was influenced by flagging poll numbers and the loss of donors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What has changed is the whole notion that voters are looking for experience and competence is not a top priority — and that’s been really my wheelhouse,” Yee said. “It really just came down to where I’m not going to have sufficient resources to get us to the finish line.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her exit comes roughly a week after the leading Democratic candidate, East Bay Rep. Eric Swalwell, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079583/eric-swalwell-ends-california-governor-campaign-after-sexual-assault-allegations\">dropped out\u003c/a> of the race and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079800/eric-swalwell-allegations-resign-congress-california-governor-race-who-is-running-primary\">resigned\u003c/a> his House seat following\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079502/rep-eric-swalwell-candidate-for-california-governor-is-accused-of-sexual-assault\"> accusations of sexual assault\u003c/a> and misconduct from former staffers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His abrupt departure reshuffled the race, as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12080415/california-governor-candidates-compete-for-swalwells-endorsements-donors-and-voters\">remaining contenders scramble\u003c/a> for his endorsements, donors and supporters — and greatly reduced the chances of two Republicans advancing through California’s top-two primary in June, according to \u003ca href=\"https://twins-production-9381.up.railway.app/\">a model\u003c/a> created by Political Data Inc. vice president Paul Mitchell.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12071100\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12071100\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260226-GOVRACEFORUM-04-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260226-GOVRACEFORUM-04-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260226-GOVRACEFORUM-04-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260226-GOVRACEFORUM-04-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra speaks during a gubernatorial candidate forum at the UCSF Mission Bay campus in San Francisco on Jan. 26, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Xavier Becerra, who served as Health and Human Services secretary under President Joe Biden, saw a \u003ca href=\"https://cadem.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/4.20.26-CA-Voter-Index-Tracking-Survey-II-Topline.pdf\">bump in polling\u003c/a>, putting him at the front of the Democratic field alongside billionaire investor and climate activist Tom Steyer. Steyer also landed endorsements from the California Teachers Association and Our Revolution, a progressive organization founded by Sen. Bernie Sanders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter picked up an endorsement on Monday from Rep. Robert Garcia, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yee, however, did not appear to be among the beneficiaries of the reshaped race.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She had first announced her \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11958502/betty-yee-on-a-lifetime-of-running-the-numbers\">intent to run\u003c/a> in 2023, hoping to become California’s first woman and person of color elected governor.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“I think one of the disappointments I will carry from this campaign is, where was my community? And I think we had an opportunity to make history,” Yee said. “I did not see them there as I had robustly in the past with respect to my donors.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yee grew up in San Francisco, the daughter of Chinese immigrants and the second oldest of six kids. In \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073301/former-state-controller-betty-yee-says-shes-the-best-gubernatorial-candidate-to-fix-californias-budget-deficit\">a February interview\u003c/a> discussing her campaign with KQED’s Political Breakdown, she described helping manage the books for her parents’ laundry and dry cleaning business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every week, my father would hand me a cigar box of the receipts, and I’d add up what our expenses were, and we’d figure out how much we had brought in. And it was eye-opening,” she said. “We may have been poor, but we were rich in values.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her first political experience came when she was 13 years old and testified at a school district hearing to advocate against a school busing desegregation program that would have sent her younger sister across the city. In the same interview, she said she would not take that same position today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In her announcement, Yee teared up when thanking her family, including her 103-year-old mother.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every time I ask her, ‘How are you feeling about what’s going on in the world?’ Her response is always the same. ‘We know what we got to do,’” Yee said. “Mom, I’m just going to say: Yeah, I know. And I will continue to go do it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12075209\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12075209\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260226-GovRaceForum-14-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260226-GovRaceForum-14-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260226-GovRaceForum-14-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260226-GovRaceForum-14-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Betty Yee, former California State Controller, speaks during a state gubernatorial forum at the UCSF Mission Bay campus in San Francisco on Jan. 26, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>She did not endorse another candidate after dropping out but said she would assess the remaining candidates and announce her pick within the next few days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When asked what qualities she’ll be looking for, she said she wants someone with “a demonstrated history of making progress” and an “ability to work with diverse interests.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Looking ahead, Yee said she will continue standing up for immigrant and border communities and vowed to protect election integrity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I will be seeing you in the communities where I’ve been, but as of today, it will be in a different venue,” Yee said. “Not as a candidate, but as a fellow Californian.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now that Rep. Eric Swalwell has ended his campaign for governor, the remaining contenders are scrambling to scoop up his endorsements, donors and voters. Scott, Marisa and Guy assess which candidates stand to benefit the most from Swalwell’s departure and review how the candidates are re-introducing themselves to Californians. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan data-slate-node=\"text\">Check out \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/newsletters/political-breakdown\">\u003cspan data-slate-node=\"text\">Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan data-slate-node=\"text\">, delivered straight to your inbox.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Following Swalwell's downfall, the remaining candidates for California governor are wasting no time pitching themselves to voters. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now that Rep. Eric Swalwell has ended his campaign for governor, the remaining contenders are scrambling to scoop up his endorsements, donors and voters. Scott, Marisa and Guy assess which candidates stand to benefit the most from Swalwell’s departure and review how the candidates are re-introducing themselves to Californians. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan data-slate-node=\"text\">Check out \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/newsletters/political-breakdown\">\u003cspan data-slate-node=\"text\">Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan data-slate-node=\"text\">, delivered straight to your inbox.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Before former Rep. Eric Swalwell \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079583\">ended his campaign\u003c/a> for California governor and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079746/rep-eric-swalwell-says-he-is-resigning-from-congress-amid-sexual-assault-allegations\">resigned\u003c/a> from his seat in Congress, the Dublin native was consolidating support among Bay Area voters ahead of the June 2 primary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That all changed when former staff members \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079502/rep-eric-swalwell-candidate-for-california-governor-is-accused-of-sexual-assault\">accused\u003c/a> Swalwell of sexual assault and inappropriate sexual behavior in a pair of bombshell reports from the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/eric-swalwell-allegations-22198271.php\">\u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em>\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/10/us/eric-swalwell-sexual-misconduct-allegations-invs\">CNN\u003c/a>. With the disgraced congressmember now out of the race, the other Democrats running for governor are redoubling their efforts to attract support in the progressive, vote-rich Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Swalwell was scheduled to answer questions from residents in a KQED town hall on May 13. We reached out to locals who had signed up to see how they are viewing the race now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dion Coakley of San Francisco had initially supported \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12034105/xavier-becerra-enters-california-governors-race-citing-break-glass-moment\">Xavier Becerra\u003c/a>, the former state attorney general and U.S. Health and Human Services secretary. But Becerra hadn’t gained serious traction in the polls, and Coakley feared a fractured Democratic vote could \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073986/california-democrats-descend-on-sf-as-party-rifts-emerge\">allow two Republicans to advance\u003c/a> from the top-two primary to the general election.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Which is kind of how I was coming to Swalwell — just the fact that he might be able to beat out one of these Republicans,” Coakley said. “Thank God this didn’t come out six weeks from now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In public polling before the scandal, Swalwell was running neck-and-neck with two other Democrats — former Rep. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12078450/katie-porters-run-for-governor-centers-tax-cuts-corporate-accountability\">Katie Porter\u003c/a> and billionaire investor \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12064558/billionaire-climate-activist-tom-steyer-enters-2026-california-governors-race\">Tom Steyer\u003c/a> — and two Republicans: Riverside County Sheriff \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/chad-bianco\">Chad Bianco\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/steve-hilton\">Steve Hilton\u003c/a>, a conservative political commentator and former Fox News host. In California, all candidates appear on the ballot together, regardless of party.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12080156\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12080156\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/7I8A9314_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/7I8A9314_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/7I8A9314_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/7I8A9314_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Supporters of Tom Steyer hold campaign signs during the California Democratic Party 2026 State Convention on Feb. 21, 2026, in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But Swalwell had built an edge on his home turf.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a survey released Wednesday by the Public Policy Institute of California, 28% of likely voters in the Bay Area supported Swalwell — more than double the support of Steyer (12%), Hilton (11%), Mahan (11%) and Porter (10%).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Swalwell is a former Alameda County prosecutor and Dublin city councilmember who has represented the East Bay in Congress since 2013. The seat he held until Tuesday, California’s 14th Congressional District, includes Hayward, Fremont, Dublin and Pleasanton.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier \u003ca href=\"https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2h95684f\">surveys\u003c/a> by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies and the firm Evitarus \u003ca href=\"https://cadem.org/california-voter-index/\">on behalf of the California Democratic Party\u003c/a> also found Swalwell leading among Bay Area voters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cynthia Robbins-Roth of San Mateo was initially drawn to Porter, who entered Congress in the “Blue Wave” election of 2018 midterms alongside fellow Democrats Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill.[aside postID=news_12079800 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/EricSwalwellAP1.jpg']“They were prepared, they were informed and they were pretty used to dealing with being in rooms with a bunch of old guys who felt like they could push women around,” Robbins-Roth said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But she said her vote wasn’t set in stone. Swalwell had caught her eye when he served as a House manager during the second impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He was one of the folks I was so impressed with,” Robbins-Roth said. “I was just kind of bummed that he turned out to be one more guy who let the power of his situation determine how he was going to behave towards other people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Honestly, I’m back at Katie Porter,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the immediate aftermath of Swalwell’s exit from the race, the Porter and Steyer campaigns each pointed to recent polling to argue that their candidate was best positioned to benefit from Swalwell’s downfall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://www.threads.com/@jcpolls/post/DW93tFWEo5R?xmt=AQF0owPVqfzmYxbIo1mhwyjzcZ2te1isItwVxg0QNBvT9w\">March survey\u003c/a> from UC Berkeley’s Jack Citrin Center and Politico found 39% of Swalwell voters picking Porter as their second choice, and 15% preferring Steyer. An April poll by Global Strategy Group for the Steyer campaign found Swalwell supporters more closely divided on their second choice, with 31% backing Porter and 25% supporting Steyer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shekhar Sakhalkar, of San José, said he is backing Steyer because of the billionaire investor’s early support for impeaching Donald Trump. Steyer launched the “Need to Impeach” campaign to remove Trump from office less than a year into his first term.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I thought that he was trying to do the right thing in calling out the right problems,” Sakhalkar said. “So I was impressed with that part from the beginning.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Berkeley resident Susanna Porte also likes Steyer, along with former state Controller \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073301/former-state-controller-betty-yee-says-shes-the-best-gubernatorial-candidate-to-fix-californias-budget-deficit\">Betty Yee\u003c/a>. She said both have focused on her top issues of the environment and economic justice and have “decided to challenge PG&E.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12080159\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12080159\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/7I8A9196_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/7I8A9196_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/7I8A9196_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/7I8A9196_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Supporters of Betty T. Yee cheer during the California Democratic Party 2026 State Convention on Feb. 21, 2026, in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>There are currently seven notable Democrats in the race, including former Los Angeles Mayor \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12077747/antonio-villaraigosas-second-act-can-a-pragmatist-lead-california\">Antonio Villaraigosa\u003c/a> and State Superintendent of Public Instruction \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12077118/tony-thurmond-carves-out-a-progressive-path-in-the-race-for-california-governor\">Tony Thurmond\u003c/a>. Porte said a smaller field could help voters focus on the strongest candidates, but she doesn’t want to see Yee exit just yet — despite Yee polling in the low single-digits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Since she does seem to represent a lot of my views, I hope she’ll stay in, and perhaps someone else will jump out of the race,” Porte said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the seven notable Democrats left in the race all see an opportunity to make inroads with Bay Area voters now that Swalwell is out of the campaign. On Wednesday, Mahan launched a $3 million ad buy that included broadcast television in the region — while Becerra touted an influx of first-time donors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Coakley said he’s taking his support back to Becerra — and has started to engage more deeply in the race since the Swalwell scandal broke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve gone to the [candidate] websites,” he said. “I hadn’t really done that before all this had happened.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Before former Rep. Eric Swalwell \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079583\">ended his campaign\u003c/a> for California governor and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079746/rep-eric-swalwell-says-he-is-resigning-from-congress-amid-sexual-assault-allegations\">resigned\u003c/a> from his seat in Congress, the Dublin native was consolidating support among Bay Area voters ahead of the June 2 primary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That all changed when former staff members \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079502/rep-eric-swalwell-candidate-for-california-governor-is-accused-of-sexual-assault\">accused\u003c/a> Swalwell of sexual assault and inappropriate sexual behavior in a pair of bombshell reports from the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/eric-swalwell-allegations-22198271.php\">\u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em>\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/10/us/eric-swalwell-sexual-misconduct-allegations-invs\">CNN\u003c/a>. With the disgraced congressmember now out of the race, the other Democrats running for governor are redoubling their efforts to attract support in the progressive, vote-rich Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Swalwell was scheduled to answer questions from residents in a KQED town hall on May 13. We reached out to locals who had signed up to see how they are viewing the race now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dion Coakley of San Francisco had initially supported \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12034105/xavier-becerra-enters-california-governors-race-citing-break-glass-moment\">Xavier Becerra\u003c/a>, the former state attorney general and U.S. Health and Human Services secretary. But Becerra hadn’t gained serious traction in the polls, and Coakley feared a fractured Democratic vote could \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073986/california-democrats-descend-on-sf-as-party-rifts-emerge\">allow two Republicans to advance\u003c/a> from the top-two primary to the general election.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Which is kind of how I was coming to Swalwell — just the fact that he might be able to beat out one of these Republicans,” Coakley said. “Thank God this didn’t come out six weeks from now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In public polling before the scandal, Swalwell was running neck-and-neck with two other Democrats — former Rep. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12078450/katie-porters-run-for-governor-centers-tax-cuts-corporate-accountability\">Katie Porter\u003c/a> and billionaire investor \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12064558/billionaire-climate-activist-tom-steyer-enters-2026-california-governors-race\">Tom Steyer\u003c/a> — and two Republicans: Riverside County Sheriff \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/chad-bianco\">Chad Bianco\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/steve-hilton\">Steve Hilton\u003c/a>, a conservative political commentator and former Fox News host. In California, all candidates appear on the ballot together, regardless of party.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12080156\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12080156\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/7I8A9314_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/7I8A9314_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/7I8A9314_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/7I8A9314_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Supporters of Tom Steyer hold campaign signs during the California Democratic Party 2026 State Convention on Feb. 21, 2026, in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But Swalwell had built an edge on his home turf.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a survey released Wednesday by the Public Policy Institute of California, 28% of likely voters in the Bay Area supported Swalwell — more than double the support of Steyer (12%), Hilton (11%), Mahan (11%) and Porter (10%).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Swalwell is a former Alameda County prosecutor and Dublin city councilmember who has represented the East Bay in Congress since 2013. The seat he held until Tuesday, California’s 14th Congressional District, includes Hayward, Fremont, Dublin and Pleasanton.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier \u003ca href=\"https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2h95684f\">surveys\u003c/a> by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies and the firm Evitarus \u003ca href=\"https://cadem.org/california-voter-index/\">on behalf of the California Democratic Party\u003c/a> also found Swalwell leading among Bay Area voters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cynthia Robbins-Roth of San Mateo was initially drawn to Porter, who entered Congress in the “Blue Wave” election of 2018 midterms alongside fellow Democrats Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“They were prepared, they were informed and they were pretty used to dealing with being in rooms with a bunch of old guys who felt like they could push women around,” Robbins-Roth said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But she said her vote wasn’t set in stone. Swalwell had caught her eye when he served as a House manager during the second impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He was one of the folks I was so impressed with,” Robbins-Roth said. “I was just kind of bummed that he turned out to be one more guy who let the power of his situation determine how he was going to behave towards other people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Honestly, I’m back at Katie Porter,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the immediate aftermath of Swalwell’s exit from the race, the Porter and Steyer campaigns each pointed to recent polling to argue that their candidate was best positioned to benefit from Swalwell’s downfall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://www.threads.com/@jcpolls/post/DW93tFWEo5R?xmt=AQF0owPVqfzmYxbIo1mhwyjzcZ2te1isItwVxg0QNBvT9w\">March survey\u003c/a> from UC Berkeley’s Jack Citrin Center and Politico found 39% of Swalwell voters picking Porter as their second choice, and 15% preferring Steyer. An April poll by Global Strategy Group for the Steyer campaign found Swalwell supporters more closely divided on their second choice, with 31% backing Porter and 25% supporting Steyer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shekhar Sakhalkar, of San José, said he is backing Steyer because of the billionaire investor’s early support for impeaching Donald Trump. Steyer launched the “Need to Impeach” campaign to remove Trump from office less than a year into his first term.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I thought that he was trying to do the right thing in calling out the right problems,” Sakhalkar said. “So I was impressed with that part from the beginning.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Berkeley resident Susanna Porte also likes Steyer, along with former state Controller \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073301/former-state-controller-betty-yee-says-shes-the-best-gubernatorial-candidate-to-fix-californias-budget-deficit\">Betty Yee\u003c/a>. She said both have focused on her top issues of the environment and economic justice and have “decided to challenge PG&E.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12080159\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12080159\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/7I8A9196_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/7I8A9196_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/7I8A9196_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/7I8A9196_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Supporters of Betty T. Yee cheer during the California Democratic Party 2026 State Convention on Feb. 21, 2026, in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>There are currently seven notable Democrats in the race, including former Los Angeles Mayor \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12077747/antonio-villaraigosas-second-act-can-a-pragmatist-lead-california\">Antonio Villaraigosa\u003c/a> and State Superintendent of Public Instruction \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12077118/tony-thurmond-carves-out-a-progressive-path-in-the-race-for-california-governor\">Tony Thurmond\u003c/a>. Porte said a smaller field could help voters focus on the strongest candidates, but she doesn’t want to see Yee exit just yet — despite Yee polling in the low single-digits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Since she does seem to represent a lot of my views, I hope she’ll stay in, and perhaps someone else will jump out of the race,” Porte said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the seven notable Democrats left in the race all see an opportunity to make inroads with Bay Area voters now that Swalwell is out of the campaign. On Wednesday, Mahan launched a $3 million ad buy that included broadcast television in the region — while Becerra touted an influx of first-time donors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Coakley said he’s taking his support back to Becerra — and has started to engage more deeply in the race since the Swalwell scandal broke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve gone to the [candidate] websites,” he said. “I hadn’t really done that before all this had happened.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "eric-swalwell-allegations-resign-congress-california-governor-race-who-is-running-primary",
"title": "Eric Swalwell Resigns: What to Know About the Special Election and the Governor’s Race",
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"headTitle": "Eric Swalwell Resigns: What to Know About the Special Election and the Governor’s Race | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>East Bay Rep. Eric Swalwell resigned from Congress on Tuesday, days after \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079502/rep-eric-swalwell-candidate-for-california-governor-is-accused-of-sexual-assault\">sexual assault and misconduct allegations\u003c/a> against the Democratic front-runner upended California’s wide-open governor’s race.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Swalwell \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079583\">dropped out of the race\u003c/a> on Sunday and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079746/rep-eric-swalwell-says-he-is-resigning-from-congress-amid-sexual-assault-allegations\">resigned\u003c/a> from Congress on Tuesday. His exit comes as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079856/woman-alleges-violent-sexual-assault-by-eric-swalwell-he-raped-me\">a new accuser\u003c/a> came forward Tuesday, alleging that Swalwell drugged and raped her in 2018. Gov. Gavin Newsom quickly set Aug. 18 as the date for a special election to fill Swalwell’s seat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s what happened and what it means for the June 2 statewide primary and the future of Swalwell’s congressional seat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Jump straight to: \u003ca href=\"#HowdoesSwalwelldroppingoutimpacttheCaliforniagovernorsrace\">How does Swalwell dropping out impact the California governor’s race?\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>Why did Eric Swalwell resign from Congress and drop out of the governor’s race?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Swalwell, 45, is accused of sexually assaulting two women and harassing others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Friday, he was accused of raping a former staff member twice, when she was too intoxicated to consent, and of harassing three other women, including by sending nude photos and making unwanted physical advances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those allegations were detailed in a \u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/eric-swalwell-allegations-22198271.php\">investigation\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/10/us/eric-swalwell-sexual-misconduct-allegations-invs\">a subsequent report by CNN.\u003c/a> The latest allegation was made by another woman, Lonna Drewes, who told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday that Swalwell drugged and raped \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079856/woman-alleges-violent-sexual-assault-by-eric-swalwell-he-raped-me\">her in 2018 in a West Hollywood hotel.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079944\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12079944\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/GettyImages-2271341028-scaled-e1776276443587.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1327\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Attorney Lisa Bloom (R) comforts Lonna Drewes during a press conference in which Drewes accused U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell of sexual assault, on April 14, 2026, in Beverly Hills, California. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Swalwell has denied the allegations since they broke on April 10, and his lawyers sent the women accusing him cease-and-desist letters demanding they retract their claims. In a \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DW-a13lkjXx/?hl=en\">video message\u003c/a> Swalwell posted late Friday, he seemed to acknowledge he’d been unfaithful to his wife.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Tuesday, after the second allegation of rape, Swalwell issued a \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/azarilaw/status/2044144837113344170\">statement\u003c/a> through an attorney, which the lawyer posted on social media. It said that Swalwell “categorically and unequivocally denies each and every allegation of sexual misconduct and assault” and calls them a “calculated and transparent political hit job. His lawyer, Sara Azari, also went on \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/NewsNationNow/videos/eric-swalwells-attorney-speaks-out-after-sexual-assault-allegations-cuomo/1435286471144143/\">News Nation on Tuesday night\u003c/a> and said that “regret is not rape.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most serious allegations involve a woman who worked for Swalwell’s presidential campaign and in his congressional office, a job she began at age 21. She told the \u003cem>Chronicle \u003c/em>that Swalwell, who is 17 years older than her, began pursuing her within weeks of joining his office in 2019, sending her explicit pictures on Snapchat and asking for nude photos in return.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079927\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12079927\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260309-DEAF-DEPORTEE-MD-01_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260309-DEAF-DEPORTEE-MD-01_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260309-DEAF-DEPORTEE-MD-01_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260309-DEAF-DEPORTEE-MD-01_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rep. Eric Swalwell in Hayward on March 9, 2026. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>She alleged that in September 2019, she went out drinking with a group, including Swalwell, in Pleasanton and woke up the next day naked in his hotel room, feeling the effects of vaginal intercourse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The woman also described a similar alleged assault in 2024 in New York City after a night of drinking, recalling portions of the night, including being in Swalwell’s hotel room, pushing him off of her and telling him no. She said she woke up alone in his hotel room with vaginal bleeding and bruising.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Swalwell is also facing possible criminal investigations in both New York and California. The Manhattan district attorney’s office said Saturday that it is looking into the alleged 2024 assault, and the Alameda County district attorney’s office said over the weekend that prosecutors there are \u003cem>“\u003c/em>evaluating whether any alleged criminal conduct occurred within Alameda County.” And on Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-04-14/eric-swalwell-rape-drugged-drink-beverly-hills-allegations\">said it is investigating Drewe’s allegations.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What happens to Eric Swalwell’s seat now?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Swalwell represented \u003ca href=\"https://swalwell.house.gov/14th-district/about-district\">California’s 14th Congressional District,\u003c/a> which includes the East Bay cities of Dublin, Pleasanton, Livermore and Hayward. He submitted his resignation on Tuesday. The seat is now vacant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom quickly called \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/04/14/governor-newsom-issues-proclamation-setting-special-election-for-california-congressional-district-14/\">a special election\u003c/a> this summer to replace him. Whoever wins will fill the seat for the remaining months of Swalwell’s term, which ends in January. In the meantime, the district has no voting representation in Congress, only the staff who have remained to assist constituents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the election cycle for the next term, beginning in January, continues on its regular schedule, with the June 2 primary and a potential runoff in the November general election.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Swalwell is not on the ballot for his congressional seat because he was running for governor. However, his name will still appear on the June ballot for governor, since it’s too late to legally remove it.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>When is the special election for Swalwell’s seat and who might run?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Newsom has scheduled a special election to fill the remainder of Swalwell’s term. First, a special primary election will be held June 16. If a candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, they would win outright and immediately take his seat in Congress.[aside postID=news_12079911 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/EricSwalwellGetty1-1020x680.jpg']If no candidate clears that threshold, the top two finishers will advance to a runoff election on Aug. 18. Whoever wins will serve only the remainder of Swalwell’s term, until January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That means that if no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in both the statewide primary and the special primary, voters in Swalwell’s East Bay district could potentially cast four separate ballots for their congressional representative this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nine candidates were already running to succeed Swalwell in the 14th District in the June 2 primary for the full term set to begin in January. State Sen. Aisha Wahab is the only one with statewide elected experience. Former Dublin Mayor Melissa Hernandez, who serves as president of the BART Board of Directors, is also running.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those candidates may also run in the special primary election.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Who is running for governor of California now?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2h95684f\">top-polling candidates\u003c/a> in the crowded field include two Republicans: businessman \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdP6OxD9flY&t=804s\">Steve Hilton\u003c/a> and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco. Two Democrats other than Swalwell have also been enjoying double-digit support in most polls: \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJyo64Jv6qM&t=1s\">former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjXvKfldFlI&t=5s\">billionaire Democratic activist Tom Steyer.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other Democratic candidates include \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-bhl_OtmWY&list=PLCxtKFQXBuRhEPWmS6AkZdGzEvN1qdcB7&index=6&t=2s\">Xavier Becerra,\u003c/a> who previously served as U.S. Health and Human Services secretary and California attorney general; San José Mayor \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0fvZsBWqxM\">Matt Mahan\u003c/a>; former Los Angeles Mayor \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2g8T2bT8ec\">Antonio Villaraigosa\u003c/a>; California Superintendent for Public Instruction \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=os2IfgCqMEI\">Tony Thurmond\u003c/a>; and former state Controller \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKYq2riTwYk&t=37s\">Betty Yee\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"HowdoesSwalwelldroppingoutimpacttheCaliforniagovernorsrace\">\u003c/a>How does Swalwell dropping out affect the California governor’s race?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Swalwell’s departure stands to further \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079505/sexual-assault-allegations-against-rep-eric-swalwell-could-upend-california-governors-race\">shake up\u003c/a> what has long been an unsettled race — and California’s first wide-open campaign for governor in two decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prior to Swalwell dropping out, he, Porter and Steyer were the top-polling Democrats. It seems likely that Porter and Steyer could now attract some of his supporters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12013319\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12013319\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/02052019_capitol_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/02052019_capitol_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/02052019_capitol_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/02052019_capitol_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/02052019_capitol_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/02052019_capitol_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/02052019_capitol_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The U.S. Capitol Building on Feb. 5, 2019, in Washington, D.C. \u003ccite>(Zach Gibson/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>California has a “top-two” primary system, meaning the two candidates who receive the most votes in June, regardless of party, will move on to a November runoff. That means two Republicans or two Democrats could face each other in a runoff election.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s been concern among Democrats that because no Democratic candidate has consolidated support, Hilton and Bianco could make it into the runoff, shutting out Democrats and resulting in a Republican governor. That seems less likely now, especially since Hilton recently received \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12078793/trump-endorses-steve-hilton-for-california-governor-giving-gop-a-front-runner\">President Donald Trump’s endorsement,\u003c/a> which is likely to play well among Republican voters. The state GOP failed to endorse either candidate at their convention this weekend, though Bianco did get more votes than Hilton from party insiders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If Hilton surges ahead of Bianco, the race could come down to a contest between Porter and Steyer for a second spot in the runoff.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>When is the primary for California governor, and who will I be able to vote for?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/upcoming-elections/primary-election-june-2-2026\">Election Day is June 2\u003c/a>. The last day to register to vote is May 18.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Counties will begin sending out mail-in ballots on May 4, and in-person early voting starts May 23.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To register to vote, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voting-resources/county-elections-offices\">contact your county elections office\u003c/a>. The official state information guide is available \u003ca href=\"https://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/\">here.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "With a special election set for Aug. 18 and new allegations surfacing, here’s a breakdown of what happens to Swalwell’s seat and the race for California governor.",
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"title": "Eric Swalwell Resigns: What to Know About the Special Election and the Governor’s Race | KQED",
"description": "With a special election set for Aug. 18 and new allegations surfacing, here’s a breakdown of what happens to Swalwell’s seat and the race for California governor.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>East Bay Rep. Eric Swalwell resigned from Congress on Tuesday, days after \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079502/rep-eric-swalwell-candidate-for-california-governor-is-accused-of-sexual-assault\">sexual assault and misconduct allegations\u003c/a> against the Democratic front-runner upended California’s wide-open governor’s race.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Swalwell \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079583\">dropped out of the race\u003c/a> on Sunday and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079746/rep-eric-swalwell-says-he-is-resigning-from-congress-amid-sexual-assault-allegations\">resigned\u003c/a> from Congress on Tuesday. His exit comes as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079856/woman-alleges-violent-sexual-assault-by-eric-swalwell-he-raped-me\">a new accuser\u003c/a> came forward Tuesday, alleging that Swalwell drugged and raped her in 2018. Gov. Gavin Newsom quickly set Aug. 18 as the date for a special election to fill Swalwell’s seat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s what happened and what it means for the June 2 statewide primary and the future of Swalwell’s congressional seat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Jump straight to: \u003ca href=\"#HowdoesSwalwelldroppingoutimpacttheCaliforniagovernorsrace\">How does Swalwell dropping out impact the California governor’s race?\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>Why did Eric Swalwell resign from Congress and drop out of the governor’s race?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Swalwell, 45, is accused of sexually assaulting two women and harassing others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Friday, he was accused of raping a former staff member twice, when she was too intoxicated to consent, and of harassing three other women, including by sending nude photos and making unwanted physical advances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those allegations were detailed in a \u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/eric-swalwell-allegations-22198271.php\">investigation\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/10/us/eric-swalwell-sexual-misconduct-allegations-invs\">a subsequent report by CNN.\u003c/a> The latest allegation was made by another woman, Lonna Drewes, who told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday that Swalwell drugged and raped \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079856/woman-alleges-violent-sexual-assault-by-eric-swalwell-he-raped-me\">her in 2018 in a West Hollywood hotel.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079944\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12079944\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/GettyImages-2271341028-scaled-e1776276443587.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1327\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Attorney Lisa Bloom (R) comforts Lonna Drewes during a press conference in which Drewes accused U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell of sexual assault, on April 14, 2026, in Beverly Hills, California. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Swalwell has denied the allegations since they broke on April 10, and his lawyers sent the women accusing him cease-and-desist letters demanding they retract their claims. In a \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DW-a13lkjXx/?hl=en\">video message\u003c/a> Swalwell posted late Friday, he seemed to acknowledge he’d been unfaithful to his wife.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Tuesday, after the second allegation of rape, Swalwell issued a \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/azarilaw/status/2044144837113344170\">statement\u003c/a> through an attorney, which the lawyer posted on social media. It said that Swalwell “categorically and unequivocally denies each and every allegation of sexual misconduct and assault” and calls them a “calculated and transparent political hit job. His lawyer, Sara Azari, also went on \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/NewsNationNow/videos/eric-swalwells-attorney-speaks-out-after-sexual-assault-allegations-cuomo/1435286471144143/\">News Nation on Tuesday night\u003c/a> and said that “regret is not rape.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most serious allegations involve a woman who worked for Swalwell’s presidential campaign and in his congressional office, a job she began at age 21. She told the \u003cem>Chronicle \u003c/em>that Swalwell, who is 17 years older than her, began pursuing her within weeks of joining his office in 2019, sending her explicit pictures on Snapchat and asking for nude photos in return.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079927\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12079927\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260309-DEAF-DEPORTEE-MD-01_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260309-DEAF-DEPORTEE-MD-01_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260309-DEAF-DEPORTEE-MD-01_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260309-DEAF-DEPORTEE-MD-01_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rep. Eric Swalwell in Hayward on March 9, 2026. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>She alleged that in September 2019, she went out drinking with a group, including Swalwell, in Pleasanton and woke up the next day naked in his hotel room, feeling the effects of vaginal intercourse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The woman also described a similar alleged assault in 2024 in New York City after a night of drinking, recalling portions of the night, including being in Swalwell’s hotel room, pushing him off of her and telling him no. She said she woke up alone in his hotel room with vaginal bleeding and bruising.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Swalwell is also facing possible criminal investigations in both New York and California. The Manhattan district attorney’s office said Saturday that it is looking into the alleged 2024 assault, and the Alameda County district attorney’s office said over the weekend that prosecutors there are \u003cem>“\u003c/em>evaluating whether any alleged criminal conduct occurred within Alameda County.” And on Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-04-14/eric-swalwell-rape-drugged-drink-beverly-hills-allegations\">said it is investigating Drewe’s allegations.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What happens to Eric Swalwell’s seat now?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Swalwell represented \u003ca href=\"https://swalwell.house.gov/14th-district/about-district\">California’s 14th Congressional District,\u003c/a> which includes the East Bay cities of Dublin, Pleasanton, Livermore and Hayward. He submitted his resignation on Tuesday. The seat is now vacant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom quickly called \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/04/14/governor-newsom-issues-proclamation-setting-special-election-for-california-congressional-district-14/\">a special election\u003c/a> this summer to replace him. Whoever wins will fill the seat for the remaining months of Swalwell’s term, which ends in January. In the meantime, the district has no voting representation in Congress, only the staff who have remained to assist constituents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the election cycle for the next term, beginning in January, continues on its regular schedule, with the June 2 primary and a potential runoff in the November general election.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Swalwell is not on the ballot for his congressional seat because he was running for governor. However, his name will still appear on the June ballot for governor, since it’s too late to legally remove it.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>When is the special election for Swalwell’s seat and who might run?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Newsom has scheduled a special election to fill the remainder of Swalwell’s term. First, a special primary election will be held June 16. If a candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, they would win outright and immediately take his seat in Congress.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>If no candidate clears that threshold, the top two finishers will advance to a runoff election on Aug. 18. Whoever wins will serve only the remainder of Swalwell’s term, until January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That means that if no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in both the statewide primary and the special primary, voters in Swalwell’s East Bay district could potentially cast four separate ballots for their congressional representative this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nine candidates were already running to succeed Swalwell in the 14th District in the June 2 primary for the full term set to begin in January. State Sen. Aisha Wahab is the only one with statewide elected experience. Former Dublin Mayor Melissa Hernandez, who serves as president of the BART Board of Directors, is also running.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those candidates may also run in the special primary election.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Who is running for governor of California now?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2h95684f\">top-polling candidates\u003c/a> in the crowded field include two Republicans: businessman \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdP6OxD9flY&t=804s\">Steve Hilton\u003c/a> and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco. Two Democrats other than Swalwell have also been enjoying double-digit support in most polls: \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJyo64Jv6qM&t=1s\">former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjXvKfldFlI&t=5s\">billionaire Democratic activist Tom Steyer.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other Democratic candidates include \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-bhl_OtmWY&list=PLCxtKFQXBuRhEPWmS6AkZdGzEvN1qdcB7&index=6&t=2s\">Xavier Becerra,\u003c/a> who previously served as U.S. Health and Human Services secretary and California attorney general; San José Mayor \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0fvZsBWqxM\">Matt Mahan\u003c/a>; former Los Angeles Mayor \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2g8T2bT8ec\">Antonio Villaraigosa\u003c/a>; California Superintendent for Public Instruction \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=os2IfgCqMEI\">Tony Thurmond\u003c/a>; and former state Controller \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKYq2riTwYk&t=37s\">Betty Yee\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"HowdoesSwalwelldroppingoutimpacttheCaliforniagovernorsrace\">\u003c/a>How does Swalwell dropping out affect the California governor’s race?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Swalwell’s departure stands to further \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079505/sexual-assault-allegations-against-rep-eric-swalwell-could-upend-california-governors-race\">shake up\u003c/a> what has long been an unsettled race — and California’s first wide-open campaign for governor in two decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prior to Swalwell dropping out, he, Porter and Steyer were the top-polling Democrats. It seems likely that Porter and Steyer could now attract some of his supporters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12013319\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12013319\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/02052019_capitol_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/02052019_capitol_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/02052019_capitol_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/02052019_capitol_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/02052019_capitol_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/02052019_capitol_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/02052019_capitol_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The U.S. Capitol Building on Feb. 5, 2019, in Washington, D.C. \u003ccite>(Zach Gibson/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>California has a “top-two” primary system, meaning the two candidates who receive the most votes in June, regardless of party, will move on to a November runoff. That means two Republicans or two Democrats could face each other in a runoff election.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s been concern among Democrats that because no Democratic candidate has consolidated support, Hilton and Bianco could make it into the runoff, shutting out Democrats and resulting in a Republican governor. That seems less likely now, especially since Hilton recently received \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12078793/trump-endorses-steve-hilton-for-california-governor-giving-gop-a-front-runner\">President Donald Trump’s endorsement,\u003c/a> which is likely to play well among Republican voters. The state GOP failed to endorse either candidate at their convention this weekend, though Bianco did get more votes than Hilton from party insiders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If Hilton surges ahead of Bianco, the race could come down to a contest between Porter and Steyer for a second spot in the runoff.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>When is the primary for California governor, and who will I be able to vote for?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/upcoming-elections/primary-election-june-2-2026\">Election Day is June 2\u003c/a>. The last day to register to vote is May 18.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Counties will begin sending out mail-in ballots on May 4, and in-person early voting starts May 23.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To register to vote, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voting-resources/county-elections-offices\">contact your county elections office\u003c/a>. The official state information guide is available \u003ca href=\"https://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/\">here.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>This episode contains descriptions of sexual assault. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Until last week, former Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Democrat from Dublin, was a leading candidate for governor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But on Friday, a former staffer accused Swalwell of sexual assault. \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/eric-swalwell-allegations-22198271.php\">In interviews with the \u003ci>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/i>\u003c/a>, former staff member said Swalwell sexually assaulted her when she was too intoxicated to consent in both 2019 and 2024, after multiple inappropriate advances both on Snapchat and in person. Since then, at least four more women have come forward, including one who \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/04/eric-swalwell-sex-assault-allegation/\">alleges she was violently raped by Swalwell in 2018\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan data-slate-fragment=\"JTVCJTdCJTIydHlwZSUyMiUzQSUyMnBhcmFncmFwaCUyMiUyQyUyMmNoaWxkcmVuJTIyJTNBJTVCJTdCJTIydGV4dCUyMiUzQSUyMlN3YWx3ZWxsJTIwZGVuaWVzJTIwdGhlc2UlMjBhbGxlZ2F0aW9ucy4lMjBCdXQlMjB3aXRoaW4lMjBkYXlzJTJDJTIwYWZ0ZXIlMjBzdXBwb3J0ZXJzJTIwZmxlZCUyMGhpcyUyMGNhbXBhaWduJTIwYW5kJTIwY2FsbGVkJTIwZm9yJTIwaGltJTIwdG8lMjBzdGVwJTIwZG93biUyQyUyMGhlJTIwZW5kZWQlMjBoaXMlMjBjYW1wYWlnbiUyMGZvciUyMGdvdmVybm9yJTIwYW5kJTIwcmVzaWduZWQlMjBoaXMlMjBDb25ncmVzc2lvbmFsJTIwc2VhdC4lMjIlN0QlNUQlN0QlNUQ=\">Swalwell denies these allegations. But within days, after supporters fled his campaign and called for him to step down, he ended his run for governor and resigned his Congressional seat.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm?e=KQINC3913401334&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Links:\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>SF Chronicle: \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/eric-swalwell-allegations-22198271.php\">Ex-staffer says Eric Swalwell, candidate for California governor, sexually assaulted her\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>KQED: \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079800/eric-swalwell-allegations-resign-congress-california-governor-race-who-is-running-primary\">Eric Swalwell Is Out of the Governor’s Race and Resigning From Congress. What Happens Now? \u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>CalMatters: \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/04/eric-swalwell-sex-assault-allegation/\">Woman alleges violent sexual assault by Eric Swalwell: ‘He raped me’\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>Episode Transcript\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:00] \u003c/em>Hi it’s Alan Montecillo. Before we begin today, just a quick heads up, this episode contains descriptions of sexual assault.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:14] \u003c/em>I’m Alan Montecillo, in for Ericka Cruz Guevara, and welcome to The Bay. Local news to keep you rooted. Until last week, Representative Eric Swalwell, a Democrat from Dublin, was one of the leading candidates in a crowded race for governor of California. He had become famous for his confrontations with the Trump administration and promised that he would protect and defend California from federal attacks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Swalwell: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:44] \u003c/em>I’m running to be a fighter protector against a president who has chased Californians through the fields where they work, who’s put troops in our streets. I see it as table stakes to be considered in this race if you can’t convince the most vulnerable Californians that you can protect them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:03] \u003c/em>But over the weekend, Swalwell’s campaign imploded. After reporting by the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN, describe detailed allegations of sexual assault and misconduct from multiple women, including former staffers. Swalwell says these allegations are false, but he has now ended his campaign for governor and resigned from the U.S. House of Representatives. Melissa Estepa, a resident of Hayward, says she feels let down by someone she saw as a potential leader.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Estepa: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:40] \u003c/em>I’m disappointed. I was really excited about him and thought he would be the prime candidate and he was someone I thought was a rising star and I was looking forward to supporting him but it’s just another man in power abusing women so it’s not surprising but it is still very disappointing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:58] \u003c/em>The rise and fall of Eric Swalwell.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:12] \u003c/em>Eric Swalwell had a meteoric rise in politics and he fell just as fast last week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:18] \u003c/em>Marisa Lagos is a politics correspondent for KQED and co-host of the Political Breakdown podcast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:25] \u003c/em>He kind of burst onto the political scene as a city council member in Dublin. He made waves by challenging a guy who’d been in Congress for, I think, longer than he’d been alive. He really made this name for himself, taking on Trump, and became this national figure. And after entering the governor’s race, seemed like he was on a glide path to really kind of taking that top spot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:51] \u003c/em>I don’t actually know that much about his backstory. How did he end up in politics, Bay Area politics, and eventually in Congress?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:58] \u003c/em>Yeah, so he was a prosecutor. His dad had been a police officer. And then he ended up running for the Dublin City Council. I would say was sort of ahead of the curve around issues of housing. He was seen as pretty pro-development, which back then was a knock in democratic circles, to some extent. In 2012, he ran for an East Bay district that includes Dublin and Pleasanton, and he won, beating out this incumbent who had been there for decades. As you all know, when incumbents get challenged, generally the kind of political establishment rallies behind them. And so I think that he was maybe a little ahead of the curve in terms of pushing a new generation of leadership and kind of calling out the fact that you had these people who had been there so long.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Swalwell: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:03:50] \u003c/em>That new energy and ideas are coming to Washington, D.C.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Crowd: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:03:53] \u003c/em>Woo!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Swalwell: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:03:56] \u003c/em>And we can proudly declare a victory as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:04:04] \u003c/em>I wouldn’t say in Congress he’s been a prolific lawmaker. He really made his name kind of carrying on his prosecutorial chops first as an investigator during the impeachment hearings of Trump related to his Ukraine-Russia dealings during the 2016 election, and then even more so, I think, raised his national profile during the second impeachment after January 6, where he was actually one of the house managers. So he was out there being a prosecutor. And he really became this kind of go-to cable news commentator for Democrats, right? MSNBC called him all the time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>MSNBC Announcer: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:04:39] \u003c/em>I’d like to get your reaction to the RNC’s idea of legitimate political discourse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Swalwell: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:04:45] \u003c/em>But, well, Jonathan, look, if your neighbor came over and stepped on your porch holding a knife, a gun, a machete, and said that he wanted to talk, I don’t think you would call the police and say, you know what, we’re gonna settle this. It’s a legitimate political discourse. No, you would say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:05:02] \u003c/em>But I would say that he was a lieutenant of democratic leadership. He was seen as pretty close to Nancy Pelosi and as a serious person who could kind of bring the case to Trump in a way that was based on his background in law enforcement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:05:20] \u003c/em>So Eric Swalwell runs for Congress in 2012, takes office in 2013, serves for a little more than a decade, and then he decides to run for governor. What was his platform?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:05:32] \u003c/em>It’s creepy now given the allegations against him, but his tagline is fighter and protector.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Swalwell: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:05:37] \u003c/em>This great state needs a fighter and a protector, someone who will bring prices down, lift wages up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:05:43] \u003c/em>It almost felt like he was running a national campaign. I mean, he announced his candidacy, not in a press conference in Sacramento or his district or Los Angeles, but on Jimmy Kimmel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Swalwell: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:05:53] \u003c/em>So, I came here tonight, Jimmy, to tell you and your audience that I’m running to be the next governor of California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:00] \u003c/em>Which obviously has this like double and tundra given Kimmel’s fights with the Trump administration as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jimmy Kimmel: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:06] \u003c/em>Well, thank you for being here and announcing this exciting news here on the show. And thanks for your support throughout our ordeal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:15] \u003c/em>He really tried to cultivate this air of inevitability. And I would say that that started with that announcement. If you look at his policy platform, he wasn’t promising anything wildly different than the other leading Democrats, right? He wants to tackle affordability, make it so families can live here. He wants improve housing permitting and speed up the housing construction process. But there was no details on any of those proposals. Like there was not contours to these things. And I think, could I have told you a week ago or can I tell you now what a Governor Eric Swalwell would have actually looked like from a policy perspective? I don’t know that I could.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:07:00] \u003c/em>And until late last week, it seemed like he had become the front runner on the Democratic side. What was the Swalwell coalition, if there was one, before last Friday, and what did people like about him?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:07:15] \u003c/em>I mean, it was the establishment. It was dozens of members of Congress and state lawmakers. It was some of the biggest unions in the state. We saw just in recent weeks, the California Teachers Association, SCIU California, both endorse him. I think that it was, to some extent, the biggest players in democratic politics was the coalition. I mean, and interestingly, it did seem like he was about to pull ahead as frontrunner, but he hadn’t yet. I mean the polls had not shown him out sort of performing any of the top candidates, but I think getting that support from the kind of political insiders was giving him that air and allowing him to kind of create that and he had money to back it up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:08:03] \u003c/em>So Eric Swalwell was, until very recently, a frontrunner for governor of California, until Friday afternoon when reporting from the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN describes detailed allegations of sexual assault and misconduct. What exactly is being alleged here?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:08:26] \u003c/em>So the Chronicles bombshell report really focuses on allegations by a woman who began working, first of all, well, first, I think as an intern in college, and then right out of college at age 21, first in one of his campaigns, and then in his district office, and eventually, I think, in DC. She alleges that shortly after they met, he started sending her. Kind of inappropriate, sexually explicit messages on Snapchat, that at one point, he basically pulled over his car and pulled out his penis and implied that she should perform oral sex on him. And then the core of her allegations are in both 2019 and 2024, that after nights of drinking where she was too inebriated to consent, essentially that he raped her. The first incident she alleged was in 2019 in Pleasanton. She was still a staffer at the time. Five years later in 2024 in New York City, these allegations were corroborated by the Chronicle through text messages, medical records, conversations with people in her life, family and others, who she had told at the times. A few hours later, CNN followed up with both an interview of this woman who has still chosen to remain anonymous. She was not identified in that interview. And then three other women who made allegations of sort of similar behavior in terms of unwanted touching or advances. And then on Tuesday, another woman came forward named Lana Drews. She says that. Representative Eric Swalwell drugged and raped her in 2018 and that she does plan to file a police report\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:10:18] \u003c/em>How much of this alleged behavior from Swalwell was known in political circles before this story?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:10:25] \u003c/em>There was a lot of rumors over the years about him potentially maybe cheating on his wife. He’s a married father of three. And I think that there have been rumors, I hadn’t heard these, but of him maybe, yeah, acting inappropriately, flirtatiously with interns or other folks who he had power over. A lot of, I think, dots are being connected now in hindsight, but I’ll be frank, I’m struggling with this a little bit. I feel like there was a lot of rumors, and quite frankly, in the recent months, as he launched this campaign, a lot people within California politics, you know, at these labor unions, at these other groups he was trying to win endorsements from, apparently asked him very explicitly, like, about these rumors, and he just denied them flat out. I think that The power dynamics that exist within Congress, within the state capital, are real, and I think that it does take these survivors and victims to be willing to come forward. I’m sort of personally asking myself if we, as the press corps, should have asked these questions sooner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:11:37] \u003c/em>How Eric Swalwell’s campaign imploded. Stay with us. This news was published on Friday. What was the immediate response?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:11:54] \u003c/em>I mean, it was a bombshell and people acted appropriately. I would say it was swift. He started, you know, losing support. I mean by that evening we had seen every single member of Congress risk in their endorsement, um, as well as, you know, the big labor unions. It was clear by Friday afternoon that Swalwell was going to have to end his campaign and resign from the House of Representatives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:12:19] \u003c/em>And there was also a staffer letter, right?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:12:22] \u003c/em>Several, yeah. Some of his top advisors just left, but his current campaign and congressional staff did put out kind of an anonymous statement on Friday, basically saying, look, any of us who have chosen to stay here, you should not construe that as a supporting Swalwell. We’re trying to support his constituents. Some these staffers are young. They don’t have the sort of financial means to just be able to walk away from a job overnight. That was followed by several other statements, including one. That came out Sunday by former staffers who really just distanced themselves from Swalwell, made very clear that they believe these women, and actually apologized to these women and said, you know, we did not know this was happening, but we wish we had.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:07] \u003c/em>How did he react when the story came out on Friday? Was he also digging his heels and saying it’s not true?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:14] \u003c/em>Yeah, we should know, before the story published, Thursday night his attorney sent cease and desist letters to these women. A lot of rumors that started circulating online prior to these stories publishing, particularly by some online democratic women influencers. And even then, he and his campaign chose to very forcefully deny them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Swalwell: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:38] \u003c/em>A lot has been said about me today through anonymous allegations. I thought it was important that you see and hear from me directly. These allegations of sexual assault are flat, false. They’re absolutely false. They did not happen. They have never happened. And I will fight them with everything that I have.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:57] \u003c/em>After the story came out, he posted a video on Friday night where he specifically said the allegations of sexual assault are flat false, but he also acknowledged in that video he’s not perfect or a saint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Swalwell: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:14:11] \u003c/em>I’ve certainly made mistakes in judgment in my past, but those mistakes are between me and my wife.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:14:22] \u003c/em>So in that statement, and then again, when he announced on Sunday that he was stepping out of the governor’s race, he made some sort of nod to the fact that maybe some of this behavior did occur, maybe infidelity did occur. But he did not ever differentiate in these statements. He’s really focused and maybe understandably because there could be criminal charges potentially on the sexual assault allegations. We’ve also obviously seen no apologies or any sort of. Response directly to these women.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:14:55] \u003c/em>Eric Swalwell’s not gonna be governor. He’s also leaving the House. He still says, I’m gonna fight this. So what does that mean? Are there other possible consequences coming for Eric Swallwell?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:15:05] \u003c/em>Yeah, so we saw the Manhattan district attorney and the Alameda district attorney say that they were basically exploring whether there could be potential criminal charges in both of the sexual assault incidents, because, of course, one of them occurred in Alamedo County in 2019, allegedly, and one allegedly occurred in 2024 in New York. I would assume that those are the sort of most serious venues for anything to occur, although we don’t know what else could come out. Could also be civil cases moving forward, we really don’t know.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:15:42] \u003c/em>I’m thinking about Representative Swalwell’s constituents in the East Bay. I mean, what happens for them? It seems like they’ll have a new representative soon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:15:52] \u003c/em>I mean, Swalwell wasn’t going to be on the ballot because he was running for governor. So there’s a race to replace him for the term that begins in January already underway. Governor Gavin Newsom could choose to call for a special election for the final months of his term. I believe the earliest that could occur would be August. Unless somebody won, you know, flat out, there would be a runoff in November. So that would be for a very short time. So I think that’s a really open question. How many of these staff members will stick around now that he’s leaving to help kind of still serve constituents and run the office? That’s not an unheard of situation. And we’ve seen this happen when people have died and resigned before. But certainly this is a loss in terms of just representation for his constituents in the short term.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:16:39] \u003c/em>I mean, in the meantime, we still have to pick a governor this year. And one of the leading Democrats is out six, seven weeks before the June primary. I mean where, where do we go from here? What might the next month and a half look like?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:16:52] \u003c/em>I mean, brace yourself. There’s going to be some political ads, right? We’re seeing a lot of money being dumped. It’s a really crowded field, and it does seem like most of the candidates have kind of failed to capture the imagination of voters. Even the top polling candidates, including former Orange County Representative Katie Porter and Democratic activist and billionaire Tom Steyer. Really are only polling in, you know, the low teens at this point, and the rest of the field is in single digits, low single digits actually. And then you have two Republicans who have been really actually topping Democrats in the polls, Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco, businessman Steve Hilton. It feels wide open, and it’s pretty wide. I just want to note, I’ve been covering California politics since Gray Davis got recalled in 2003 and Arnold Schwarzenegger became governor. That’s the last time we had a truly open governor’s race.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:17:53] \u003c/em>Marisa, thanks so much.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:17:54] \u003c/em>My pleasure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"\" title=\"\">\u003ci>Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco-Northern California Local.\u003c/i>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This episode contains descriptions of sexual assault. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Until last week, former Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Democrat from Dublin, was a leading candidate for governor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But on Friday, a former staffer accused Swalwell of sexual assault. \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/eric-swalwell-allegations-22198271.php\">In interviews with the \u003ci>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/i>\u003c/a>, former staff member said Swalwell sexually assaulted her when she was too intoxicated to consent in both 2019 and 2024, after multiple inappropriate advances both on Snapchat and in person. Since then, at least four more women have come forward, including one who \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/04/eric-swalwell-sex-assault-allegation/\">alleges she was violently raped by Swalwell in 2018\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan data-slate-fragment=\"JTVCJTdCJTIydHlwZSUyMiUzQSUyMnBhcmFncmFwaCUyMiUyQyUyMmNoaWxkcmVuJTIyJTNBJTVCJTdCJTIydGV4dCUyMiUzQSUyMlN3YWx3ZWxsJTIwZGVuaWVzJTIwdGhlc2UlMjBhbGxlZ2F0aW9ucy4lMjBCdXQlMjB3aXRoaW4lMjBkYXlzJTJDJTIwYWZ0ZXIlMjBzdXBwb3J0ZXJzJTIwZmxlZCUyMGhpcyUyMGNhbXBhaWduJTIwYW5kJTIwY2FsbGVkJTIwZm9yJTIwaGltJTIwdG8lMjBzdGVwJTIwZG93biUyQyUyMGhlJTIwZW5kZWQlMjBoaXMlMjBjYW1wYWlnbiUyMGZvciUyMGdvdmVybm9yJTIwYW5kJTIwcmVzaWduZWQlMjBoaXMlMjBDb25ncmVzc2lvbmFsJTIwc2VhdC4lMjIlN0QlNUQlN0QlNUQ=\">Swalwell denies these allegations. But within days, after supporters fled his campaign and called for him to step down, he ended his run for governor and resigned his Congressional seat.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm?e=KQINC3913401334&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Links:\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>SF Chronicle: \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/eric-swalwell-allegations-22198271.php\">Ex-staffer says Eric Swalwell, candidate for California governor, sexually assaulted her\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>KQED: \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079800/eric-swalwell-allegations-resign-congress-california-governor-race-who-is-running-primary\">Eric Swalwell Is Out of the Governor’s Race and Resigning From Congress. What Happens Now? \u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>CalMatters: \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/04/eric-swalwell-sex-assault-allegation/\">Woman alleges violent sexual assault by Eric Swalwell: ‘He raped me’\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>Episode Transcript\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:00] \u003c/em>Hi it’s Alan Montecillo. Before we begin today, just a quick heads up, this episode contains descriptions of sexual assault.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:14] \u003c/em>I’m Alan Montecillo, in for Ericka Cruz Guevara, and welcome to The Bay. Local news to keep you rooted. Until last week, Representative Eric Swalwell, a Democrat from Dublin, was one of the leading candidates in a crowded race for governor of California. He had become famous for his confrontations with the Trump administration and promised that he would protect and defend California from federal attacks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Swalwell: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:44] \u003c/em>I’m running to be a fighter protector against a president who has chased Californians through the fields where they work, who’s put troops in our streets. I see it as table stakes to be considered in this race if you can’t convince the most vulnerable Californians that you can protect them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:03] \u003c/em>But over the weekend, Swalwell’s campaign imploded. After reporting by the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN, describe detailed allegations of sexual assault and misconduct from multiple women, including former staffers. Swalwell says these allegations are false, but he has now ended his campaign for governor and resigned from the U.S. House of Representatives. Melissa Estepa, a resident of Hayward, says she feels let down by someone she saw as a potential leader.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Estepa: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:40] \u003c/em>I’m disappointed. I was really excited about him and thought he would be the prime candidate and he was someone I thought was a rising star and I was looking forward to supporting him but it’s just another man in power abusing women so it’s not surprising but it is still very disappointing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:58] \u003c/em>The rise and fall of Eric Swalwell.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:12] \u003c/em>Eric Swalwell had a meteoric rise in politics and he fell just as fast last week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:18] \u003c/em>Marisa Lagos is a politics correspondent for KQED and co-host of the Political Breakdown podcast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:25] \u003c/em>He kind of burst onto the political scene as a city council member in Dublin. He made waves by challenging a guy who’d been in Congress for, I think, longer than he’d been alive. He really made this name for himself, taking on Trump, and became this national figure. And after entering the governor’s race, seemed like he was on a glide path to really kind of taking that top spot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:51] \u003c/em>I don’t actually know that much about his backstory. How did he end up in politics, Bay Area politics, and eventually in Congress?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:58] \u003c/em>Yeah, so he was a prosecutor. His dad had been a police officer. And then he ended up running for the Dublin City Council. I would say was sort of ahead of the curve around issues of housing. He was seen as pretty pro-development, which back then was a knock in democratic circles, to some extent. In 2012, he ran for an East Bay district that includes Dublin and Pleasanton, and he won, beating out this incumbent who had been there for decades. As you all know, when incumbents get challenged, generally the kind of political establishment rallies behind them. And so I think that he was maybe a little ahead of the curve in terms of pushing a new generation of leadership and kind of calling out the fact that you had these people who had been there so long.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Swalwell: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:03:50] \u003c/em>That new energy and ideas are coming to Washington, D.C.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Crowd: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:03:53] \u003c/em>Woo!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Swalwell: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:03:56] \u003c/em>And we can proudly declare a victory as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:04:04] \u003c/em>I wouldn’t say in Congress he’s been a prolific lawmaker. He really made his name kind of carrying on his prosecutorial chops first as an investigator during the impeachment hearings of Trump related to his Ukraine-Russia dealings during the 2016 election, and then even more so, I think, raised his national profile during the second impeachment after January 6, where he was actually one of the house managers. So he was out there being a prosecutor. And he really became this kind of go-to cable news commentator for Democrats, right? MSNBC called him all the time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>MSNBC Announcer: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:04:39] \u003c/em>I’d like to get your reaction to the RNC’s idea of legitimate political discourse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Swalwell: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:04:45] \u003c/em>But, well, Jonathan, look, if your neighbor came over and stepped on your porch holding a knife, a gun, a machete, and said that he wanted to talk, I don’t think you would call the police and say, you know what, we’re gonna settle this. It’s a legitimate political discourse. No, you would say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:05:02] \u003c/em>But I would say that he was a lieutenant of democratic leadership. He was seen as pretty close to Nancy Pelosi and as a serious person who could kind of bring the case to Trump in a way that was based on his background in law enforcement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:05:20] \u003c/em>So Eric Swalwell runs for Congress in 2012, takes office in 2013, serves for a little more than a decade, and then he decides to run for governor. What was his platform?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:05:32] \u003c/em>It’s creepy now given the allegations against him, but his tagline is fighter and protector.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Swalwell: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:05:37] \u003c/em>This great state needs a fighter and a protector, someone who will bring prices down, lift wages up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:05:43] \u003c/em>It almost felt like he was running a national campaign. I mean, he announced his candidacy, not in a press conference in Sacramento or his district or Los Angeles, but on Jimmy Kimmel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Swalwell: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:05:53] \u003c/em>So, I came here tonight, Jimmy, to tell you and your audience that I’m running to be the next governor of California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:00] \u003c/em>Which obviously has this like double and tundra given Kimmel’s fights with the Trump administration as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jimmy Kimmel: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:06] \u003c/em>Well, thank you for being here and announcing this exciting news here on the show. And thanks for your support throughout our ordeal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:15] \u003c/em>He really tried to cultivate this air of inevitability. And I would say that that started with that announcement. If you look at his policy platform, he wasn’t promising anything wildly different than the other leading Democrats, right? He wants to tackle affordability, make it so families can live here. He wants improve housing permitting and speed up the housing construction process. But there was no details on any of those proposals. Like there was not contours to these things. And I think, could I have told you a week ago or can I tell you now what a Governor Eric Swalwell would have actually looked like from a policy perspective? I don’t know that I could.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:07:00] \u003c/em>And until late last week, it seemed like he had become the front runner on the Democratic side. What was the Swalwell coalition, if there was one, before last Friday, and what did people like about him?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:07:15] \u003c/em>I mean, it was the establishment. It was dozens of members of Congress and state lawmakers. It was some of the biggest unions in the state. We saw just in recent weeks, the California Teachers Association, SCIU California, both endorse him. I think that it was, to some extent, the biggest players in democratic politics was the coalition. I mean, and interestingly, it did seem like he was about to pull ahead as frontrunner, but he hadn’t yet. I mean the polls had not shown him out sort of performing any of the top candidates, but I think getting that support from the kind of political insiders was giving him that air and allowing him to kind of create that and he had money to back it up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:08:03] \u003c/em>So Eric Swalwell was, until very recently, a frontrunner for governor of California, until Friday afternoon when reporting from the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN describes detailed allegations of sexual assault and misconduct. What exactly is being alleged here?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:08:26] \u003c/em>So the Chronicles bombshell report really focuses on allegations by a woman who began working, first of all, well, first, I think as an intern in college, and then right out of college at age 21, first in one of his campaigns, and then in his district office, and eventually, I think, in DC. She alleges that shortly after they met, he started sending her. Kind of inappropriate, sexually explicit messages on Snapchat, that at one point, he basically pulled over his car and pulled out his penis and implied that she should perform oral sex on him. And then the core of her allegations are in both 2019 and 2024, that after nights of drinking where she was too inebriated to consent, essentially that he raped her. The first incident she alleged was in 2019 in Pleasanton. She was still a staffer at the time. Five years later in 2024 in New York City, these allegations were corroborated by the Chronicle through text messages, medical records, conversations with people in her life, family and others, who she had told at the times. A few hours later, CNN followed up with both an interview of this woman who has still chosen to remain anonymous. She was not identified in that interview. And then three other women who made allegations of sort of similar behavior in terms of unwanted touching or advances. And then on Tuesday, another woman came forward named Lana Drews. She says that. Representative Eric Swalwell drugged and raped her in 2018 and that she does plan to file a police report\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:10:18] \u003c/em>How much of this alleged behavior from Swalwell was known in political circles before this story?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:10:25] \u003c/em>There was a lot of rumors over the years about him potentially maybe cheating on his wife. He’s a married father of three. And I think that there have been rumors, I hadn’t heard these, but of him maybe, yeah, acting inappropriately, flirtatiously with interns or other folks who he had power over. A lot of, I think, dots are being connected now in hindsight, but I’ll be frank, I’m struggling with this a little bit. I feel like there was a lot of rumors, and quite frankly, in the recent months, as he launched this campaign, a lot people within California politics, you know, at these labor unions, at these other groups he was trying to win endorsements from, apparently asked him very explicitly, like, about these rumors, and he just denied them flat out. I think that The power dynamics that exist within Congress, within the state capital, are real, and I think that it does take these survivors and victims to be willing to come forward. I’m sort of personally asking myself if we, as the press corps, should have asked these questions sooner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:11:37] \u003c/em>How Eric Swalwell’s campaign imploded. Stay with us. This news was published on Friday. What was the immediate response?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:11:54] \u003c/em>I mean, it was a bombshell and people acted appropriately. I would say it was swift. He started, you know, losing support. I mean by that evening we had seen every single member of Congress risk in their endorsement, um, as well as, you know, the big labor unions. It was clear by Friday afternoon that Swalwell was going to have to end his campaign and resign from the House of Representatives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:12:19] \u003c/em>And there was also a staffer letter, right?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:12:22] \u003c/em>Several, yeah. Some of his top advisors just left, but his current campaign and congressional staff did put out kind of an anonymous statement on Friday, basically saying, look, any of us who have chosen to stay here, you should not construe that as a supporting Swalwell. We’re trying to support his constituents. Some these staffers are young. They don’t have the sort of financial means to just be able to walk away from a job overnight. That was followed by several other statements, including one. That came out Sunday by former staffers who really just distanced themselves from Swalwell, made very clear that they believe these women, and actually apologized to these women and said, you know, we did not know this was happening, but we wish we had.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:07] \u003c/em>How did he react when the story came out on Friday? Was he also digging his heels and saying it’s not true?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:14] \u003c/em>Yeah, we should know, before the story published, Thursday night his attorney sent cease and desist letters to these women. A lot of rumors that started circulating online prior to these stories publishing, particularly by some online democratic women influencers. And even then, he and his campaign chose to very forcefully deny them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Swalwell: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:38] \u003c/em>A lot has been said about me today through anonymous allegations. I thought it was important that you see and hear from me directly. These allegations of sexual assault are flat, false. They’re absolutely false. They did not happen. They have never happened. And I will fight them with everything that I have.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:57] \u003c/em>After the story came out, he posted a video on Friday night where he specifically said the allegations of sexual assault are flat false, but he also acknowledged in that video he’s not perfect or a saint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Swalwell: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:14:11] \u003c/em>I’ve certainly made mistakes in judgment in my past, but those mistakes are between me and my wife.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:14:22] \u003c/em>So in that statement, and then again, when he announced on Sunday that he was stepping out of the governor’s race, he made some sort of nod to the fact that maybe some of this behavior did occur, maybe infidelity did occur. But he did not ever differentiate in these statements. He’s really focused and maybe understandably because there could be criminal charges potentially on the sexual assault allegations. We’ve also obviously seen no apologies or any sort of. Response directly to these women.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:14:55] \u003c/em>Eric Swalwell’s not gonna be governor. He’s also leaving the House. He still says, I’m gonna fight this. So what does that mean? Are there other possible consequences coming for Eric Swallwell?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:15:05] \u003c/em>Yeah, so we saw the Manhattan district attorney and the Alameda district attorney say that they were basically exploring whether there could be potential criminal charges in both of the sexual assault incidents, because, of course, one of them occurred in Alamedo County in 2019, allegedly, and one allegedly occurred in 2024 in New York. I would assume that those are the sort of most serious venues for anything to occur, although we don’t know what else could come out. Could also be civil cases moving forward, we really don’t know.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:15:42] \u003c/em>I’m thinking about Representative Swalwell’s constituents in the East Bay. I mean, what happens for them? It seems like they’ll have a new representative soon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:15:52] \u003c/em>I mean, Swalwell wasn’t going to be on the ballot because he was running for governor. So there’s a race to replace him for the term that begins in January already underway. Governor Gavin Newsom could choose to call for a special election for the final months of his term. I believe the earliest that could occur would be August. Unless somebody won, you know, flat out, there would be a runoff in November. So that would be for a very short time. So I think that’s a really open question. How many of these staff members will stick around now that he’s leaving to help kind of still serve constituents and run the office? That’s not an unheard of situation. And we’ve seen this happen when people have died and resigned before. But certainly this is a loss in terms of just representation for his constituents in the short term.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:16:39] \u003c/em>I mean, in the meantime, we still have to pick a governor this year. And one of the leading Democrats is out six, seven weeks before the June primary. I mean where, where do we go from here? What might the next month and a half look like?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:16:52] \u003c/em>I mean, brace yourself. There’s going to be some political ads, right? We’re seeing a lot of money being dumped. It’s a really crowded field, and it does seem like most of the candidates have kind of failed to capture the imagination of voters. Even the top polling candidates, including former Orange County Representative Katie Porter and Democratic activist and billionaire Tom Steyer. Really are only polling in, you know, the low teens at this point, and the rest of the field is in single digits, low single digits actually. And then you have two Republicans who have been really actually topping Democrats in the polls, Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco, businessman Steve Hilton. It feels wide open, and it’s pretty wide. I just want to note, I’ve been covering California politics since Gray Davis got recalled in 2003 and Arnold Schwarzenegger became governor. That’s the last time we had a truly open governor’s race.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alan Montecillo: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:17:53] \u003c/em>Marisa, thanks so much.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisa Lagos: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:17:54] \u003c/em>My pleasure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003c!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ -->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Beverly Hills woman alleged Tuesday that Democratic \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/eric-swalwell\">Rep. Eric Swalwell\u003c/a> sexually assaulted her at a hotel room in 2018, saying she believed she was drugged.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He raped me, and he choked me. And while he was choking me, I lost consciousness. And I thought I died. I did not consent to any sexual activity,” Lonna Drewes told reporters at a press conference at the office of her lawyers in Beverly Hills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Drewes said Swalwell, whom she met through mutual friends, “spoke repeatedly about his ability to make connections” to help with her software company. Drewes said she was also considering a run for Beverly Hills City Council at the time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement posted online, an attorney for Swalwell said he “categorically and unequivocally denies each and every allegation of sexual misconduct and assault that has been leveled against him.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These accusations are false, fabricated and deeply offensive — a calculated and transparent political hit job designed to destroy the reputation of a man who has spent nearly twenty years in public service,” attorney Sara Azari wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12007621\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12007621\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241002-SWALWELL-PRICE-RECALL-BL-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241002-SWALWELL-PRICE-RECALL-BL-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241002-SWALWELL-PRICE-RECALL-BL-02-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241002-SWALWELL-PRICE-RECALL-BL-02-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241002-SWALWELL-PRICE-RECALL-BL-02-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241002-SWALWELL-PRICE-RECALL-BL-02-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241002-SWALWELL-PRICE-RECALL-BL-02-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rep. Eric Swalwell speaks during a press conference outside of Hayward City Hall in Hayward on Oct. 2, 2024, announcing support for the recall of Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A week ago, Swalwell was one of three leading Democratic contenders for governor, but his support quickly collapsed soon after \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/eric-swalwell-allegations-22198271.php\">the San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/a> reported last Friday that an unnamed former staff member said Swalwell solicited oral sex from her while she was working for him and twice sexually assaulted her when she was too drunk to consent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CNN \u003ca href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/10/us/eric-swalwell-sexual-misconduct-allegations-invs\">later Friday\u003c/a> published the same woman’s account, as well as those of three other women, one of whom said he kissed and touched her inappropriately and two of whom alleged he sent unsolicited messages.[aside postID=news_12079795 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/GettyImages-2255023262-2000x1334.jpg']Swalwell \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079624/eric-swalwell-suspends-ca-gubernatorial-campaign\">suspended\u003c/a> his gubernatorial campaign Sunday night and said Monday that he would resign from Congress.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Drewes said she met Swalwell three times in total in 2018 and did not see him again after the third time, when the alleged assault took place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She provided reporters a photo that her attorneys said showed one of their meetings, during an opening of a Beverly Hills restaurant. The restaurant opened in late April 2018, according to news reports.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of her attorneys, Lisa Bloom, said she would be filing a complaint with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office later Tuesday, which will include text messages between the two, journal entries in which Drews said she recorded the incident at the time and information of people whom she told about the alleged assault.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Drewes also told reporters she sought therapy afterward at a center for assault survivors in Connecticut.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This has been updated with a statement from Swalwell’s attorney.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/04/eric-swalwell-sex-assault-allegation/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "A day after Rep. Eric Swallwell said he would resign from Congress, a Beverly Hills woman detailed what she described as a violent sexual encounter with the Democratic lawmaker.",
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"title": "Woman Alleges Violent Sexual Assault by Eric Swalwell: ‘He Raped Me’ | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ -->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Beverly Hills woman alleged Tuesday that Democratic \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/eric-swalwell\">Rep. Eric Swalwell\u003c/a> sexually assaulted her at a hotel room in 2018, saying she believed she was drugged.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He raped me, and he choked me. And while he was choking me, I lost consciousness. And I thought I died. I did not consent to any sexual activity,” Lonna Drewes told reporters at a press conference at the office of her lawyers in Beverly Hills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Drewes said Swalwell, whom she met through mutual friends, “spoke repeatedly about his ability to make connections” to help with her software company. Drewes said she was also considering a run for Beverly Hills City Council at the time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement posted online, an attorney for Swalwell said he “categorically and unequivocally denies each and every allegation of sexual misconduct and assault that has been leveled against him.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These accusations are false, fabricated and deeply offensive — a calculated and transparent political hit job designed to destroy the reputation of a man who has spent nearly twenty years in public service,” attorney Sara Azari wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12007621\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12007621\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241002-SWALWELL-PRICE-RECALL-BL-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241002-SWALWELL-PRICE-RECALL-BL-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241002-SWALWELL-PRICE-RECALL-BL-02-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241002-SWALWELL-PRICE-RECALL-BL-02-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241002-SWALWELL-PRICE-RECALL-BL-02-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241002-SWALWELL-PRICE-RECALL-BL-02-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241002-SWALWELL-PRICE-RECALL-BL-02-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rep. Eric Swalwell speaks during a press conference outside of Hayward City Hall in Hayward on Oct. 2, 2024, announcing support for the recall of Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A week ago, Swalwell was one of three leading Democratic contenders for governor, but his support quickly collapsed soon after \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/eric-swalwell-allegations-22198271.php\">the San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/a> reported last Friday that an unnamed former staff member said Swalwell solicited oral sex from her while she was working for him and twice sexually assaulted her when she was too drunk to consent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CNN \u003ca href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/10/us/eric-swalwell-sexual-misconduct-allegations-invs\">later Friday\u003c/a> published the same woman’s account, as well as those of three other women, one of whom said he kissed and touched her inappropriately and two of whom alleged he sent unsolicited messages.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Swalwell \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079624/eric-swalwell-suspends-ca-gubernatorial-campaign\">suspended\u003c/a> his gubernatorial campaign Sunday night and said Monday that he would resign from Congress.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Drewes said she met Swalwell three times in total in 2018 and did not see him again after the third time, when the alleged assault took place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She provided reporters a photo that her attorneys said showed one of their meetings, during an opening of a Beverly Hills restaurant. The restaurant opened in late April 2018, according to news reports.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of her attorneys, Lisa Bloom, said she would be filing a complaint with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office later Tuesday, which will include text messages between the two, journal entries in which Drews said she recorded the incident at the time and information of people whom she told about the alleged assault.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Drewes also told reporters she sought therapy afterward at a center for assault survivors in Connecticut.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This has been updated with a statement from Swalwell’s attorney.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/04/eric-swalwell-sex-assault-allegation/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "heres-how-californias-next-governor-will-change-your-taxes",
"title": "Here’s How California’s Next Governor Will Change Your Taxes",
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"content": "\u003cp>As Californians rush to file their taxes before the April 15 deadline, the candidates vying to be \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California\u003c/a>’s next governor have laid out competing visions for the future of taxation in the nation’s largest state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Leading candidates have proposed eliminating income taxes, cutting taxes for businesses, increasing taxes on corporations and raising taxes on commercial properties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not on that list: taxing billionaires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>None of the candidates polling in double digits has embraced the tax proposal, sending shockwaves through California politics: a one-time tax on the wealth of billionaires that a health care union is trying to qualify for the November ballot. But while Gov. Gavin Newsom has spent his final year in office arguing that the state has a spending problem, not a revenue problem, the Democrats most likely to succeed him are eyeing ways to bring new money into the state’s coffers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Democrats Katie Porter and Tom Steyer have proposed new taxes on large corporations — albeit in different forms — to offset federal health care cuts, boost education funding and help fill structural budget deficits \u003ca href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/reports/2025/5091/2026-27_Fiscal_Outlook_111925.pdf\">projected\u003c/a> to reach $35 billion in the coming years. Porter has also aligned with Republicans Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco in promising to cut taxes for working families and businesses, though the Republicans’ plans would go much further.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>None of the leading candidates has indicated which state programs they would cut to make up for lost tax revenue. But in a year when affordability is the \u003ca href=\"https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8dj134w8\">dominant voter concern\u003c/a>, taxes are top of mind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you’re gonna talk about affordability — and affordability is the main kind of buzzword of the campaign — well, you gotta start with taxes,” said Tim Anaya of the Sacramento-based Pacific Research Institute, a libertarian, free-market think tank.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A tax code ‘frozen in amber’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>California’s tax code has been largely frozen in amber for the past century. When voters limited property tax increases through Proposition 13 in 1978, they made the state more dependent on a progressive income tax that relies disproportionately on the high incomes and capital gains of a relatively small number of residents. As a result, California tax revenues fluctuate wildly based on how tech and other large companies perform in the stock market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the past 40 years, \u003ca href=\"https://sco.ca.gov/Files-EO/Appendices_cea.pdf\">efforts\u003c/a> to change California’s tax law have largely nibbled around the edges. No one has proposed a wholesale reform of the system, Anaya said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12069108\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12069108\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GavinNewsomStateoftheState2026AP.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1337\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GavinNewsomStateoftheState2026AP.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GavinNewsomStateoftheState2026AP-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GavinNewsomStateoftheState2026AP-1536x1027.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during his State of the State address on Jan. 8, 2026, in Sacramento, California. \u003ccite>(Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The governor’s race is playing out against the backdrop of negotiations to shave billions of dollars off state spending next year to close the state’s growing structural deficit. In budget hearings this spring, finance officials in Newsom’s administration have made clear that the governor is not interested in pursuing any new taxes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like his predecessor, Jerry Brown, Newsom has bemoaned the annual swings between surpluses and deficits driven by gyrations in personal income tax and capital gains revenue. But he has done little to either broaden the tax base or bring in new forms of revenue, said Chris Hoene, executive director of the left-leaning California Budget & Policy Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He has not done very much on the tax front,” Hoene said. “He’s been more inclined to actually give away new or expanded tax credits — like he became a big proponent of expanding the film tax credit.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The top Democratic candidates for governor — Porter and Steyer — are vowing to boost state revenues, primarily by honing in on big business.[aside postID=news_12072234 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CAGovDebateAP1.jpg']Hoene said it’s no surprise that their proposals lean into familiar ideas such as raising taxes on corporate profits or property, rather than the relatively novel approach of taxing overall wealth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some of these newer ideas, like taxing wealth … those are things that need to be cooked a bit longer,” Hoene said. “If I were a gubernatorial candidate, I’d be saying, ‘hey, there’s some low-hanging fruit we should be going after first.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s also some unlikely overlap. Porter and Hilton both propose eliminating state income tax on earnings less than $100,000, a change that would affect \u003ca href=\"https://lab.data.ca.gov/dataset/pit-annual-report-2024\">more than 70% of California residents who file tax returns\u003c/a>. (Porter’s proposal focuses on \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/katieporterca/status/2032495138384322988\">families\u003c/a>, while \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdP6OxD9flY&t=3s\">Hilton said\u003c/a> he would extend the exemption to all filers.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hilton also proposed reducing the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ftb.ca.gov/file/business/types/corporations/index.html\">$800 minimum franchise tax\u003c/a> that businesses have to pay, regardless of their profits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Among the lower-polling candidates, San José Mayor Matt Mahan and Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond — both Democrats — have offered tax plans on opposite ends of the party’s ideological spectrum.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thurmond supports the one-time 5% tax on the wealth of billionaires, which could raise up to $100 billion for health care and food assistance. Mahan vows to oppose all tax increases until oversight measures are in place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The other candidates have not released detailed tax proposals.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Here’s what we know about the leading candidate’s tax plans so far:\u003c/h2>\n\u003ch2>Tom Steyer\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Steyer argued that while the richest Californians should pay more, the state should focus on taxing corporations. He supports a proposal to close the so-called “water’s edge” loophole that allows \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1790\">multinational corporations\u003c/a> to shelter their profits in countries with low tax rates to shield their international profits from state taxes. The proposal would require these corporations to pay taxes based on a share of their global income.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s an idea that progressives have floated for years but never managed to pass. This year, ahead of the November governor’s race, \u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/newsletters/california-playbook-pm/2026/02/10/waters-edge-tax-loophole-00774699\">Sacramento legislators will debate\u003c/a> closing the loophole again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12072288\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12072288\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CAGovDebateAP3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CAGovDebateAP3.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CAGovDebateAP3-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CAGovDebateAP3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">From left to right, Matt Mahan, Tom Steyer and Tony Thurmond participate in the California gubernatorial candidate debate on Feb. 3, 2026, in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Laure Andrillon/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Steyer also \u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/18/tom-steyer-wants-a-special-election-to-hike-corporate-taxes-in-2027-00786876\">floated a special election in 2027\u003c/a> to pass an increase on commercial property taxes, which were capped by Proposition 13.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Steyer and other progressives have long wanted to split off commercial properties from Proposition 13 protections, an idea known as “split roll.” In 2020, state voters \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11844592/voters-reject-proposition-15-a-ballot-question-to-partially-dismantle-a-cap-on-property-taxes\">rejected\u003c/a> a measure to do just that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am proposing closing a corporate real estate tax loophole that’s existed for over 40 years,” Steyer \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjXvKfldFlI&t=1s\">told KQED’s \u003cem>Political Breakdown\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. “That brings in more money to the state, that is permanent, that is completely fair.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Steve Hilton\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Hilton argued California’s budget problems are due to overspending, noting that the state budget has nearly doubled since 2017. He also said the state’s affordability problem is tied to how expensive it is to do business in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hilton noted that California, the nation’s most populous state, has more people in poverty than any other state, \u003ca href=\"https://hdpulse.nimhd.nih.gov/data-portal/social/table?age=001&age_options=ageall_1&demo=00007&demo_options=poverty_3&race=00&race_options=race_7&sex=0&sex_options=sexboth_1&socialtopic=080&socialtopic_options=social_6&statefips=00&statefips_options=area_states\">according to federal government statistics\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12071399\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12071399\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260122-STEVE-HILTON-ON-PB-MD-04-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260122-STEVE-HILTON-ON-PB-MD-04-KQED-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260122-STEVE-HILTON-ON-PB-MD-04-KQED-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260122-STEVE-HILTON-ON-PB-MD-04-KQED-1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Steve Hilton at KQED in San Francisco on Jan. 22, 2026. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Why?” he \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdP6OxD9flY&t=3s\">said on \u003cem>Political Breakdown\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. “Because of all these combinations of the spending and the policies that are making it so difficult to start and grow businesses. As a result of that, costs go up. As a result of that, we increase welfare payments because people are struggling. That means taxes go higher. That means it becomes even more expensive. And we’ve got to get out of that cycle.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hilton said he will make the state more affordable by eliminating state income tax for Californians earning less than $100,000 and imposing a flat 7.5% tax on earnings over $100,000. Currently, the income tax tops out at 12.3% for individuals making more than $722,000 a year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He opposed any changes to Proposition 13 and wants to eliminate the minimum franchise tax, which is about $800 annually for all businesses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hilton believes the tax cuts will grow California’s economy, which could result in more tax revenue.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Katie Porter\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Porter framed her tax plan as key to tackling affordability. At its center: eliminating state income taxes for families who make under $100,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The state takes a chunk of many people’s paychecks,” she \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12078450/katie-porters-run-for-governor-centers-tax-cuts-corporate-accountability\">said on \u003cem>Political Breakdown\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. “$100,000 allows people to make ends meet, but also to do the things we need them to do: To save for retirement. To be able to get a house, to be able to put a little money away for college.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074712\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074712\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-GovRaceForum-56-BL_qed-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-GovRaceForum-56-BL_qed-1.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-GovRaceForum-56-BL_qed-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-GovRaceForum-56-BL_qed-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter speaks during a gubernatorial candidate forum at the UCSF Mission Bay campus in San Francisco on Jan. 26, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Porter said she would pay for that tax cut by changing California’s corporate tax, which is currently a flat 8.84%, no matter how much a company makes. She wants to increase it gradually, with the highest-earning corporations paying up to 9.75%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That would generate enough revenue … to deliver on my promise of free college tuition,” Porter said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her free college tuition plan would allow Californians to attend two years of community college for free, then transfer to a University of California or California State University campus, where the state would cover their tuition.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Chad Bianco\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Bianco’s campaign said his tax priorities are “straightforward”: he wants to cut them and make up for lost revenue with undefined “wasteful spending” cuts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bianco proposed eliminating the state income tax entirely, opposing any new taxes and reducing “cost drivers like the gas tax,” according to a campaign spokesperson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a recent interview with KVCR, Bianco accused Democratic leaders of “bilking” the state for billions of dollars, pointing toward state contracts with nonprofits. He estimated annual waste and fraud at up to $50 billion — without providing specifics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12077855\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12077855\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-2267789591-scaled-e1775847167430.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gubernatorial Candidate Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco speaks at an event in downtown Los Angeles on March 24, 2026. \u003ccite>(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“California government is broken,” he said. “Number one, we absolutely have to stop the waste, the fraud, and the abuse going on in our government … So you eliminate all of the fraud, you become oil independent and use that to fund government, and now we don’t have to pay income taxes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He also would “provide targeted relief, including reducing or eliminating state taxes on tips.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in a debate with Hilton April 4 at the Lincoln Club of Coachella Valley, Bianco suggested that upending the state’s tax system would be more difficult than repealing regulations enacted by previous governors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Regulations are easy, we sign all of those away…all of those boards and commissions can be suspended, the regulations can be suspended,” Bianco said. “The taxes are going to be a different story.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KVCR’s Madison Aument contributed reporting to this story.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Leading gubernatorial candidates Chad Bianco, Steve Hilton, Katie Porter and Tom Steyer can’t agree on who should pay more or less. Here’s where they stand. ",
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"title": "Here’s How California’s Next Governor Will Change Your Taxes | KQED",
"description": "Leading gubernatorial candidates Chad Bianco, Steve Hilton, Katie Porter and Tom Steyer can’t agree on who should pay more or less. Here’s where they stand. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>As Californians rush to file their taxes before the April 15 deadline, the candidates vying to be \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California\u003c/a>’s next governor have laid out competing visions for the future of taxation in the nation’s largest state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Leading candidates have proposed eliminating income taxes, cutting taxes for businesses, increasing taxes on corporations and raising taxes on commercial properties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not on that list: taxing billionaires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>None of the candidates polling in double digits has embraced the tax proposal, sending shockwaves through California politics: a one-time tax on the wealth of billionaires that a health care union is trying to qualify for the November ballot. But while Gov. Gavin Newsom has spent his final year in office arguing that the state has a spending problem, not a revenue problem, the Democrats most likely to succeed him are eyeing ways to bring new money into the state’s coffers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Democrats Katie Porter and Tom Steyer have proposed new taxes on large corporations — albeit in different forms — to offset federal health care cuts, boost education funding and help fill structural budget deficits \u003ca href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/reports/2025/5091/2026-27_Fiscal_Outlook_111925.pdf\">projected\u003c/a> to reach $35 billion in the coming years. Porter has also aligned with Republicans Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco in promising to cut taxes for working families and businesses, though the Republicans’ plans would go much further.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>None of the leading candidates has indicated which state programs they would cut to make up for lost tax revenue. But in a year when affordability is the \u003ca href=\"https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8dj134w8\">dominant voter concern\u003c/a>, taxes are top of mind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you’re gonna talk about affordability — and affordability is the main kind of buzzword of the campaign — well, you gotta start with taxes,” said Tim Anaya of the Sacramento-based Pacific Research Institute, a libertarian, free-market think tank.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A tax code ‘frozen in amber’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>California’s tax code has been largely frozen in amber for the past century. When voters limited property tax increases through Proposition 13 in 1978, they made the state more dependent on a progressive income tax that relies disproportionately on the high incomes and capital gains of a relatively small number of residents. As a result, California tax revenues fluctuate wildly based on how tech and other large companies perform in the stock market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the past 40 years, \u003ca href=\"https://sco.ca.gov/Files-EO/Appendices_cea.pdf\">efforts\u003c/a> to change California’s tax law have largely nibbled around the edges. No one has proposed a wholesale reform of the system, Anaya said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12069108\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12069108\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GavinNewsomStateoftheState2026AP.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1337\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GavinNewsomStateoftheState2026AP.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GavinNewsomStateoftheState2026AP-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GavinNewsomStateoftheState2026AP-1536x1027.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during his State of the State address on Jan. 8, 2026, in Sacramento, California. \u003ccite>(Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The governor’s race is playing out against the backdrop of negotiations to shave billions of dollars off state spending next year to close the state’s growing structural deficit. In budget hearings this spring, finance officials in Newsom’s administration have made clear that the governor is not interested in pursuing any new taxes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like his predecessor, Jerry Brown, Newsom has bemoaned the annual swings between surpluses and deficits driven by gyrations in personal income tax and capital gains revenue. But he has done little to either broaden the tax base or bring in new forms of revenue, said Chris Hoene, executive director of the left-leaning California Budget & Policy Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He has not done very much on the tax front,” Hoene said. “He’s been more inclined to actually give away new or expanded tax credits — like he became a big proponent of expanding the film tax credit.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The top Democratic candidates for governor — Porter and Steyer — are vowing to boost state revenues, primarily by honing in on big business.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Hoene said it’s no surprise that their proposals lean into familiar ideas such as raising taxes on corporate profits or property, rather than the relatively novel approach of taxing overall wealth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some of these newer ideas, like taxing wealth … those are things that need to be cooked a bit longer,” Hoene said. “If I were a gubernatorial candidate, I’d be saying, ‘hey, there’s some low-hanging fruit we should be going after first.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s also some unlikely overlap. Porter and Hilton both propose eliminating state income tax on earnings less than $100,000, a change that would affect \u003ca href=\"https://lab.data.ca.gov/dataset/pit-annual-report-2024\">more than 70% of California residents who file tax returns\u003c/a>. (Porter’s proposal focuses on \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/katieporterca/status/2032495138384322988\">families\u003c/a>, while \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdP6OxD9flY&t=3s\">Hilton said\u003c/a> he would extend the exemption to all filers.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hilton also proposed reducing the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ftb.ca.gov/file/business/types/corporations/index.html\">$800 minimum franchise tax\u003c/a> that businesses have to pay, regardless of their profits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Among the lower-polling candidates, San José Mayor Matt Mahan and Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond — both Democrats — have offered tax plans on opposite ends of the party’s ideological spectrum.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thurmond supports the one-time 5% tax on the wealth of billionaires, which could raise up to $100 billion for health care and food assistance. Mahan vows to oppose all tax increases until oversight measures are in place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The other candidates have not released detailed tax proposals.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Here’s what we know about the leading candidate’s tax plans so far:\u003c/h2>\n\u003ch2>Tom Steyer\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Steyer argued that while the richest Californians should pay more, the state should focus on taxing corporations. He supports a proposal to close the so-called “water’s edge” loophole that allows \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1790\">multinational corporations\u003c/a> to shelter their profits in countries with low tax rates to shield their international profits from state taxes. The proposal would require these corporations to pay taxes based on a share of their global income.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s an idea that progressives have floated for years but never managed to pass. This year, ahead of the November governor’s race, \u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/newsletters/california-playbook-pm/2026/02/10/waters-edge-tax-loophole-00774699\">Sacramento legislators will debate\u003c/a> closing the loophole again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12072288\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12072288\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CAGovDebateAP3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CAGovDebateAP3.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CAGovDebateAP3-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CAGovDebateAP3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">From left to right, Matt Mahan, Tom Steyer and Tony Thurmond participate in the California gubernatorial candidate debate on Feb. 3, 2026, in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Laure Andrillon/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Steyer also \u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/18/tom-steyer-wants-a-special-election-to-hike-corporate-taxes-in-2027-00786876\">floated a special election in 2027\u003c/a> to pass an increase on commercial property taxes, which were capped by Proposition 13.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Steyer and other progressives have long wanted to split off commercial properties from Proposition 13 protections, an idea known as “split roll.” In 2020, state voters \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11844592/voters-reject-proposition-15-a-ballot-question-to-partially-dismantle-a-cap-on-property-taxes\">rejected\u003c/a> a measure to do just that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am proposing closing a corporate real estate tax loophole that’s existed for over 40 years,” Steyer \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjXvKfldFlI&t=1s\">told KQED’s \u003cem>Political Breakdown\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. “That brings in more money to the state, that is permanent, that is completely fair.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Steve Hilton\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Hilton argued California’s budget problems are due to overspending, noting that the state budget has nearly doubled since 2017. He also said the state’s affordability problem is tied to how expensive it is to do business in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hilton noted that California, the nation’s most populous state, has more people in poverty than any other state, \u003ca href=\"https://hdpulse.nimhd.nih.gov/data-portal/social/table?age=001&age_options=ageall_1&demo=00007&demo_options=poverty_3&race=00&race_options=race_7&sex=0&sex_options=sexboth_1&socialtopic=080&socialtopic_options=social_6&statefips=00&statefips_options=area_states\">according to federal government statistics\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12071399\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12071399\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260122-STEVE-HILTON-ON-PB-MD-04-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260122-STEVE-HILTON-ON-PB-MD-04-KQED-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260122-STEVE-HILTON-ON-PB-MD-04-KQED-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260122-STEVE-HILTON-ON-PB-MD-04-KQED-1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Steve Hilton at KQED in San Francisco on Jan. 22, 2026. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Why?” he \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdP6OxD9flY&t=3s\">said on \u003cem>Political Breakdown\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. “Because of all these combinations of the spending and the policies that are making it so difficult to start and grow businesses. As a result of that, costs go up. As a result of that, we increase welfare payments because people are struggling. That means taxes go higher. That means it becomes even more expensive. And we’ve got to get out of that cycle.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hilton said he will make the state more affordable by eliminating state income tax for Californians earning less than $100,000 and imposing a flat 7.5% tax on earnings over $100,000. Currently, the income tax tops out at 12.3% for individuals making more than $722,000 a year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He opposed any changes to Proposition 13 and wants to eliminate the minimum franchise tax, which is about $800 annually for all businesses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hilton believes the tax cuts will grow California’s economy, which could result in more tax revenue.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Katie Porter\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Porter framed her tax plan as key to tackling affordability. At its center: eliminating state income taxes for families who make under $100,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The state takes a chunk of many people’s paychecks,” she \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12078450/katie-porters-run-for-governor-centers-tax-cuts-corporate-accountability\">said on \u003cem>Political Breakdown\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. “$100,000 allows people to make ends meet, but also to do the things we need them to do: To save for retirement. To be able to get a house, to be able to put a little money away for college.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074712\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074712\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-GovRaceForum-56-BL_qed-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-GovRaceForum-56-BL_qed-1.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-GovRaceForum-56-BL_qed-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-GovRaceForum-56-BL_qed-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter speaks during a gubernatorial candidate forum at the UCSF Mission Bay campus in San Francisco on Jan. 26, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Porter said she would pay for that tax cut by changing California’s corporate tax, which is currently a flat 8.84%, no matter how much a company makes. She wants to increase it gradually, with the highest-earning corporations paying up to 9.75%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That would generate enough revenue … to deliver on my promise of free college tuition,” Porter said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her free college tuition plan would allow Californians to attend two years of community college for free, then transfer to a University of California or California State University campus, where the state would cover their tuition.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Chad Bianco\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Bianco’s campaign said his tax priorities are “straightforward”: he wants to cut them and make up for lost revenue with undefined “wasteful spending” cuts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bianco proposed eliminating the state income tax entirely, opposing any new taxes and reducing “cost drivers like the gas tax,” according to a campaign spokesperson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a recent interview with KVCR, Bianco accused Democratic leaders of “bilking” the state for billions of dollars, pointing toward state contracts with nonprofits. He estimated annual waste and fraud at up to $50 billion — without providing specifics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12077855\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12077855\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-2267789591-scaled-e1775847167430.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gubernatorial Candidate Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco speaks at an event in downtown Los Angeles on March 24, 2026. \u003ccite>(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“California government is broken,” he said. “Number one, we absolutely have to stop the waste, the fraud, and the abuse going on in our government … So you eliminate all of the fraud, you become oil independent and use that to fund government, and now we don’t have to pay income taxes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He also would “provide targeted relief, including reducing or eliminating state taxes on tips.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in a debate with Hilton April 4 at the Lincoln Club of Coachella Valley, Bianco suggested that upending the state’s tax system would be more difficult than repealing regulations enacted by previous governors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Regulations are easy, we sign all of those away…all of those boards and commissions can be suspended, the regulations can be suspended,” Bianco said. “The taxes are going to be a different story.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KVCR’s Madison Aument contributed reporting to this story.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
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"mindshift": {
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"order": 12
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"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
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"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
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"possible": {
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"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
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"pri-the-world": {
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"title": "PRI's The World: Latest Edition",
"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
"radiolab": {
"id": "radiolab",
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"info": "A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.",
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},
"reveal": {
"id": "reveal",
"title": "Reveal",
"info": "Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, Reveal is public radios first one-hour weekly radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting. Credible, fact based and without a partisan agenda, Reveal combines the power and artistry of driveway moment storytelling with data-rich reporting on critically important issues. The result is stories that inform and inspire, arming our listeners with information to right injustices, hold the powerful accountable and improve lives.Reveal is hosted by Al Letson and showcases the award-winning work of CIR and newsrooms large and small across the nation. In a radio and podcast market crowded with choices, Reveal focuses on important and often surprising stories that illuminate the world for our listeners.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/",
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},
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