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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cstrong>Here are the morning’s top stories on Thursday, November 5, 2026\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>Democrat Randy Villegas \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/government-politics/2026-11-04/house-district-22-flips-for-democrat-randy-villegas-as-a-blue-wave-hits-nation\">has ousted\u003c/a> longtime Republican incumbent David Valadao from his seat in the Central Valley’s 22nd Congressional District. The seat was one of five targeted by new redistricting maps approved under Prop 50. \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Election results are still being tallied across the state. And of the 14 state propositions on the ballot, more than half remain too close to call. But voters \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/11/california-election-2026-props-1-37/\">did pass two ballot measures \u003c/a>aimed at tackling the state’s housing crisis. \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Democrat Clarissa Cervantes is leading incumbent Republican Leticia Castillo in the race for the \u003ca href=\"https://kvcr.org/news/local/2026-10-30/california-democrats-look-to-riverside-county-assembly-district-race-for-signs-theyve-gained-traction-among-latino-voters\">58th Assembly seat in Riverside County.\u003c/a> The rematch is one of the most competitive Assembly races in California. \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>A measure to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12107221/despite-affordability-concerns-bay-area-farmworker-housing-project-lags-in-early-returns\">approve farmworker housing\u003c/a> in Half Moon Bay is still too close to call, with just 64 votes separating the two sides.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/government-politics/2026-11-04/house-district-22-flips-for-democrat-randy-villegas-as-a-blue-wave-hits-nation\">House District 22 flips for Democrat Randy Villegas as a blue wave hits nation\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Political newcomer Randy Villegas has won the U.S. House of Representatives seat in District 22 against Republican incumbent David Valadao. \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/california-us-house-results/#22\">The Associated Press called the race\u003c/a> Wednesday morning after Villegas showed a decisive lead in early election results.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Valadao represented the San Joaquin Valley in Congress for six out of the last seven elections. Valadao first held a congressional seat in 2012 and was re-elected in 2020 after Democrat T.J. Cox unseated him for one term. The district was redrawn after a Democratic gerrymander effort last year to counter similar efforts by Republicans in other states.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Villegas declared victory at his election night party in Bakersfield long before the race was officially called. He addressed a crowd of about 200 supporters and thanked them for the journey. “A lot of people wrote us off. We had to beat our own party to get to where we are today,” Villegas told the crowd. “We beat the Democratic establishment. We beat the Republican establishment.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Throughout his campaign, Villegas made promises of establishing healthcare for all, lowering costs and helping reform immigration policies. He emphasized that he did not take funding from corporate political action committees. Villegas said one of his first acts in Congress will be to help undo health cuts from last year’s so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act – which cut about $1 trillion from Medicaid and established new work requirements in order to qualify. “We have the most Medicaid recipients in the entire country in this district, and despite that, my opponent voted to go give tax breaks to billionaires,” Villegas said. “That is money that our communities deserve. Those are resources our communities deserve. I’m going to fight like hell to reverse that damage and restore funding to Medicaid, SNAP, WIC and so many programs that our working families rely on.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">House District 22 was watched closely by both parties looking to flip the district. High-profile politicians stumped in Bakersfield for the candidates in the lead up to the election. Valadao was endorsed by House Speaker Mike Johnson while Villegas was endorsed by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/11/california-election-2026-props-1-37/\">California housing bonds: Voters pass Prop. 37, Prop. 1\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">California voters approved two housing bond measures, Propositions 1 and 37, according to the Associated Press. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The two bonds take aim at the state’s affordable housing crisis in very different ways.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-voter-guide-2026/proposition-1-housing-bond/\">Prop. 1\u003c/a> would give the state permission to borrow a \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2026/10/prop-1-housing-bond/\">record-breaking $11.25 billion\u003c/a>, with the lion’s share going toward the construction of affordable housing for low-income renters and homeless Californians.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-voter-guide-2026/proposition-37-homebuyers-loan/\">Prop. 37\u003c/a> is a first-of-its-kind revenue bond that would have the state borrow as much as $25 billion from private investors and lend that money to qualifying homebuyers to help cover the bulk of their down payments. Plenty of \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/prop-37-explained-homeownership/\">experts have questioned\u003c/a> how this untested program would work, but most agree that it would not come at the expense of state taxpayers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are still many \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/prop-37-explained-homeownership/\">open questions\u003c/a> about how Prop. 37 will be administered and how many Californians will benefit, said David Garcia, deputy director of policy at UC Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation. But its blow-out margin “speaks to just how much the dream of homeownership matters to so many Californians,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://kvcr.org/news/local/2026-11-04/11-4-kvcr-midday-news-democrat-clarissa-cervantes-projected-to-win-58th-assembly-district-xavier-becerra-secures-governors-race-more\">Democratic challenger on track to win tight Assembly race in Riverside County\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Democrat Clarissa Cervantes is leading incumbent Republican Leticia Castillo in the race for the 58th Assembly seat in Riverside County. It’s \u003ca href=\"https://kvcr.org/news/local/2026-10-30/california-democrats-look-to-riverside-county-assembly-district-race-for-signs-theyve-gained-traction-among-latino-voters\">one of the most competitive assembly races this year.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 58th Assembly District traditionally votes with a Democratic sway and is about 60% Latino, but in 2024 President Donald Trump and Republicans \u003ca href=\"https://voteinfo.net/sites/g/files/aldnop371/files/ElectionResults/2024/November05/ElectionSummaryReportRPT_Nov52024_update30.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">carried the election\u003c/a>. Castillo benefited from this political shift. Castillo narrowly defeated Cervantes by \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvcrnews.org/local-news/2024-11-22/leticia-castillo-leads-clarissa-cervantes-in-tight-ad-58-race-as-ballot-counting-continues\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">close to 600 votes\u003c/a> in 2024.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At an election night watch party, Cervantes spoke with KVCR. “I think the biggest issues we talked to people at the doors were cost of living. You’re having ICE agents terrorize our communities. Trump again, you know, was trying to interfere with our elections in these last two weeks. But it was really powerful to see the turnout in our community, and I am hopeful for the final results,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12107221/despite-affordability-concerns-bay-area-farmworker-housing-project-lags-in-early-returns\">Despite affordability concerns, Bay Area farmworker housing project trails in early returns\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Just 64 votes separated the two sides of Half Moon Bay’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/sanmateo/measure-q\">Measure Q\u003c/a> on Wednesday, leaving the future of a downtown housing development for older farmworkers uncertain as ballots continue to be counted.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The measure had just over 49% support, with 1,608 votes in favor and 1,672 against, according to preliminary results from the San Mateo County Registrar of Voters. The outcome remains too close to call. Many ballots remain uncounted countywide, including mail-in ballots received or dropped after Oct. 30, as well as provisional and conditional voter registration ballots, according to the elections office. The county’s next update on results is expected Thursday before 4:30 p.m.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The vote is a referendum on the city’s approval this summer of a controversial five-story apartment building at 555 Kelly Ave. in downtown Half Moon Bay that’s been hotly debated for the past four years. The project, from nonprofit developer Mercy Housing and nonprofit advocacy organization Ayudando Latinos A Soñar, or ALAS, would include 39 affordable apartments for low-income agricultural workers aged 55 and older and one manager’s unit.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The proposal predates the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11939361/im-afraid-half-moon-bay-shootings-may-have-been-extreme-case-of-workplace-violence\">2023 mass shooting\u003c/a> at two Half Moon Bay farms that killed seven people and exposed \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11940017/under-the-radar-half-moon-bay-and-the-vulnerability-of-farmwork\">substandard living conditions\u003c/a> among local farmworkers. The killings \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11941716/we-have-a-moment-here-an-urgent-push-for-farmworker-housing-in-wake-of-half-moon-bay-tragedy\">intensified calls\u003c/a> for better housing in a community where many agricultural workers struggle to afford a place to live.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And it comes as Half Moon Bay faces pressure from the state to build more housing. In July, Attorney General Rob Bonta and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration sued the city, saying it had fallen behind on zoning changes required under state housing law.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>Democrat Clarissa Cervantes is leading incumbent Republican Leticia Castillo in the race for the \u003ca href=\"https://kvcr.org/news/local/2026-10-30/california-democrats-look-to-riverside-county-assembly-district-race-for-signs-theyve-gained-traction-among-latino-voters\">58th Assembly seat in Riverside County.\u003c/a> The rematch is one of the most competitive Assembly races in California. \u003c/li>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>A measure to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12107221/despite-affordability-concerns-bay-area-farmworker-housing-project-lags-in-early-returns\">approve farmworker housing\u003c/a> in Half Moon Bay is still too close to call, with just 64 votes separating the two sides.\u003c/li>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Political newcomer Randy Villegas has won the U.S. House of Representatives seat in District 22 against Republican incumbent David Valadao. \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/california-us-house-results/#22\">The Associated Press called the race\u003c/a> Wednesday morning after Villegas showed a decisive lead in early election results.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Political newcomer Randy Villegas has won the U.S. House of Representatives seat in District 22 against Republican incumbent David Valadao. \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/california-us-house-results/#22\">The Associated Press called the race\u003c/a> Wednesday morning after Villegas showed a decisive lead in early election results.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Valadao represented the San Joaquin Valley in Congress for six out of the last seven elections. Valadao first held a congressional seat in 2012 and was re-elected in 2020 after Democrat T.J. Cox unseated him for one term. The district was redrawn after a Democratic gerrymander effort last year to counter similar efforts by Republicans in other states.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Valadao represented the San Joaquin Valley in Congress for six out of the last seven elections. Valadao first held a congressional seat in 2012 and was re-elected in 2020 after Democrat T.J. Cox unseated him for one term. The district was redrawn after a Democratic gerrymander effort last year to counter similar efforts by Republicans in other states.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Villegas declared victory at his election night party in Bakersfield long before the race was officially called. He addressed a crowd of about 200 supporters and thanked them for the journey. “A lot of people wrote us off. We had to beat our own party to get to where we are today,” Villegas told the crowd. “We beat the Democratic establishment. We beat the Republican establishment.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Villegas declared victory at his election night party in Bakersfield long before the race was officially called. He addressed a crowd of about 200 supporters and thanked them for the journey. “A lot of people wrote us off. We had to beat our own party to get to where we are today,” Villegas told the crowd. “We beat the Democratic establishment. We beat the Republican establishment.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Throughout his campaign, Villegas made promises of establishing healthcare for all, lowering costs and helping reform immigration policies. He emphasized that he did not take funding from corporate political action committees. Villegas said one of his first acts in Congress will be to help undo health cuts from last year’s so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act – which cut about $1 trillion from Medicaid and established new work requirements in order to qualify. “We have the most Medicaid recipients in the entire country in this district, and despite that, my opponent voted to go give tax breaks to billionaires,” Villegas said. “That is money that our communities deserve. Those are resources our communities deserve. I’m going to fight like hell to reverse that damage and restore funding to Medicaid, SNAP, WIC and so many programs that our working families rely on.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Throughout his campaign, Villegas made promises of establishing healthcare for all, lowering costs and helping reform immigration policies. He emphasized that he did not take funding from corporate political action committees. Villegas said one of his first acts in Congress will be to help undo health cuts from last year’s so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act – which cut about $1 trillion from Medicaid and established new work requirements in order to qualify. “We have the most Medicaid recipients in the entire country in this district, and despite that, my opponent voted to go give tax breaks to billionaires,” Villegas said. “That is money that our communities deserve. Those are resources our communities deserve. I’m going to fight like hell to reverse that damage and restore funding to Medicaid, SNAP, WIC and so many programs that our working families rely on.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>House District 22 was watched closely by both parties looking to flip the district. High-profile politicians stumped in Bakersfield for the candidates in the lead up to the election. Valadao was endorsed by House Speaker Mike Johnson while Villegas was endorsed by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>House District 22 was watched closely by both parties looking to flip the district. High-profile politicians stumped in Bakersfield for the candidates in the lead up to the election. Valadao was endorsed by House Speaker Mike Johnson while Villegas was endorsed by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/heading",
"attrs": {
"text": "California housing bonds: Voters pass Prop. 37, Prop. 1",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/11/california-election-2026-props-1-37/\">California housing bonds: Voters pass Prop. 37, Prop. 1\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/11/california-election-2026-props-1-37/\">California housing bonds: Voters pass Prop. 37, Prop. 1\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>California voters approved two housing bond measures, Propositions 1 and 37, according to the Associated Press. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>California voters approved two housing bond measures, Propositions 1 and 37, according to the Associated Press. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The two bonds take aim at the state’s affordable housing crisis in very different ways.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The two bonds take aim at the state’s affordable housing crisis in very different ways.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-voter-guide-2026/proposition-1-housing-bond/\">Prop. 1\u003c/a> would give the state permission to borrow a \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2026/10/prop-1-housing-bond/\">record-breaking $11.25 billion\u003c/a>, with the lion’s share going toward the construction of affordable housing for low-income renters and homeless Californians.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-voter-guide-2026/proposition-1-housing-bond/\">Prop. 1\u003c/a> would give the state permission to borrow a \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2026/10/prop-1-housing-bond/\">record-breaking $11.25 billion\u003c/a>, with the lion’s share going toward the construction of affordable housing for low-income renters and homeless Californians.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-voter-guide-2026/proposition-37-homebuyers-loan/\">Prop. 37\u003c/a> is a first-of-its-kind revenue bond that would have the state borrow as much as $25 billion from private investors and lend that money to qualifying homebuyers to help cover the bulk of their down payments. Plenty of \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/prop-37-explained-homeownership/\">experts have questioned\u003c/a> how this untested program would work, but most agree that it would not come at the expense of state taxpayers.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-voter-guide-2026/proposition-37-homebuyers-loan/\">Prop. 37\u003c/a> is a first-of-its-kind revenue bond that would have the state borrow as much as $25 billion from private investors and lend that money to qualifying homebuyers to help cover the bulk of their down payments. Plenty of \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/prop-37-explained-homeownership/\">experts have questioned\u003c/a> how this untested program would work, but most agree that it would not come at the expense of state taxpayers.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>There are still many \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/prop-37-explained-homeownership/\">open questions\u003c/a> about how Prop. 37 will be administered and how many Californians will benefit, said David Garcia, deputy director of policy at UC Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation. But its blow-out margin “speaks to just how much the dream of homeownership matters to so many Californians,” he said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>There are still many \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/prop-37-explained-homeownership/\">open questions\u003c/a> about how Prop. 37 will be administered and how many Californians will benefit, said David Garcia, deputy director of policy at UC Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation. But its blow-out margin “speaks to just how much the dream of homeownership matters to so many Californians,” he said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
"text": "Democratic challenger on track to win tight Assembly race in Riverside County",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://kvcr.org/news/local/2026-11-04/11-4-kvcr-midday-news-democrat-clarissa-cervantes-projected-to-win-58th-assembly-district-xavier-becerra-secures-governors-race-more\">Democratic challenger on track to win tight Assembly race in Riverside County\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://kvcr.org/news/local/2026-11-04/11-4-kvcr-midday-news-democrat-clarissa-cervantes-projected-to-win-58th-assembly-district-xavier-becerra-secures-governors-race-more\">Democratic challenger on track to win tight Assembly race in Riverside County\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Democrat Clarissa Cervantes is leading incumbent Republican Leticia Castillo in the race for the 58th Assembly seat in Riverside County. It’s \u003ca href=\"https://kvcr.org/news/local/2026-10-30/california-democrats-look-to-riverside-county-assembly-district-race-for-signs-theyve-gained-traction-among-latino-voters\">one of the most competitive assembly races this year.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Democrat Clarissa Cervantes is leading incumbent Republican Leticia Castillo in the race for the 58th Assembly seat in Riverside County. It’s \u003ca href=\"https://kvcr.org/news/local/2026-10-30/california-democrats-look-to-riverside-county-assembly-district-race-for-signs-theyve-gained-traction-among-latino-voters\">one of the most competitive assembly races this year.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The 58th Assembly District traditionally votes with a Democratic sway and is about 60% Latino, but in 2024 President Donald Trump and Republicans \u003ca href=\"https://voteinfo.net/sites/g/files/aldnop371/files/ElectionResults/2024/November05/ElectionSummaryReportRPT_Nov52024_update30.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">carried the election\u003c/a>. Castillo benefited from this political shift. Castillo narrowly defeated Cervantes by \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvcrnews.org/local-news/2024-11-22/leticia-castillo-leads-clarissa-cervantes-in-tight-ad-58-race-as-ballot-counting-continues\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">close to 600 votes\u003c/a> in 2024.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The 58th Assembly District traditionally votes with a Democratic sway and is about 60% Latino, but in 2024 President Donald Trump and Republicans \u003ca href=\"https://voteinfo.net/sites/g/files/aldnop371/files/ElectionResults/2024/November05/ElectionSummaryReportRPT_Nov52024_update30.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">carried the election\u003c/a>. Castillo benefited from this political shift. Castillo narrowly defeated Cervantes by \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvcrnews.org/local-news/2024-11-22/leticia-castillo-leads-clarissa-cervantes-in-tight-ad-58-race-as-ballot-counting-continues\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">close to 600 votes\u003c/a> in 2024.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At an election night watch party, Cervantes spoke with KVCR. “I think the biggest issues we talked to people at the doors were cost of living. You’re having ICE agents terrorize our communities. Trump again, you know, was trying to interfere with our elections in these last two weeks. But it was really powerful to see the turnout in our community, and I am hopeful for the final results,” she said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>At an election night watch party, Cervantes spoke with KVCR. “I think the biggest issues we talked to people at the doors were cost of living. You’re having ICE agents terrorize our communities. Trump again, you know, was trying to interfere with our elections in these last two weeks. But it was really powerful to see the turnout in our community, and I am hopeful for the final results,” she said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
"text": "Despite affordability concerns, Bay Area farmworker housing project trails in early returns",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12107221/despite-affordability-concerns-bay-area-farmworker-housing-project-lags-in-early-returns\">Despite affordability concerns, Bay Area farmworker housing project trails in early returns\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12107221/despite-affordability-concerns-bay-area-farmworker-housing-project-lags-in-early-returns\">Despite affordability concerns, Bay Area farmworker housing project trails in early returns\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Just 64 votes separated the two sides of Half Moon Bay’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/sanmateo/measure-q\">Measure Q\u003c/a> on Wednesday, leaving the future of a downtown housing development for older farmworkers uncertain as ballots continue to be counted.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Just 64 votes separated the two sides of Half Moon Bay’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/sanmateo/measure-q\">Measure Q\u003c/a> on Wednesday, leaving the future of a downtown housing development for older farmworkers uncertain as ballots continue to be counted.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The measure had just over 49% support, with 1,608 votes in favor and 1,672 against, according to preliminary results from the San Mateo County Registrar of Voters. The outcome remains too close to call. Many ballots remain uncounted countywide, including mail-in ballots received or dropped after Oct. 30, as well as provisional and conditional voter registration ballots, according to the elections office. The county’s next update on results is expected Thursday before 4:30 p.m.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The measure had just over 49% support, with 1,608 votes in favor and 1,672 against, according to preliminary results from the San Mateo County Registrar of Voters. The outcome remains too close to call. Many ballots remain uncounted countywide, including mail-in ballots received or dropped after Oct. 30, as well as provisional and conditional voter registration ballots, according to the elections office. The county’s next update on results is expected Thursday before 4:30 p.m.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The vote is a referendum on the city’s approval this summer of a controversial five-story apartment building at 555 Kelly Ave. in downtown Half Moon Bay that’s been hotly debated for the past four years. The project, from nonprofit developer Mercy Housing and nonprofit advocacy organization Ayudando Latinos A Soñar, or ALAS, would include 39 affordable apartments for low-income agricultural workers aged 55 and older and one manager’s unit.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The vote is a referendum on the city’s approval this summer of a controversial five-story apartment building at 555 Kelly Ave. in downtown Half Moon Bay that’s been hotly debated for the past four years. The project, from nonprofit developer Mercy Housing and nonprofit advocacy organization Ayudando Latinos A Soñar, or ALAS, would include 39 affordable apartments for low-income agricultural workers aged 55 and older and one manager’s unit.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The proposal predates the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11939361/im-afraid-half-moon-bay-shootings-may-have-been-extreme-case-of-workplace-violence\">2023 mass shooting\u003c/a> at two Half Moon Bay farms that killed seven people and exposed \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11940017/under-the-radar-half-moon-bay-and-the-vulnerability-of-farmwork\">substandard living conditions\u003c/a> among local farmworkers. The killings \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11941716/we-have-a-moment-here-an-urgent-push-for-farmworker-housing-in-wake-of-half-moon-bay-tragedy\">intensified calls\u003c/a> for better housing in a community where many agricultural workers struggle to afford a place to live.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The proposal predates the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11939361/im-afraid-half-moon-bay-shootings-may-have-been-extreme-case-of-workplace-violence\">2023 mass shooting\u003c/a> at two Half Moon Bay farms that killed seven people and exposed \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11940017/under-the-radar-half-moon-bay-and-the-vulnerability-of-farmwork\">substandard living conditions\u003c/a> among local farmworkers. The killings \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11941716/we-have-a-moment-here-an-urgent-push-for-farmworker-housing-in-wake-of-half-moon-bay-tragedy\">intensified calls\u003c/a> for better housing in a community where many agricultural workers struggle to afford a place to live.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And it comes as Half Moon Bay faces pressure from the state to build more housing. In July, Attorney General Rob Bonta and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration sued the city, saying it had fallen behind on zoning changes required under state housing law.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>And it comes as Half Moon Bay faces pressure from the state to build more housing. In July, Attorney General Rob Bonta and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration sued the city, saying it had fallen behind on zoning changes required under state housing law.\u003c/p>\n"
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cstrong>Here are the morning’s top stories on Thursday, November 5, 2026\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>Democrat Randy Villegas \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/government-politics/2026-11-04/house-district-22-flips-for-democrat-randy-villegas-as-a-blue-wave-hits-nation\">has ousted\u003c/a> longtime Republican incumbent David Valadao from his seat in the Central Valley’s 22nd Congressional District. The seat was one of five targeted by new redistricting maps approved under Prop 50. \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Election results are still being tallied across the state. And of the 14 state propositions on the ballot, more than half remain too close to call. But voters \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/11/california-election-2026-props-1-37/\">did pass two ballot measures \u003c/a>aimed at tackling the state’s housing crisis. \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Democrat Clarissa Cervantes is leading incumbent Republican Leticia Castillo in the race for the \u003ca href=\"https://kvcr.org/news/local/2026-10-30/california-democrats-look-to-riverside-county-assembly-district-race-for-signs-theyve-gained-traction-among-latino-voters\">58th Assembly seat in Riverside County.\u003c/a> The rematch is one of the most competitive Assembly races in California. \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>A measure to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12107221/despite-affordability-concerns-bay-area-farmworker-housing-project-lags-in-early-returns\">approve farmworker housing\u003c/a> in Half Moon Bay is still too close to call, with just 64 votes separating the two sides.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/government-politics/2026-11-04/house-district-22-flips-for-democrat-randy-villegas-as-a-blue-wave-hits-nation\">House District 22 flips for Democrat Randy Villegas as a blue wave hits nation\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Political newcomer Randy Villegas has won the U.S. House of Representatives seat in District 22 against Republican incumbent David Valadao. \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/california-us-house-results/#22\">The Associated Press called the race\u003c/a> Wednesday morning after Villegas showed a decisive lead in early election results.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Valadao represented the San Joaquin Valley in Congress for six out of the last seven elections. Valadao first held a congressional seat in 2012 and was re-elected in 2020 after Democrat T.J. Cox unseated him for one term. The district was redrawn after a Democratic gerrymander effort last year to counter similar efforts by Republicans in other states.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Villegas declared victory at his election night party in Bakersfield long before the race was officially called. He addressed a crowd of about 200 supporters and thanked them for the journey. “A lot of people wrote us off. We had to beat our own party to get to where we are today,” Villegas told the crowd. “We beat the Democratic establishment. We beat the Republican establishment.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Throughout his campaign, Villegas made promises of establishing healthcare for all, lowering costs and helping reform immigration policies. He emphasized that he did not take funding from corporate political action committees. Villegas said one of his first acts in Congress will be to help undo health cuts from last year’s so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act – which cut about $1 trillion from Medicaid and established new work requirements in order to qualify. “We have the most Medicaid recipients in the entire country in this district, and despite that, my opponent voted to go give tax breaks to billionaires,” Villegas said. “That is money that our communities deserve. Those are resources our communities deserve. I’m going to fight like hell to reverse that damage and restore funding to Medicaid, SNAP, WIC and so many programs that our working families rely on.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">House District 22 was watched closely by both parties looking to flip the district. High-profile politicians stumped in Bakersfield for the candidates in the lead up to the election. Valadao was endorsed by House Speaker Mike Johnson while Villegas was endorsed by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/11/california-election-2026-props-1-37/\">California housing bonds: Voters pass Prop. 37, Prop. 1\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">California voters approved two housing bond measures, Propositions 1 and 37, according to the Associated Press. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The two bonds take aim at the state’s affordable housing crisis in very different ways.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-voter-guide-2026/proposition-1-housing-bond/\">Prop. 1\u003c/a> would give the state permission to borrow a \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2026/10/prop-1-housing-bond/\">record-breaking $11.25 billion\u003c/a>, with the lion’s share going toward the construction of affordable housing for low-income renters and homeless Californians.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-voter-guide-2026/proposition-37-homebuyers-loan/\">Prop. 37\u003c/a> is a first-of-its-kind revenue bond that would have the state borrow as much as $25 billion from private investors and lend that money to qualifying homebuyers to help cover the bulk of their down payments. Plenty of \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/prop-37-explained-homeownership/\">experts have questioned\u003c/a> how this untested program would work, but most agree that it would not come at the expense of state taxpayers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are still many \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/prop-37-explained-homeownership/\">open questions\u003c/a> about how Prop. 37 will be administered and how many Californians will benefit, said David Garcia, deputy director of policy at UC Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation. But its blow-out margin “speaks to just how much the dream of homeownership matters to so many Californians,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://kvcr.org/news/local/2026-11-04/11-4-kvcr-midday-news-democrat-clarissa-cervantes-projected-to-win-58th-assembly-district-xavier-becerra-secures-governors-race-more\">Democratic challenger on track to win tight Assembly race in Riverside County\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Democrat Clarissa Cervantes is leading incumbent Republican Leticia Castillo in the race for the 58th Assembly seat in Riverside County. It’s \u003ca href=\"https://kvcr.org/news/local/2026-10-30/california-democrats-look-to-riverside-county-assembly-district-race-for-signs-theyve-gained-traction-among-latino-voters\">one of the most competitive assembly races this year.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 58th Assembly District traditionally votes with a Democratic sway and is about 60% Latino, but in 2024 President Donald Trump and Republicans \u003ca href=\"https://voteinfo.net/sites/g/files/aldnop371/files/ElectionResults/2024/November05/ElectionSummaryReportRPT_Nov52024_update30.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">carried the election\u003c/a>. Castillo benefited from this political shift. Castillo narrowly defeated Cervantes by \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvcrnews.org/local-news/2024-11-22/leticia-castillo-leads-clarissa-cervantes-in-tight-ad-58-race-as-ballot-counting-continues\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">close to 600 votes\u003c/a> in 2024.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At an election night watch party, Cervantes spoke with KVCR. “I think the biggest issues we talked to people at the doors were cost of living. You’re having ICE agents terrorize our communities. Trump again, you know, was trying to interfere with our elections in these last two weeks. But it was really powerful to see the turnout in our community, and I am hopeful for the final results,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12107221/despite-affordability-concerns-bay-area-farmworker-housing-project-lags-in-early-returns\">Despite affordability concerns, Bay Area farmworker housing project trails in early returns\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Just 64 votes separated the two sides of Half Moon Bay’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/sanmateo/measure-q\">Measure Q\u003c/a> on Wednesday, leaving the future of a downtown housing development for older farmworkers uncertain as ballots continue to be counted.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The measure had just over 49% support, with 1,608 votes in favor and 1,672 against, according to preliminary results from the San Mateo County Registrar of Voters. The outcome remains too close to call. Many ballots remain uncounted countywide, including mail-in ballots received or dropped after Oct. 30, as well as provisional and conditional voter registration ballots, according to the elections office. The county’s next update on results is expected Thursday before 4:30 p.m.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The vote is a referendum on the city’s approval this summer of a controversial five-story apartment building at 555 Kelly Ave. in downtown Half Moon Bay that’s been hotly debated for the past four years. The project, from nonprofit developer Mercy Housing and nonprofit advocacy organization Ayudando Latinos A Soñar, or ALAS, would include 39 affordable apartments for low-income agricultural workers aged 55 and older and one manager’s unit.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The proposal predates the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11939361/im-afraid-half-moon-bay-shootings-may-have-been-extreme-case-of-workplace-violence\">2023 mass shooting\u003c/a> at two Half Moon Bay farms that killed seven people and exposed \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11940017/under-the-radar-half-moon-bay-and-the-vulnerability-of-farmwork\">substandard living conditions\u003c/a> among local farmworkers. The killings \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11941716/we-have-a-moment-here-an-urgent-push-for-farmworker-housing-in-wake-of-half-moon-bay-tragedy\">intensified calls\u003c/a> for better housing in a community where many agricultural workers struggle to afford a place to live.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And it comes as Half Moon Bay faces pressure from the state to build more housing. In July, Attorney General Rob Bonta and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration sued the city, saying it had fallen behind on zoning changes required under state housing law.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "will-democrats-control-congress-their-path-runs-through-california-watch-these-races",
"title": "Will Democrats Control Congress? Their Path Runs Through California. Watch These Races",
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"headTitle": "Will Democrats Control Congress? Their Path Runs Through California. Watch These Races | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\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\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California \u003c/a>voters will play a key role in determining which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives, and by how much, as voting for the 2026 midterm election concludes Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Democrats are poised to flip at least three seats currently held by California Republicans after voters \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12062781/proposition-50-passes-in-california-boosting-democrats-in-fight-for-us-house-control\">approved Proposition 50 last year\u003c/a>, which redrew five of California’s districts to favor Democrats as a countermeasure to pro-Republican gerrymandering in Texas. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The remaining two redrawn districts — one in the Central Valley and the other in San Diego and Riverside counties — are more competitive, even though Democrats outnumber Republicans in voter registration.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241028-EarlyVoting-30-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"A sign says 'Vote Here!' with an arrow pointing to a polling place.\" class=\"wp-image-12011911\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241028-EarlyVoting-30-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241028-EarlyVoting-30-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241028-EarlyVoting-30-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241028-EarlyVoting-30-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241028-EarlyVoting-30-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241028-EarlyVoting-30-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A sign reads, ‘Vote Here!’ outside of San Francisco City Hall on Oct. 28, 2024. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A handful of races feature progressive challengers seeking to oust longtime incumbents who could push the party to the left if they are successful. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Several California congressional races are expected to be close, as counties tabulate ballots received up to seven days after Election Day. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here’s what CalMatters is watching:\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Central Valley, San Diego area seats pivotal\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">California’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12107318/central-valley-farmers-face-rising-costs-is-it-enough-to-flip-a-house-seat\">most hotly contested race\u003c/a> features 12-year Republican incumbent Rep. David Valadao of Hanford, a dairy farmer and perpetual target for national Democrats, and political newcomer Randy Villegas, a political science professor. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Democrats hope Villegas, who is endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, can defy conventional political wisdom and win in the historically conservative, agriculture-heavy Central Valley. Villegas supports Medicare for All and universal child care, although he has also called to suspend federal taxes on gas and diesel.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Valadao, the lone remaining Republican who voted to impeach President Donald Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021 riots, is seeking his seventh term. He touts the importance of bipartisanship and independent thinking, but has faced tough questioning over his decision to support Trump’s megabill that will ultimately \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2026/08/medi-cal-the-cut-healthcare-threatened/\">strip health care coverage\u003c/a> from more than 2 million Californians in the next four years.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/villegas-valadao-47b1a6c2.jpg\" alt=\"Randy Villegas (L) and David Valadao (R) are locked in a tight battle for the 22nd Congressional District seat in California's Central Valley.\" class=\"wp-image-12106862\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/villegas-valadao-47b1a6c2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/villegas-valadao-47b1a6c2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/villegas-valadao-47b1a6c2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Randy Villegas (L) and David Valadao (R) are locked in a tight battle for the 22nd Congressional District seat in California’s Central Valley. (Mario Tama/Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Further south in San Diego and Riverside counties, two local elected officials — Marni von Wilpert, a Democratic San Diego City Council, and Republican San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond — are competing to fill the seat of Republican Rep. Darrell Issa, who chose to retire rather than seek reelection in a redrawn district. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Von Wilpert and Desmond are running traditionally centrist campaigns that harken to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/congress-48-wonwilpert-desmond/\">pre-Trump politics\u003c/a>. Von Wilpert has eschewed the insurgent progressive left and instead campaigned with former Vice President Kamala Harris. Desmond has worked overtime to distance himself from Trump and the president’s MAGA rhetoric, despite receiving Trump’s endorsement. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Public polls \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/polls/california-us-house-48-polls-2026.html\">have consistently shown\u003c/a> von Wilpert with a slight lead over Desmond, and the nonpartisan Cook Political Report switched the race from “tossup” to “lean Democrat” back in March. Internal campaign polling suggests the race is close.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Progressives try to remake Democratic Party\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Several California races feature two Democrats because of the state’s top-two primary election system. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Among the most-watched is the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/congressional-district-11-wiener-chan-debate/\">race to succeed former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi\u003c/a>, who has endorsed Connie Chan, a San Francisco supervisor. Chan, a Chinese immigrant from Taiwan, is known for \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/08/wiener-chan-san-francisco-congress-pelosi/\">opposing urban development\u003c/a> that could displace tenants or disrupt a neighborhood’s character. She faces state Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/scott-wiener-100936\">Scott Wiener,\u003c/a> a prolific legislator who has authored several laws to expedite housing production and secure competitive wages on state-subsidized projects. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the Sacramento area, an \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/california-congress-7th-district-race/\">intergenerational “battle of the ages”\u003c/a> is underway between Rep. Doris Matsui, 82, and Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang, 41. Matsui has a massive financial advantage and has loaned her campaign $4 million since the primary. Vang has political momentum as a young, insurgent progressive who is media savvy and able to directly engage with supporters via TikTok and Instagram.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And in Los Angeles, incumbent Rep. Jimmy Gomez faces a challenge from Democratic Socialist Angela Gonzales-Torres. The five-term congressmember won the June primary by double digits but has bled support amid a House ethics investigation into allegations of sexual assault, which he’s denied. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/newsletters/california-playbook/2026/10/27/poll-jimmy-gomez-tough-race-01135850\">recent poll\u003c/a> showed Gonzales-Torres leading 51% to Gomez’s 45%.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Upsets in Prop. 50 districts could endanger majority\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Three incumbent Republican or former Republican lawmakers are expected to lose their jobs in the wake of Prop. 50.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Either Rep. Young Kim or Rep. Ken Calvert, who are both competing for California’s 40th District, will be left jobless. Gerrymandering drastically reshaped Calvert’s 41st District, but rather than retire, he chose to challenge his colleague Kim. Both scrambled to “out-Trump” the other in the primary election but Kim has since returned to a more centrist, fiscally conservative approach.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rep. James Gallagher, who succeeded the late Rep. Doug LaMalfa in representing the rural north state in the 1st Congressional District, is poised to lose to former Senate President ProTem \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/mike-mcguire-93\">Mike McGuire\u003c/a>, a Democrat. The district was redrawn to remove several conservative and rural areas near the Oregon-California border. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rep. Kevin Kiley, who left the Republican Party earlier this year, is seeking reelection in the 6th Congressional District rather than his former 3rd District, which was significantly reshaped to favor Democrats. He faces Dr. Richard Pan, a physician and former state senator running as an anti-Make America Healthy Again candidate. Kiley hopes to pull votes from Republicans, independents and moderate Democrats.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/11/california-election-2026-congress/\">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",
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"innerHTML": "\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",
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"\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"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California \u003c/a>voters will play a key role in determining which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives, and by how much, as voting for the 2026 midterm election concludes Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California \u003c/a>voters will play a key role in determining which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives, and by how much, as voting for the 2026 midterm election concludes Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Democrats are poised to flip at least three seats currently held by California Republicans after voters \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12062781/proposition-50-passes-in-california-boosting-democrats-in-fight-for-us-house-control\">approved Proposition 50 last year\u003c/a>, which redrew five of California’s districts to favor Democrats as a countermeasure to pro-Republican gerrymandering in Texas. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Democrats are poised to flip at least three seats currently held by California Republicans after voters \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12062781/proposition-50-passes-in-california-boosting-democrats-in-fight-for-us-house-control\">approved Proposition 50 last year\u003c/a>, which redrew five of California’s districts to favor Democrats as a countermeasure to pro-Republican gerrymandering in Texas. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The remaining two redrawn districts — one in the Central Valley and the other in San Diego and Riverside counties — are more competitive, even though Democrats outnumber Republicans in voter registration.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The remaining two redrawn districts — one in the Central Valley and the other in San Diego and Riverside counties — are more competitive, even though Democrats outnumber Republicans in voter registration.\u003c/p>\n"
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"alt": "A sign says 'Vote Here!' with an arrow pointing to a polling place.",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241028-EarlyVoting-30-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"A sign says 'Vote Here!' with an arrow pointing to a polling place.\" class=\"wp-image-12011911\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241028-EarlyVoting-30-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241028-EarlyVoting-30-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241028-EarlyVoting-30-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241028-EarlyVoting-30-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241028-EarlyVoting-30-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241028-EarlyVoting-30-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A sign reads, ‘Vote Here!’ outside of San Francisco City Hall on Oct. 28, 2024.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241028-EarlyVoting-30-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"A sign says 'Vote Here!' with an arrow pointing to a polling place.\" class=\"wp-image-12011911\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A sign reads, ‘Vote Here!’ outside of San Francisco City Hall on Oct. 28, 2024.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A handful of races feature progressive challengers seeking to oust longtime incumbents who could push the party to the left if they are successful. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>A handful of races feature progressive challengers seeking to oust longtime incumbents who could push the party to the left if they are successful. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Several California congressional races are expected to be close, as counties tabulate ballots received up to seven days after Election Day. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Several California congressional races are expected to be close, as counties tabulate ballots received up to seven days after Election Day. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Here’s what CalMatters is watching:\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Here’s what CalMatters is watching:\u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "Central Valley, San Diego area seats pivotal",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Central Valley, San Diego area seats pivotal\u003c/h2>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>California’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12107318/central-valley-farmers-face-rising-costs-is-it-enough-to-flip-a-house-seat\">most hotly contested race\u003c/a> features 12-year Republican incumbent Rep. David Valadao of Hanford, a dairy farmer and perpetual target for national Democrats, and political newcomer Randy Villegas, a political science professor. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>California’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12107318/central-valley-farmers-face-rising-costs-is-it-enough-to-flip-a-house-seat\">most hotly contested race\u003c/a> features 12-year Republican incumbent Rep. David Valadao of Hanford, a dairy farmer and perpetual target for national Democrats, and political newcomer Randy Villegas, a political science professor. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Democrats hope Villegas, who is endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, can defy conventional political wisdom and win in the historically conservative, agriculture-heavy Central Valley. Villegas supports Medicare for All and universal child care, although he has also called to suspend federal taxes on gas and diesel.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Democrats hope Villegas, who is endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, can defy conventional political wisdom and win in the historically conservative, agriculture-heavy Central Valley. Villegas supports Medicare for All and universal child care, although he has also called to suspend federal taxes on gas and diesel.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Valadao, the lone remaining Republican who voted to impeach President Donald Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021 riots, is seeking his seventh term. He touts the importance of bipartisanship and independent thinking, but has faced tough questioning over his decision to support Trump’s megabill that will ultimately \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2026/08/medi-cal-the-cut-healthcare-threatened/\">strip health care coverage\u003c/a> from more than 2 million Californians in the next four years.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Valadao, the lone remaining Republican who voted to impeach President Donald Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021 riots, is seeking his seventh term. He touts the importance of bipartisanship and independent thinking, but has faced tough questioning over his decision to support Trump’s megabill that will ultimately \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2026/08/medi-cal-the-cut-healthcare-threatened/\">strip health care coverage\u003c/a> from more than 2 million Californians in the next four years.\u003c/p>\n"
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"alt": "Randy Villegas (L) and David Valadao (R) are locked in a tight battle for the 22nd Congressional District seat in California's Central Valley.",
"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/villegas-valadao-47b1a6c2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/villegas-valadao-47b1a6c2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/villegas-valadao-47b1a6c2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/villegas-valadao-47b1a6c2.jpg\" alt=\"Randy Villegas (L) and David Valadao (R) are locked in a tight battle for the 22nd Congressional District seat in California's Central Valley.\" class=\"wp-image-12106862\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/villegas-valadao-47b1a6c2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/villegas-valadao-47b1a6c2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/villegas-valadao-47b1a6c2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Randy Villegas (L) and David Valadao (R) are locked in a tight battle for the 22nd Congressional District seat in California’s Central Valley.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Mario Tama/Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/villegas-valadao-47b1a6c2.jpg\" alt=\"Randy Villegas (L) and David Valadao (R) are locked in a tight battle for the 22nd Congressional District seat in California's Central Valley.\" class=\"wp-image-12106862\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Randy Villegas (L) and David Valadao (R) are locked in a tight battle for the 22nd Congressional District seat in California’s Central Valley.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Mario Tama/Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Further south in San Diego and Riverside counties, two local elected officials — Marni von Wilpert, a Democratic San Diego City Council, and Republican San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond — are competing to fill the seat of Republican Rep. Darrell Issa, who chose to retire rather than seek reelection in a redrawn district. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Further south in San Diego and Riverside counties, two local elected officials — Marni von Wilpert, a Democratic San Diego City Council, and Republican San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond — are competing to fill the seat of Republican Rep. Darrell Issa, who chose to retire rather than seek reelection in a redrawn district. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Von Wilpert and Desmond are running traditionally centrist campaigns that harken to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/congress-48-wonwilpert-desmond/\">pre-Trump politics\u003c/a>. Von Wilpert has eschewed the insurgent progressive left and instead campaigned with former Vice President Kamala Harris. Desmond has worked overtime to distance himself from Trump and the president’s MAGA rhetoric, despite receiving Trump’s endorsement. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Von Wilpert and Desmond are running traditionally centrist campaigns that harken to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/congress-48-wonwilpert-desmond/\">pre-Trump politics\u003c/a>. Von Wilpert has eschewed the insurgent progressive left and instead campaigned with former Vice President Kamala Harris. Desmond has worked overtime to distance himself from Trump and the president’s MAGA rhetoric, despite receiving Trump’s endorsement. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Public polls \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/polls/california-us-house-48-polls-2026.html\">have consistently shown\u003c/a> von Wilpert with a slight lead over Desmond, and the nonpartisan Cook Political Report switched the race from “tossup” to “lean Democrat” back in March. Internal campaign polling suggests the race is close.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Public polls \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/polls/california-us-house-48-polls-2026.html\">have consistently shown\u003c/a> von Wilpert with a slight lead over Desmond, and the nonpartisan Cook Political Report switched the race from “tossup” to “lean Democrat” back in March. Internal campaign polling suggests the race is close.\u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "Progressives try to remake Democratic Party",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Progressives try to remake Democratic Party\u003c/h2>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Several California races feature two Democrats because of the state’s top-two primary election system. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Several California races feature two Democrats because of the state’s top-two primary election system. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Among the most-watched is the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/congressional-district-11-wiener-chan-debate/\">race to succeed former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi\u003c/a>, who has endorsed Connie Chan, a San Francisco supervisor. Chan, a Chinese immigrant from Taiwan, is known for \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/08/wiener-chan-san-francisco-congress-pelosi/\">opposing urban development\u003c/a> that could displace tenants or disrupt a neighborhood’s character. She faces state Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/scott-wiener-100936\">Scott Wiener,\u003c/a> a prolific legislator who has authored several laws to expedite housing production and secure competitive wages on state-subsidized projects. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Among the most-watched is the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/congressional-district-11-wiener-chan-debate/\">race to succeed former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi\u003c/a>, who has endorsed Connie Chan, a San Francisco supervisor. Chan, a Chinese immigrant from Taiwan, is known for \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/08/wiener-chan-san-francisco-congress-pelosi/\">opposing urban development\u003c/a> that could displace tenants or disrupt a neighborhood’s character. She faces state Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/scott-wiener-100936\">Scott Wiener,\u003c/a> a prolific legislator who has authored several laws to expedite housing production and secure competitive wages on state-subsidized projects. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In the Sacramento area, an \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/california-congress-7th-district-race/\">intergenerational “battle of the ages”\u003c/a> is underway between Rep. Doris Matsui, 82, and Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang, 41. Matsui has a massive financial advantage and has loaned her campaign $4 million since the primary. Vang has political momentum as a young, insurgent progressive who is media savvy and able to directly engage with supporters via TikTok and Instagram.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In the Sacramento area, an \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/california-congress-7th-district-race/\">intergenerational “battle of the ages”\u003c/a> is underway between Rep. Doris Matsui, 82, and Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang, 41. Matsui has a massive financial advantage and has loaned her campaign $4 million since the primary. Vang has political momentum as a young, insurgent progressive who is media savvy and able to directly engage with supporters via TikTok and Instagram.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And in Los Angeles, incumbent Rep. Jimmy Gomez faces a challenge from Democratic Socialist Angela Gonzales-Torres. The five-term congressmember won the June primary by double digits but has bled support amid a House ethics investigation into allegations of sexual assault, which he’s denied. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/newsletters/california-playbook/2026/10/27/poll-jimmy-gomez-tough-race-01135850\">recent poll\u003c/a> showed Gonzales-Torres leading 51% to Gomez’s 45%.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>And in Los Angeles, incumbent Rep. Jimmy Gomez faces a challenge from Democratic Socialist Angela Gonzales-Torres. The five-term congressmember won the June primary by double digits but has bled support amid a House ethics investigation into allegations of sexual assault, which he’s denied. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/newsletters/california-playbook/2026/10/27/poll-jimmy-gomez-tough-race-01135850\">recent poll\u003c/a> showed Gonzales-Torres leading 51% to Gomez’s 45%.\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/heading",
"attrs": {
"text": "Upsets in Prop. 50 districts could endanger majority",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Upsets in Prop. 50 districts could endanger majority\u003c/h2>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Three incumbent Republican or former Republican lawmakers are expected to lose their jobs in the wake of Prop. 50.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Three incumbent Republican or former Republican lawmakers are expected to lose their jobs in the wake of Prop. 50.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Either Rep. Young Kim or Rep. Ken Calvert, who are both competing for California’s 40th District, will be left jobless. Gerrymandering drastically reshaped Calvert’s 41st District, but rather than retire, he chose to challenge his colleague Kim. Both scrambled to “out-Trump” the other in the primary election but Kim has since returned to a more centrist, fiscally conservative approach.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Either Rep. Young Kim or Rep. Ken Calvert, who are both competing for California’s 40th District, will be left jobless. Gerrymandering drastically reshaped Calvert’s 41st District, but rather than retire, he chose to challenge his colleague Kim. Both scrambled to “out-Trump” the other in the primary election but Kim has since returned to a more centrist, fiscally conservative approach.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Rep. James Gallagher, who succeeded the late Rep. Doug LaMalfa in representing the rural north state in the 1st Congressional District, is poised to lose to former Senate President ProTem \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/mike-mcguire-93\">Mike McGuire\u003c/a>, a Democrat. The district was redrawn to remove several conservative and rural areas near the Oregon-California border. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Rep. James Gallagher, who succeeded the late Rep. Doug LaMalfa in representing the rural north state in the 1st Congressional District, is poised to lose to former Senate President ProTem \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/mike-mcguire-93\">Mike McGuire\u003c/a>, a Democrat. The district was redrawn to remove several conservative and rural areas near the Oregon-California border. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Rep. Kevin Kiley, who left the Republican Party earlier this year, is seeking reelection in the 6th Congressional District rather than his former 3rd District, which was significantly reshaped to favor Democrats. He faces Dr. Richard Pan, a physician and former state senator running as an anti-Make America Healthy Again candidate. Kiley hopes to pull votes from Republicans, independents and moderate Democrats.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/11/california-election-2026-congress/\">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",
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"excerpt": "These are the most consequential U.S. House races in California, which could determine control of Congress as well as the future direction of the Democratic Party.",
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"title": "Will Democrats Control Congress? Their Path Runs Through California. Watch These Races | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\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\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California \u003c/a>voters will play a key role in determining which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives, and by how much, as voting for the 2026 midterm election concludes Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Democrats are poised to flip at least three seats currently held by California Republicans after voters \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12062781/proposition-50-passes-in-california-boosting-democrats-in-fight-for-us-house-control\">approved Proposition 50 last year\u003c/a>, which redrew five of California’s districts to favor Democrats as a countermeasure to pro-Republican gerrymandering in Texas. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The remaining two redrawn districts — one in the Central Valley and the other in San Diego and Riverside counties — are more competitive, even though Democrats outnumber Republicans in voter registration.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241028-EarlyVoting-30-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"A sign says 'Vote Here!' with an arrow pointing to a polling place.\" class=\"wp-image-12011911\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241028-EarlyVoting-30-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241028-EarlyVoting-30-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241028-EarlyVoting-30-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241028-EarlyVoting-30-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241028-EarlyVoting-30-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241028-EarlyVoting-30-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A sign reads, ‘Vote Here!’ outside of San Francisco City Hall on Oct. 28, 2024. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A handful of races feature progressive challengers seeking to oust longtime incumbents who could push the party to the left if they are successful. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Several California congressional races are expected to be close, as counties tabulate ballots received up to seven days after Election Day. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here’s what CalMatters is watching:\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Central Valley, San Diego area seats pivotal\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">California’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12107318/central-valley-farmers-face-rising-costs-is-it-enough-to-flip-a-house-seat\">most hotly contested race\u003c/a> features 12-year Republican incumbent Rep. David Valadao of Hanford, a dairy farmer and perpetual target for national Democrats, and political newcomer Randy Villegas, a political science professor. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Democrats hope Villegas, who is endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, can defy conventional political wisdom and win in the historically conservative, agriculture-heavy Central Valley. Villegas supports Medicare for All and universal child care, although he has also called to suspend federal taxes on gas and diesel.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Valadao, the lone remaining Republican who voted to impeach President Donald Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021 riots, is seeking his seventh term. He touts the importance of bipartisanship and independent thinking, but has faced tough questioning over his decision to support Trump’s megabill that will ultimately \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2026/08/medi-cal-the-cut-healthcare-threatened/\">strip health care coverage\u003c/a> from more than 2 million Californians in the next four years.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/villegas-valadao-47b1a6c2.jpg\" alt=\"Randy Villegas (L) and David Valadao (R) are locked in a tight battle for the 22nd Congressional District seat in California's Central Valley.\" class=\"wp-image-12106862\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/villegas-valadao-47b1a6c2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/villegas-valadao-47b1a6c2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/villegas-valadao-47b1a6c2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Randy Villegas (L) and David Valadao (R) are locked in a tight battle for the 22nd Congressional District seat in California’s Central Valley. (Mario Tama/Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Further south in San Diego and Riverside counties, two local elected officials — Marni von Wilpert, a Democratic San Diego City Council, and Republican San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond — are competing to fill the seat of Republican Rep. Darrell Issa, who chose to retire rather than seek reelection in a redrawn district. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Von Wilpert and Desmond are running traditionally centrist campaigns that harken to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/congress-48-wonwilpert-desmond/\">pre-Trump politics\u003c/a>. Von Wilpert has eschewed the insurgent progressive left and instead campaigned with former Vice President Kamala Harris. Desmond has worked overtime to distance himself from Trump and the president’s MAGA rhetoric, despite receiving Trump’s endorsement. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Public polls \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/polls/california-us-house-48-polls-2026.html\">have consistently shown\u003c/a> von Wilpert with a slight lead over Desmond, and the nonpartisan Cook Political Report switched the race from “tossup” to “lean Democrat” back in March. Internal campaign polling suggests the race is close.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Progressives try to remake Democratic Party\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Several California races feature two Democrats because of the state’s top-two primary election system. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Among the most-watched is the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/congressional-district-11-wiener-chan-debate/\">race to succeed former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi\u003c/a>, who has endorsed Connie Chan, a San Francisco supervisor. Chan, a Chinese immigrant from Taiwan, is known for \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/08/wiener-chan-san-francisco-congress-pelosi/\">opposing urban development\u003c/a> that could displace tenants or disrupt a neighborhood’s character. She faces state Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/scott-wiener-100936\">Scott Wiener,\u003c/a> a prolific legislator who has authored several laws to expedite housing production and secure competitive wages on state-subsidized projects. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the Sacramento area, an \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/california-congress-7th-district-race/\">intergenerational “battle of the ages”\u003c/a> is underway between Rep. Doris Matsui, 82, and Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang, 41. Matsui has a massive financial advantage and has loaned her campaign $4 million since the primary. Vang has political momentum as a young, insurgent progressive who is media savvy and able to directly engage with supporters via TikTok and Instagram.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And in Los Angeles, incumbent Rep. Jimmy Gomez faces a challenge from Democratic Socialist Angela Gonzales-Torres. The five-term congressmember won the June primary by double digits but has bled support amid a House ethics investigation into allegations of sexual assault, which he’s denied. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/newsletters/california-playbook/2026/10/27/poll-jimmy-gomez-tough-race-01135850\">recent poll\u003c/a> showed Gonzales-Torres leading 51% to Gomez’s 45%.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Upsets in Prop. 50 districts could endanger majority\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Three incumbent Republican or former Republican lawmakers are expected to lose their jobs in the wake of Prop. 50.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Either Rep. Young Kim or Rep. Ken Calvert, who are both competing for California’s 40th District, will be left jobless. Gerrymandering drastically reshaped Calvert’s 41st District, but rather than retire, he chose to challenge his colleague Kim. Both scrambled to “out-Trump” the other in the primary election but Kim has since returned to a more centrist, fiscally conservative approach.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rep. James Gallagher, who succeeded the late Rep. Doug LaMalfa in representing the rural north state in the 1st Congressional District, is poised to lose to former Senate President ProTem \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/mike-mcguire-93\">Mike McGuire\u003c/a>, a Democrat. The district was redrawn to remove several conservative and rural areas near the Oregon-California border. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rep. Kevin Kiley, who left the Republican Party earlier this year, is seeking reelection in the 6th Congressional District rather than his former 3rd District, which was significantly reshaped to favor Democrats. He faces Dr. Richard Pan, a physician and former state senator running as an anti-Make America Healthy Again candidate. Kiley hopes to pull votes from Republicans, independents and moderate Democrats.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/11/california-election-2026-congress/\">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\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "in-tight-central-valley-race-trumps-policies-could-impact-agriculture-vote",
"title": "In Tight Central Valley Race, Trump's Policies Could Impact Agriculture Vote",
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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cstrong>Here are the morning’s top stories on Wednesday, October 28, 2026\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>Farmers and ranchers have long been a reliable Republican voting bloc, but that may shift this midterm election as federal policies drive discontent among these communities. How is this playing out in the heart of California’s agricultural production? \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>California \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12106700/california-to-pay-10-million-to-settle-class-action-over-women-gassed-at-chowchilla-prison\">has tentatively agreed to pay $10 million\u003c/a> to settle a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of incarcerated women at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla. \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>A federal judge in Los Angeles is \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/trump-noncitizen-voting-court/\">expected to rule today\u003c/a> in a lawsuit filed by the Trump administration, over ballots in next week’s midterm election here in California. Federal officials have been seeking to prevent the state from processing the ballots of voters who they believe are not citizens.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Are Trump policies enough to swing key ag vote in District 22 race?\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Farmers and ranchers have long been a reliable Republican voting bloc. But that may shift this midterm election as federal policies drive discontent among these communities. How is this playing out in the heart of California’s agricultural production?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As he walks through a barn where Jersey cows are feeding, Landon Fernandes lists the many challenges facing his family-owned business right now. “When you have feed cost increase, labor increase, fuel, other supplies and inputs, and then at the same time you have milk prices come down. That’s when you have the perfect storm, right?” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fernandes is a third generation dairy farmer in Tulare and president of the Tulare County Farm Bureau. His family’s ranch spans over 1,000 acres and 6,000 dairy cows. The milk they produce here is processed into cheese, butter and whole milk powder. This year – in part due to tariffs and the Iran War, Fernandes said his margins are thinner. “We’ve had to go into cash reserves. We have an operating line of credit with our local lender,” Fernandes said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A quarter of farmers rank the Trump administration as the single biggest cause of ag-related problems, according to a national Farm Journal survey in April. The same poll found that 4 in 10 farmers are “persuadable” this year, which could spell trouble for Republicans, who typically count on this electorate.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Central Valley’s 22nd Congressional District is considered the only toss-up race in the state. It pits incumbent Republican Congressman David Valadao, who faces a challenge from progressive Democrat Randy Villegas. Both are courting the farm vote.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nationally, Republicans are struggling to separate themselves from President Trump. But Republican strategist Liz Mair said Valadao has successfully carved out an independent image, breaking with his party on immigration and even voting to impeach Trump after the January 6th attack on the Capitol. “He’s a very peculiar sort of political animal in the current climate,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That may explain his staying power. Valadao has won six of the last seven elections despite Democrats’ registration edge here. His only loss came in the 2018 blue wave. Another thing may play in Valadao’s favor. Mair said Central Valley farmers don’t fit the same mold as farmers elsewhere in the country. “I think when you’re looking at California Central Valley farmers, they do tend to be a more conservative lot. But they’re not conservative in the way that MAGA is. There’s like a libertarian versus big government conservative axis,” Mair said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12106700/california-to-pay-10-million-to-settle-class-action-over-women-gassed-at-chowchilla-prison\">California agrees to pay $10 million in class action over women gassed at Chowchilla Prison\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">California has reached a tentative $10 million agreement to settle a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of incarcerated women at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/central-california-womens-facility\">Central California Women’s Facility\u003c/a> who were held in a crowded dining hall and sprayed with tear gas and pepper spray in 2024.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“There’s no amount of money that can fix what we went through that day,” said Angelina Hernandez, who is no longer in prison. “I have really bad PTSD. It really messed me up in a lot of different ways.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the morning of Aug. 2, 2024, correctional officers at the Chowchilla facility moved more than 150 women to the dining hall to conduct a massive search of their unit, according to the suit, and seize any personal belongings that did not fit in a 6-cubic-foot box. After hours of being confined to the cafeteria without food, water or access to medication, tensions became heightened. Women shouted at the officers and banged on the tables, according to internal documents obtained by KQED. Officers deployed chemical grenades and pepper spray on the women — first inside the chow hall, and then again after the women were zip-tied and seated in the yard outside. At least one woman named Christina Wind was also beaten by officers with batons. Women suffered injuries ranging from seizures, stroke and loss of eyesight. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The mass use-of-force event led to the largest corrective action related to a single incident in state history, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Three correctional officers were fired and 31 more received discipline, ranging from reprimands to pay cuts. Several officers are still appealing those actions. Under the agreement, $7.45 million would be split among the class members, while $2.5 million would go to their attorneys. Another lawsuit filed on behalf of 13 women who were injured during the incident was settled for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12077737/california-agrees-to-1-9m-settlement-in-prison-use-of-force-case\">$1.9 million in March\u003c/a>, bringing the combined value of the settlements to nearly $12 million.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/trump-noncitizen-voting-court/\">Judge says Trump could disenfranchise voters in purge of noncitizens from election rolls\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Saying he had concerns it could disenfranchise voters during the midterm election, a federal judge on Tuesday seemed skeptical of the Trump administration’s demands that California election officials set aside 20,000 ballots that it claimed could have been mailed to noncitizens. “Some of these may be very valid voters, and that’s my concern about disenfranchisement,” said U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, an appointee of President Bill Clinton.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Carter said he would issue a formal ruling by Wednesday, but he told the courtroom he was likely going to appoint a special master to weigh the evidence both sides present at a hearing in two weeks. That means his final ruling might not come until after the election. He said he didn’t want to “just wing it with a ruling” based on last-minute evidence the federal government submitted to the court the night before Tuesday’s hearing.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Carter also suggested that his ruling would order federal authorities to stop telling election officials that they could face criminal charges if they didn’t comply with the Trump administration’s demands. The Trump administration on Friday sent letters to California election officials telling them to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/trump-voting-claims-counties/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">set aside ballots from suspected noncitizens\u003c/a>, and threatened them with criminal charges if they allowed those people to vote.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Carter’s remarks point to yet another likely legal blow to the Trump administration as it seeks to validate President Donald Trump’s longstanding claims of widespread election fraud favoring Democrats. Experts and election officials say those claims are meritless. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bill Essayli, the first assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, acknowledged that the government’s list of 20,000 people may contain citizens, but he said the possibility that noncitizens were voting illegally was too great a threat. “I would ask the state how many illegal votes is OK for them?” Essayli said. “It cannot be that the state has a right to facilitate the counting and tabulation of noncitizen votes. There’s no right to that.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Trump administration \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/trump-sues-california-voting/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sued California earlier this month\u003c/a> saying election officials refused to comply with a 48-hour federal deadline to set aside the ballots of up to 20,000 people the administration had flagged as possible noncitizens until the voters’ citizenship could be verified. The administration sought a temporary restraining order forcing the state to comply. California officials argued there was no way they could since they were busy overseeing the election. They also called the demand an illegal effort to meddle in state-run elections that could disenfranchise legal voters.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>California \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12106700/california-to-pay-10-million-to-settle-class-action-over-women-gassed-at-chowchilla-prison\">has tentatively agreed to pay $10 million\u003c/a> to settle a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of incarcerated women at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla. \u003c/li>\n",
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"\n\u003cli>California \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12106700/california-to-pay-10-million-to-settle-class-action-over-women-gassed-at-chowchilla-prison\">has tentatively agreed to pay $10 million\u003c/a> to settle a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of incarcerated women at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla. \u003c/li>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>A federal judge in Los Angeles is \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/trump-noncitizen-voting-court/\">expected to rule today\u003c/a> in a lawsuit filed by the Trump administration, over ballots in next week’s midterm election here in California. Federal officials have been seeking to prevent the state from processing the ballots of voters who they believe are not citizens.\u003c/li>\n",
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"\n\u003cli>A federal judge in Los Angeles is \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/trump-noncitizen-voting-court/\">expected to rule today\u003c/a> in a lawsuit filed by the Trump administration, over ballots in next week’s midterm election here in California. Federal officials have been seeking to prevent the state from processing the ballots of voters who they believe are not citizens.\u003c/li>\n"
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"attrs": {
"text": "Are Trump policies enough to swing key ag vote in District 22 race?",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Are Trump policies enough to swing key ag vote in District 22 race?\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Are Trump policies enough to swing key ag vote in District 22 race?\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Farmers and ranchers have long been a reliable Republican voting bloc. But that may shift this midterm election as federal policies drive discontent among these communities. How is this playing out in the heart of California’s agricultural production?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Farmers and ranchers have long been a reliable Republican voting bloc. But that may shift this midterm election as federal policies drive discontent among these communities. How is this playing out in the heart of California’s agricultural production?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As he walks through a barn where Jersey cows are feeding, Landon Fernandes lists the many challenges facing his family-owned business right now. “When you have feed cost increase, labor increase, fuel, other supplies and inputs, and then at the same time you have milk prices come down. That’s when you have the perfect storm, right?” he said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>As he walks through a barn where Jersey cows are feeding, Landon Fernandes lists the many challenges facing his family-owned business right now. “When you have feed cost increase, labor increase, fuel, other supplies and inputs, and then at the same time you have milk prices come down. That’s when you have the perfect storm, right?” he said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Fernandes is a third generation dairy farmer in Tulare and president of the Tulare County Farm Bureau. His family’s ranch spans over 1,000 acres and 6,000 dairy cows. The milk they produce here is processed into cheese, butter and whole milk powder. This year – in part due to tariffs and the Iran War, Fernandes said his margins are thinner. “We’ve had to go into cash reserves. We have an operating line of credit with our local lender,” Fernandes said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Fernandes is a third generation dairy farmer in Tulare and president of the Tulare County Farm Bureau. His family’s ranch spans over 1,000 acres and 6,000 dairy cows. The milk they produce here is processed into cheese, butter and whole milk powder. This year – in part due to tariffs and the Iran War, Fernandes said his margins are thinner. “We’ve had to go into cash reserves. We have an operating line of credit with our local lender,” Fernandes said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A quarter of farmers rank the Trump administration as the single biggest cause of ag-related problems, according to a national Farm Journal survey in April. The same poll found that 4 in 10 farmers are “persuadable” this year, which could spell trouble for Republicans, who typically count on this electorate.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>A quarter of farmers rank the Trump administration as the single biggest cause of ag-related problems, according to a national Farm Journal survey in April. The same poll found that 4 in 10 farmers are “persuadable” this year, which could spell trouble for Republicans, who typically count on this electorate.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Central Valley’s 22nd Congressional District is considered the only toss-up race in the state. It pits incumbent Republican Congressman David Valadao, who faces a challenge from progressive Democrat Randy Villegas. Both are courting the farm vote.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Central Valley’s 22nd Congressional District is considered the only toss-up race in the state. It pits incumbent Republican Congressman David Valadao, who faces a challenge from progressive Democrat Randy Villegas. Both are courting the farm vote.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Nationally, Republicans are struggling to separate themselves from President Trump. But Republican strategist Liz Mair said Valadao has successfully carved out an independent image, breaking with his party on immigration and even voting to impeach Trump after the January 6th attack on the Capitol. “He’s a very peculiar sort of political animal in the current climate,” she said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Nationally, Republicans are struggling to separate themselves from President Trump. But Republican strategist Liz Mair said Valadao has successfully carved out an independent image, breaking with his party on immigration and even voting to impeach Trump after the January 6th attack on the Capitol. “He’s a very peculiar sort of political animal in the current climate,” she said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That may explain his staying power. Valadao has won six of the last seven elections despite Democrats’ registration edge here. His only loss came in the 2018 blue wave. Another thing may play in Valadao’s favor. Mair said Central Valley farmers don’t fit the same mold as farmers elsewhere in the country. “I think when you’re looking at California Central Valley farmers, they do tend to be a more conservative lot. But they’re not conservative in the way that MAGA is. There’s like a libertarian versus big government conservative axis,” Mair said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>That may explain his staying power. Valadao has won six of the last seven elections despite Democrats’ registration edge here. His only loss came in the 2018 blue wave. Another thing may play in Valadao’s favor. Mair said Central Valley farmers don’t fit the same mold as farmers elsewhere in the country. “I think when you’re looking at California Central Valley farmers, they do tend to be a more conservative lot. But they’re not conservative in the way that MAGA is. There’s like a libertarian versus big government conservative axis,” Mair said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
"text": "California agrees to pay $10 million in class action over women gassed at Chowchilla Prison",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12106700/california-to-pay-10-million-to-settle-class-action-over-women-gassed-at-chowchilla-prison\">California agrees to pay $10 million in class action over women gassed at Chowchilla Prison\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12106700/california-to-pay-10-million-to-settle-class-action-over-women-gassed-at-chowchilla-prison\">California agrees to pay $10 million in class action over women gassed at Chowchilla Prison\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>California has reached a tentative $10 million agreement to settle a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of incarcerated women at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/central-california-womens-facility\">Central California Women’s Facility\u003c/a> who were held in a crowded dining hall and sprayed with tear gas and pepper spray in 2024.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>California has reached a tentative $10 million agreement to settle a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of incarcerated women at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/central-california-womens-facility\">Central California Women’s Facility\u003c/a> who were held in a crowded dining hall and sprayed with tear gas and pepper spray in 2024.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“There’s no amount of money that can fix what we went through that day,” said Angelina Hernandez, who is no longer in prison. “I have really bad PTSD. It really messed me up in a lot of different ways.”\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>“There’s no amount of money that can fix what we went through that day,” said Angelina Hernandez, who is no longer in prison. “I have really bad PTSD. It really messed me up in a lot of different ways.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On the morning of Aug. 2, 2024, correctional officers at the Chowchilla facility moved more than 150 women to the dining hall to conduct a massive search of their unit, according to the suit, and seize any personal belongings that did not fit in a 6-cubic-foot box. After hours of being confined to the cafeteria without food, water or access to medication, tensions became heightened. Women shouted at the officers and banged on the tables, according to internal documents obtained by KQED. Officers deployed chemical grenades and pepper spray on the women — first inside the chow hall, and then again after the women were zip-tied and seated in the yard outside. At least one woman named Christina Wind was also beaten by officers with batons. Women suffered injuries ranging from seizures, stroke and loss of eyesight. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>On the morning of Aug. 2, 2024, correctional officers at the Chowchilla facility moved more than 150 women to the dining hall to conduct a massive search of their unit, according to the suit, and seize any personal belongings that did not fit in a 6-cubic-foot box. After hours of being confined to the cafeteria without food, water or access to medication, tensions became heightened. Women shouted at the officers and banged on the tables, according to internal documents obtained by KQED. Officers deployed chemical grenades and pepper spray on the women — first inside the chow hall, and then again after the women were zip-tied and seated in the yard outside. At least one woman named Christina Wind was also beaten by officers with batons. Women suffered injuries ranging from seizures, stroke and loss of eyesight. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The mass use-of-force event led to the largest corrective action related to a single incident in state history, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Three correctional officers were fired and 31 more received discipline, ranging from reprimands to pay cuts. Several officers are still appealing those actions. Under the agreement, $7.45 million would be split among the class members, while $2.5 million would go to their attorneys. Another lawsuit filed on behalf of 13 women who were injured during the incident was settled for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12077737/california-agrees-to-1-9m-settlement-in-prison-use-of-force-case\">$1.9 million in March\u003c/a>, bringing the combined value of the settlements to nearly $12 million.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The mass use-of-force event led to the largest corrective action related to a single incident in state history, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Three correctional officers were fired and 31 more received discipline, ranging from reprimands to pay cuts. Several officers are still appealing those actions. Under the agreement, $7.45 million would be split among the class members, while $2.5 million would go to their attorneys. Another lawsuit filed on behalf of 13 women who were injured during the incident was settled for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12077737/california-agrees-to-1-9m-settlement-in-prison-use-of-force-case\">$1.9 million in March\u003c/a>, bringing the combined value of the settlements to nearly $12 million.\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
"text": "Judge says Trump could disenfranchise voters in purge of noncitizens from election rolls",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/trump-noncitizen-voting-court/\">Judge says Trump could disenfranchise voters in purge of noncitizens from election rolls\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/trump-noncitizen-voting-court/\">Judge says Trump could disenfranchise voters in purge of noncitizens from election rolls\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Saying he had concerns it could disenfranchise voters during the midterm election, a federal judge on Tuesday seemed skeptical of the Trump administration’s demands that California election officials set aside 20,000 ballots that it claimed could have been mailed to noncitizens. “Some of these may be very valid voters, and that’s my concern about disenfranchisement,” said U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, an appointee of President Bill Clinton.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Saying he had concerns it could disenfranchise voters during the midterm election, a federal judge on Tuesday seemed skeptical of the Trump administration’s demands that California election officials set aside 20,000 ballots that it claimed could have been mailed to noncitizens. “Some of these may be very valid voters, and that’s my concern about disenfranchisement,” said U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, an appointee of President Bill Clinton.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Carter said he would issue a formal ruling by Wednesday, but he told the courtroom he was likely going to appoint a special master to weigh the evidence both sides present at a hearing in two weeks. That means his final ruling might not come until after the election. He said he didn’t want to “just wing it with a ruling” based on last-minute evidence the federal government submitted to the court the night before Tuesday’s hearing.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Carter also suggested that his ruling would order federal authorities to stop telling election officials that they could face criminal charges if they didn’t comply with the Trump administration’s demands. The Trump administration on Friday sent letters to California election officials telling them to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/trump-voting-claims-counties/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">set aside ballots from suspected noncitizens\u003c/a>, and threatened them with criminal charges if they allowed those people to vote.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Carter said he would issue a formal ruling by Wednesday, but he told the courtroom he was likely going to appoint a special master to weigh the evidence both sides present at a hearing in two weeks. That means his final ruling might not come until after the election. He said he didn’t want to “just wing it with a ruling” based on last-minute evidence the federal government submitted to the court the night before Tuesday’s hearing.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Carter also suggested that his ruling would order federal authorities to stop telling election officials that they could face criminal charges if they didn’t comply with the Trump administration’s demands. The Trump administration on Friday sent letters to California election officials telling them to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/trump-voting-claims-counties/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">set aside ballots from suspected noncitizens\u003c/a>, and threatened them with criminal charges if they allowed those people to vote.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Carter’s remarks point to yet another likely legal blow to the Trump administration as it seeks to validate President Donald Trump’s longstanding claims of widespread election fraud favoring Democrats. Experts and election officials say those claims are meritless. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Carter’s remarks point to yet another likely legal blow to the Trump administration as it seeks to validate President Donald Trump’s longstanding claims of widespread election fraud favoring Democrats. Experts and election officials say those claims are meritless. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Bill Essayli, the first assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, acknowledged that the government’s list of 20,000 people may contain citizens, but he said the possibility that noncitizens were voting illegally was too great a threat. “I would ask the state how many illegal votes is OK for them?” Essayli said. “It cannot be that the state has a right to facilitate the counting and tabulation of noncitizen votes. There’s no right to that.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Bill Essayli, the first assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, acknowledged that the government’s list of 20,000 people may contain citizens, but he said the possibility that noncitizens were voting illegally was too great a threat. “I would ask the state how many illegal votes is OK for them?” Essayli said. “It cannot be that the state has a right to facilitate the counting and tabulation of noncitizen votes. There’s no right to that.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Trump administration \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/trump-sues-california-voting/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sued California earlier this month\u003c/a> saying election officials refused to comply with a 48-hour federal deadline to set aside the ballots of up to 20,000 people the administration had flagged as possible noncitizens until the voters’ citizenship could be verified. The administration sought a temporary restraining order forcing the state to comply. California officials argued there was no way they could since they were busy overseeing the election. They also called the demand an illegal effort to meddle in state-run elections that could disenfranchise legal voters.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Trump administration \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/trump-sues-california-voting/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sued California earlier this month\u003c/a> saying election officials refused to comply with a 48-hour federal deadline to set aside the ballots of up to 20,000 people the administration had flagged as possible noncitizens until the voters’ citizenship could be verified. The administration sought a temporary restraining order forcing the state to comply. California officials argued there was no way they could since they were busy overseeing the election. They also called the demand an illegal effort to meddle in state-run elections that could disenfranchise legal voters.\u003c/p>\n"
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cstrong>Here are the morning’s top stories on Wednesday, October 28, 2026\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>Farmers and ranchers have long been a reliable Republican voting bloc, but that may shift this midterm election as federal policies drive discontent among these communities. How is this playing out in the heart of California’s agricultural production? \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>California \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12106700/california-to-pay-10-million-to-settle-class-action-over-women-gassed-at-chowchilla-prison\">has tentatively agreed to pay $10 million\u003c/a> to settle a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of incarcerated women at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla. \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>A federal judge in Los Angeles is \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/trump-noncitizen-voting-court/\">expected to rule today\u003c/a> in a lawsuit filed by the Trump administration, over ballots in next week’s midterm election here in California. Federal officials have been seeking to prevent the state from processing the ballots of voters who they believe are not citizens.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Are Trump policies enough to swing key ag vote in District 22 race?\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Farmers and ranchers have long been a reliable Republican voting bloc. But that may shift this midterm election as federal policies drive discontent among these communities. How is this playing out in the heart of California’s agricultural production?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As he walks through a barn where Jersey cows are feeding, Landon Fernandes lists the many challenges facing his family-owned business right now. “When you have feed cost increase, labor increase, fuel, other supplies and inputs, and then at the same time you have milk prices come down. That’s when you have the perfect storm, right?” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fernandes is a third generation dairy farmer in Tulare and president of the Tulare County Farm Bureau. His family’s ranch spans over 1,000 acres and 6,000 dairy cows. The milk they produce here is processed into cheese, butter and whole milk powder. This year – in part due to tariffs and the Iran War, Fernandes said his margins are thinner. “We’ve had to go into cash reserves. We have an operating line of credit with our local lender,” Fernandes said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A quarter of farmers rank the Trump administration as the single biggest cause of ag-related problems, according to a national Farm Journal survey in April. The same poll found that 4 in 10 farmers are “persuadable” this year, which could spell trouble for Republicans, who typically count on this electorate.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Central Valley’s 22nd Congressional District is considered the only toss-up race in the state. It pits incumbent Republican Congressman David Valadao, who faces a challenge from progressive Democrat Randy Villegas. Both are courting the farm vote.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nationally, Republicans are struggling to separate themselves from President Trump. But Republican strategist Liz Mair said Valadao has successfully carved out an independent image, breaking with his party on immigration and even voting to impeach Trump after the January 6th attack on the Capitol. “He’s a very peculiar sort of political animal in the current climate,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That may explain his staying power. Valadao has won six of the last seven elections despite Democrats’ registration edge here. His only loss came in the 2018 blue wave. Another thing may play in Valadao’s favor. Mair said Central Valley farmers don’t fit the same mold as farmers elsewhere in the country. “I think when you’re looking at California Central Valley farmers, they do tend to be a more conservative lot. But they’re not conservative in the way that MAGA is. There’s like a libertarian versus big government conservative axis,” Mair said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12106700/california-to-pay-10-million-to-settle-class-action-over-women-gassed-at-chowchilla-prison\">California agrees to pay $10 million in class action over women gassed at Chowchilla Prison\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">California has reached a tentative $10 million agreement to settle a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of incarcerated women at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/central-california-womens-facility\">Central California Women’s Facility\u003c/a> who were held in a crowded dining hall and sprayed with tear gas and pepper spray in 2024.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“There’s no amount of money that can fix what we went through that day,” said Angelina Hernandez, who is no longer in prison. “I have really bad PTSD. It really messed me up in a lot of different ways.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the morning of Aug. 2, 2024, correctional officers at the Chowchilla facility moved more than 150 women to the dining hall to conduct a massive search of their unit, according to the suit, and seize any personal belongings that did not fit in a 6-cubic-foot box. After hours of being confined to the cafeteria without food, water or access to medication, tensions became heightened. Women shouted at the officers and banged on the tables, according to internal documents obtained by KQED. Officers deployed chemical grenades and pepper spray on the women — first inside the chow hall, and then again after the women were zip-tied and seated in the yard outside. At least one woman named Christina Wind was also beaten by officers with batons. Women suffered injuries ranging from seizures, stroke and loss of eyesight. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The mass use-of-force event led to the largest corrective action related to a single incident in state history, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Three correctional officers were fired and 31 more received discipline, ranging from reprimands to pay cuts. Several officers are still appealing those actions. Under the agreement, $7.45 million would be split among the class members, while $2.5 million would go to their attorneys. Another lawsuit filed on behalf of 13 women who were injured during the incident was settled for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12077737/california-agrees-to-1-9m-settlement-in-prison-use-of-force-case\">$1.9 million in March\u003c/a>, bringing the combined value of the settlements to nearly $12 million.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/trump-noncitizen-voting-court/\">Judge says Trump could disenfranchise voters in purge of noncitizens from election rolls\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Saying he had concerns it could disenfranchise voters during the midterm election, a federal judge on Tuesday seemed skeptical of the Trump administration’s demands that California election officials set aside 20,000 ballots that it claimed could have been mailed to noncitizens. “Some of these may be very valid voters, and that’s my concern about disenfranchisement,” said U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, an appointee of President Bill Clinton.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Carter said he would issue a formal ruling by Wednesday, but he told the courtroom he was likely going to appoint a special master to weigh the evidence both sides present at a hearing in two weeks. That means his final ruling might not come until after the election. He said he didn’t want to “just wing it with a ruling” based on last-minute evidence the federal government submitted to the court the night before Tuesday’s hearing.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Carter also suggested that his ruling would order federal authorities to stop telling election officials that they could face criminal charges if they didn’t comply with the Trump administration’s demands. The Trump administration on Friday sent letters to California election officials telling them to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/trump-voting-claims-counties/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">set aside ballots from suspected noncitizens\u003c/a>, and threatened them with criminal charges if they allowed those people to vote.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Carter’s remarks point to yet another likely legal blow to the Trump administration as it seeks to validate President Donald Trump’s longstanding claims of widespread election fraud favoring Democrats. Experts and election officials say those claims are meritless. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bill Essayli, the first assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, acknowledged that the government’s list of 20,000 people may contain citizens, but he said the possibility that noncitizens were voting illegally was too great a threat. “I would ask the state how many illegal votes is OK for them?” Essayli said. “It cannot be that the state has a right to facilitate the counting and tabulation of noncitizen votes. There’s no right to that.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Trump administration \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/trump-sues-california-voting/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sued California earlier this month\u003c/a> saying election officials refused to comply with a 48-hour federal deadline to set aside the ballots of up to 20,000 people the administration had flagged as possible noncitizens until the voters’ citizenship could be verified. The administration sought a temporary restraining order forcing the state to comply. California officials argued there was no way they could since they were busy overseeing the election. They also called the demand an illegal effort to meddle in state-run elections that could disenfranchise legal voters.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Can a progressive Democrat win in the Central Valley? Marisa sits down with Randy Villegas in Bakersfield as the community college professor attempts to unseat Republican Congressman David Valadao in California’s 22nd Congressional District. Democrats hold a registration advantage here, but the seat has been stubbornly difficult for them to win. Villegas is running a very different campaign than past unsuccessful Democrats. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Political Breakdown also extended multiple invitations to have Valadao on the show, but he has not responded.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Don’t forget to use \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/voterguide\">KQED’s voter guide\u003c/a> when filling out your ballot!\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Plus, 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\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>Central Valley Republican Congressman David Valado and his Democratic challenger, college professor Randy Villegas, faced off in a debate earlier this week. Marisa and Guy talk to one of the moderators, FOX40 anchor Nikki Laurenzo, about the showdown in Bakersfield and what it means for control of Congress. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Then, Republican political consultant Mike Madrid joins them to discuss how Democrats are trying to win back working-class Latino voters. Does progressive Villegas or the more moderate Rep. Adam Gray make a more compelling case?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1752\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/GettyImages-2298621300-2fef249e-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103865\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/GettyImages-2298621300-2fef249e-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/GettyImages-2298621300-2fef249e-2000x1369.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/GettyImages-2298621300-2fef249e-160x110.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/GettyImages-2298621300-2fef249e-1536x1051.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/GettyImages-2298621300-2fef249e-2048x1402.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders stands with Randy Villegas, Democratic candidate for the US House of Representatives in California, during a stop on Sanders’ ‘Fighting Oligarchy: Where We Go From Here’ tour at Bakersfield High School on Oct. 4, 2026 in Bakersfield, California. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Don’t forget to use \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/voterguide\">KQED’s voter guide\u003c/a> when filling out your ballot!\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Plus, 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\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "A Central Valley debate with control of Congress at stake, and a look at whether progressive or moderate Democrats make the stronger pitch to Latino voters.",
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"title": "Valadao-Villegas Debate and the Fight for Latino Voters in the Central Valley | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Central Valley Republican Congressman David Valado and his Democratic challenger, college professor Randy Villegas, faced off in a debate earlier this week. Marisa and Guy talk to one of the moderators, FOX40 anchor Nikki Laurenzo, about the showdown in Bakersfield and what it means for control of Congress. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Then, Republican political consultant Mike Madrid joins them to discuss how Democrats are trying to win back working-class Latino voters. Does progressive Villegas or the more moderate Rep. Adam Gray make a more compelling case?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1752\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/GettyImages-2298621300-2fef249e-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103865\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/GettyImages-2298621300-2fef249e-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/GettyImages-2298621300-2fef249e-2000x1369.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/GettyImages-2298621300-2fef249e-160x110.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/GettyImages-2298621300-2fef249e-1536x1051.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/GettyImages-2298621300-2fef249e-2048x1402.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders stands with Randy Villegas, Democratic candidate for the US House of Representatives in California, during a stop on Sanders’ ‘Fighting Oligarchy: Where We Go From Here’ tour at Bakersfield High School on Oct. 4, 2026 in Bakersfield, California. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Don’t forget to use \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/voterguide\">KQED’s voter guide\u003c/a> when filling out your ballot!\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Plus, 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\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Here are the morning’s top stories on Monday, October 5, 2026\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>Huntington Beach is famous far beyond Southern California – as Surf City. And for its MAGA policies. All seven city council members are strong supporters of President Trump. But this year, with his poll numbers down, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kcrw.com/shows/kcrw-reports/stories/huntington-beach-maga-city-council-faces-democratic-momentum\">Democrats sense an opportunity.\u003c/a> \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Xavier Becerra, the Democratic candidate for governor, made a rare public appearance in Riverside on Friday.\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/sanders-villegas-rally-bakersfield-cd-22/\">made a stop at Bakersfield High School Sunday\u003c/a> night for a political rally. He was there to campaign for progressive Democrat Randy Villegas, who’s trying to unseat Republican Congressman David Valadao in the District 22 race.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kcrw.com/shows/kcrw-reports/stories/huntington-beach-maga-city-council-faces-democratic-momentum\">Huntington Beach MAGA City Council faces Democratic momentum\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Erin Spivey used to work at the public library in Huntington Beach, and tells KCRW, “I wanted to be a librarian for the rest of my life.” But that changed after the all-Republican City Council started taking on social issues: declaring Huntington Beach a non-sanctuary city, banning Pride flags on city buildings. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Finally, when council members wanted to restrict books in the library, Spivey’s fight against them became personal. She quit. Now Spivey is one of the so-called “Surf City Four”—four Democrats running for City Council who want to take over the council’s majority.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One reason Spivey is hopeful? Huntington Beach isn’t actually majority Republican. Nearly 60% of the city’s voters are either Democrats or independents. Jon Gould is Dean of UC Irvine’s School of Social Ecology. “There are a number of residents who feel like the city council has just gone too far to the right. That has a tendency to lead to a backlash,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Republicans are working hard to get out the vote too. Current Huntington Beach Mayor Casey McKeon rejects allegations of extreme partisan politics and said the City Council just represents the values of a traditionally conservative town. “Very strong patriotism in Huntington Beach, strong family values, core conservative values,” McKeon said. “And so the community just really embraced our conservative beliefs, and it’s just representing what the people want.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Becerra makes rare public campaign appearance in Riverside\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra made a rare campaign appearance in Riverside last week.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On Friday, Becerra stood in front of 100-or-so people at the United Domestic Workers Union Hall in Riverside, to stump for Clarissa Cervantes. She’s running for a state assembly seat that represents voters from Riverside to Corona.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Cervantes is a Riverside City Councilmember. She ran against the incumbent, Republican Leticia Castillo for the same seat two years ago. Cervantes lost by about 600 votes in a heavily Latino district.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Castillo won in part by riding President Donald Trump’s coattails as Latino voters turned on Democrats. Democrats believe voters have soured on Trump. And Becerra did everything he could to tie this race, and by implication Cervantes’ opponent, to the president.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/sanders-villegas-rally-bakersfield-cd-22/\">Will Democrats’ midterm wave reach California’s Central Valley? Bernie Sanders rallies the vote\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Even in Bakersfield, the heart of conservative California, insurgent populism is having a moment. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Exhibit A: The hundreds of sweaty Californians who braved 105-degree heat on Sunday to hear from U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, progressive Democrats’ modern-day Moses. “Anytime he comes to Bakersfield, I always show up,” said local resident Kacie Mills, 34, who said Sunday was her third time seeing Sanders in her hometown. As a progressive in a historically conservative area, Sanders’ visits turn out people and organizations that “don’t get a lot of light,” Mills said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This time, she was more excited to hear from Randy Villegas, a progressive 31-year-old community college professor hoping to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/07/central-valley-congressional-race-agriculture-concerns/\">unseat Republican incumbent\u003c/a> Rep. David Valadao, who has represented the area for more than 12 years. “He’s someone who wasn’t really on my radar, and it’s nice to have someone who is, like, close to my age, who believes in things that I believe in,” Mills said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sanders held court at the high school alma mater of Republican former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, where he came to rally support for Villegas and other Democratic candidates. The contest in the 22nd Congressional District in central California is one of the most closely watched in the nation. “The good news is that people like Randy Villegas are standing up and running all over this country, taking on the establishment and winning!” Sanders said. “I want you to do everything you can, between now and election day, to make sure that Randy is your next congressman.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Villegas earned thunderous cheers as he berated Valadao for supporting cuts to Medicaid and nutrition assistance in Trump’s mega budget bill, refusing to challenge Trump’s recent deals that undercut U.S. ranchers by importing cheap Argentinian beef, and for taking campaign contributions from wealthy corporations such as PG&E and United Healthcare.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Valadao campaign declined CalMatters’ request to interview the congressmember. Villegas’ Sunday event in some ways gave Republicans what they have wanted; campaign operatives have been salivating at the chance to tie Villegas to far-left socialist ideology. The Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with House Republican leadership, spent more than $100,000 on mailers against Villegas \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/07/california-congressional-races-republican-fundraising/\">in the primary to elevate\u003c/a> his name ID among Democrats and \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/06/22nd-district-primary-villegas/\">push him past\u003c/a> his more moderate Democratic opponent, Assemblymember \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/jasmeet-bains-165424\">Jasmeet Bains\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I think it’s not a great idea to have this far left-leaning of a candidate,” said Cathy Abernathy, a Bakersfield-based Republican strategist who supports Valadao, though she does not live in his district. She said Sanders and Villegas woo voters with promises of free government-funded healthcare and other programs, and voters aren’t well educated enough in economics to interrogate how those programs will be funded.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>Huntington Beach is famous far beyond Southern California – as Surf City. And for its MAGA policies. All seven city council members are strong supporters of President Trump. But this year, with his poll numbers down, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kcrw.com/shows/kcrw-reports/stories/huntington-beach-maga-city-council-faces-democratic-momentum\">Democrats sense an opportunity.\u003c/a> \u003c/li>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>Xavier Becerra, the Democratic candidate for governor, made a rare public appearance in Riverside on Friday.\u003c/li>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/sanders-villegas-rally-bakersfield-cd-22/\">made a stop at Bakersfield High School Sunday\u003c/a> night for a political rally. He was there to campaign for progressive Democrat Randy Villegas, who’s trying to unseat Republican Congressman David Valadao in the District 22 race.\u003c/li>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Erin Spivey used to work at the public library in Huntington Beach, and tells KCRW, “I wanted to be a librarian for the rest of my life.” But that changed after the all-Republican City Council started taking on social issues: declaring Huntington Beach a non-sanctuary city, banning Pride flags on city buildings. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Erin Spivey used to work at the public library in Huntington Beach, and tells KCRW, “I wanted to be a librarian for the rest of my life.” But that changed after the all-Republican City Council started taking on social issues: declaring Huntington Beach a non-sanctuary city, banning Pride flags on city buildings. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Finally, when council members wanted to restrict books in the library, Spivey’s fight against them became personal. She quit. Now Spivey is one of the so-called “Surf City Four”—four Democrats running for City Council who want to take over the council’s majority.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Finally, when council members wanted to restrict books in the library, Spivey’s fight against them became personal. She quit. Now Spivey is one of the so-called “Surf City Four”—four Democrats running for City Council who want to take over the council’s majority.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>One reason Spivey is hopeful? Huntington Beach isn’t actually majority Republican. Nearly 60% of the city’s voters are either Democrats or independents. Jon Gould is Dean of UC Irvine’s School of Social Ecology. “There are a number of residents who feel like the city council has just gone too far to the right. That has a tendency to lead to a backlash,” he said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>One reason Spivey is hopeful? Huntington Beach isn’t actually majority Republican. Nearly 60% of the city’s voters are either Democrats or independents. Jon Gould is Dean of UC Irvine’s School of Social Ecology. “There are a number of residents who feel like the city council has just gone too far to the right. That has a tendency to lead to a backlash,” he said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Republicans are working hard to get out the vote too. Current Huntington Beach Mayor Casey McKeon rejects allegations of extreme partisan politics and said the City Council just represents the values of a traditionally conservative town. “Very strong patriotism in Huntington Beach, strong family values, core conservative values,” McKeon said. “And so the community just really embraced our conservative beliefs, and it’s just representing what the people want.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Republicans are working hard to get out the vote too. Current Huntington Beach Mayor Casey McKeon rejects allegations of extreme partisan politics and said the City Council just represents the values of a traditionally conservative town. “Very strong patriotism in Huntington Beach, strong family values, core conservative values,” McKeon said. “And so the community just really embraced our conservative beliefs, and it’s just representing what the people want.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra made a rare campaign appearance in Riverside last week.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On Friday, Becerra stood in front of 100-or-so people at the United Domestic Workers Union Hall in Riverside, to stump for Clarissa Cervantes. She’s running for a state assembly seat that represents voters from Riverside to Corona.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>On Friday, Becerra stood in front of 100-or-so people at the United Domestic Workers Union Hall in Riverside, to stump for Clarissa Cervantes. She’s running for a state assembly seat that represents voters from Riverside to Corona.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Cervantes is a Riverside City Councilmember. She ran against the incumbent, Republican Leticia Castillo for the same seat two years ago. Cervantes lost by about 600 votes in a heavily Latino district.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Cervantes is a Riverside City Councilmember. She ran against the incumbent, Republican Leticia Castillo for the same seat two years ago. Cervantes lost by about 600 votes in a heavily Latino district.\u003c/p>\n"
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"\n\u003cp>Castillo won in part by riding President Donald Trump’s coattails as Latino voters turned on Democrats. Democrats believe voters have soured on Trump. And Becerra did everything he could to tie this race, and by implication Cervantes’ opponent, to the president.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Exhibit A: The hundreds of sweaty Californians who braved 105-degree heat on Sunday to hear from U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, progressive Democrats’ modern-day Moses. “Anytime he comes to Bakersfield, I always show up,” said local resident Kacie Mills, 34, who said Sunday was her third time seeing Sanders in her hometown. As a progressive in a historically conservative area, Sanders’ visits turn out people and organizations that “don’t get a lot of light,” Mills said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Exhibit A: The hundreds of sweaty Californians who braved 105-degree heat on Sunday to hear from U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, progressive Democrats’ modern-day Moses. “Anytime he comes to Bakersfield, I always show up,” said local resident Kacie Mills, 34, who said Sunday was her third time seeing Sanders in her hometown. As a progressive in a historically conservative area, Sanders’ visits turn out people and organizations that “don’t get a lot of light,” Mills said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Valadao campaign declined CalMatters’ request to interview the congressmember. Villegas’ Sunday event in some ways gave Republicans what they have wanted; campaign operatives have been salivating at the chance to tie Villegas to far-left socialist ideology. The Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with House Republican leadership, spent more than $100,000 on mailers against Villegas \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/07/california-congressional-races-republican-fundraising/\">in the primary to elevate\u003c/a> his name ID among Democrats and \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/06/22nd-district-primary-villegas/\">push him past\u003c/a> his more moderate Democratic opponent, Assemblymember \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/jasmeet-bains-165424\">Jasmeet Bains\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Huntington Beach is aligned with President Trump. Democrats hope to capitalize on his unpopularity.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Here are the morning’s top stories on Monday, October 5, 2026\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>Huntington Beach is famous far beyond Southern California – as Surf City. And for its MAGA policies. All seven city council members are strong supporters of President Trump. But this year, with his poll numbers down, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kcrw.com/shows/kcrw-reports/stories/huntington-beach-maga-city-council-faces-democratic-momentum\">Democrats sense an opportunity.\u003c/a> \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Xavier Becerra, the Democratic candidate for governor, made a rare public appearance in Riverside on Friday.\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/sanders-villegas-rally-bakersfield-cd-22/\">made a stop at Bakersfield High School Sunday\u003c/a> night for a political rally. He was there to campaign for progressive Democrat Randy Villegas, who’s trying to unseat Republican Congressman David Valadao in the District 22 race.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kcrw.com/shows/kcrw-reports/stories/huntington-beach-maga-city-council-faces-democratic-momentum\">Huntington Beach MAGA City Council faces Democratic momentum\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Erin Spivey used to work at the public library in Huntington Beach, and tells KCRW, “I wanted to be a librarian for the rest of my life.” But that changed after the all-Republican City Council started taking on social issues: declaring Huntington Beach a non-sanctuary city, banning Pride flags on city buildings. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Finally, when council members wanted to restrict books in the library, Spivey’s fight against them became personal. She quit. Now Spivey is one of the so-called “Surf City Four”—four Democrats running for City Council who want to take over the council’s majority.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One reason Spivey is hopeful? Huntington Beach isn’t actually majority Republican. Nearly 60% of the city’s voters are either Democrats or independents. Jon Gould is Dean of UC Irvine’s School of Social Ecology. “There are a number of residents who feel like the city council has just gone too far to the right. That has a tendency to lead to a backlash,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Republicans are working hard to get out the vote too. Current Huntington Beach Mayor Casey McKeon rejects allegations of extreme partisan politics and said the City Council just represents the values of a traditionally conservative town. “Very strong patriotism in Huntington Beach, strong family values, core conservative values,” McKeon said. “And so the community just really embraced our conservative beliefs, and it’s just representing what the people want.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Becerra makes rare public campaign appearance in Riverside\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra made a rare campaign appearance in Riverside last week.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On Friday, Becerra stood in front of 100-or-so people at the United Domestic Workers Union Hall in Riverside, to stump for Clarissa Cervantes. She’s running for a state assembly seat that represents voters from Riverside to Corona.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Cervantes is a Riverside City Councilmember. She ran against the incumbent, Republican Leticia Castillo for the same seat two years ago. Cervantes lost by about 600 votes in a heavily Latino district.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Castillo won in part by riding President Donald Trump’s coattails as Latino voters turned on Democrats. Democrats believe voters have soured on Trump. And Becerra did everything he could to tie this race, and by implication Cervantes’ opponent, to the president.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/sanders-villegas-rally-bakersfield-cd-22/\">Will Democrats’ midterm wave reach California’s Central Valley? Bernie Sanders rallies the vote\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Even in Bakersfield, the heart of conservative California, insurgent populism is having a moment. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Exhibit A: The hundreds of sweaty Californians who braved 105-degree heat on Sunday to hear from U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, progressive Democrats’ modern-day Moses. “Anytime he comes to Bakersfield, I always show up,” said local resident Kacie Mills, 34, who said Sunday was her third time seeing Sanders in her hometown. As a progressive in a historically conservative area, Sanders’ visits turn out people and organizations that “don’t get a lot of light,” Mills said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This time, she was more excited to hear from Randy Villegas, a progressive 31-year-old community college professor hoping to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/07/central-valley-congressional-race-agriculture-concerns/\">unseat Republican incumbent\u003c/a> Rep. David Valadao, who has represented the area for more than 12 years. “He’s someone who wasn’t really on my radar, and it’s nice to have someone who is, like, close to my age, who believes in things that I believe in,” Mills said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sanders held court at the high school alma mater of Republican former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, where he came to rally support for Villegas and other Democratic candidates. The contest in the 22nd Congressional District in central California is one of the most closely watched in the nation. “The good news is that people like Randy Villegas are standing up and running all over this country, taking on the establishment and winning!” Sanders said. “I want you to do everything you can, between now and election day, to make sure that Randy is your next congressman.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Villegas earned thunderous cheers as he berated Valadao for supporting cuts to Medicaid and nutrition assistance in Trump’s mega budget bill, refusing to challenge Trump’s recent deals that undercut U.S. ranchers by importing cheap Argentinian beef, and for taking campaign contributions from wealthy corporations such as PG&E and United Healthcare.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Valadao campaign declined CalMatters’ request to interview the congressmember. Villegas’ Sunday event in some ways gave Republicans what they have wanted; campaign operatives have been salivating at the chance to tie Villegas to far-left socialist ideology. The Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with House Republican leadership, spent more than $100,000 on mailers against Villegas \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/07/california-congressional-races-republican-fundraising/\">in the primary to elevate\u003c/a> his name ID among Democrats and \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/06/22nd-district-primary-villegas/\">push him past\u003c/a> his more moderate Democratic opponent, Assemblymember \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/jasmeet-bains-165424\">Jasmeet Bains\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I think it’s not a great idea to have this far left-leaning of a candidate,” said Cathy Abernathy, a Bakersfield-based Republican strategist who supports Valadao, though she does not live in his district. She said Sanders and Villegas woo voters with promises of free government-funded healthcare and other programs, and voters aren’t well educated enough in economics to interrogate how those programs will be funded.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The Democratic Party is still searching for a path forward after losses in the 2024 election. With the November midterms looming, Democrats are trying different strategies to win back the hearts and votes of the electorate. Do they focus on ideology, running more populist, progressive candidates? Or do they make the case that the party needs a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12086710/how-did-the-generational-change-movement-do-in-californias-election\">generational shift\u003c/a> in leadership?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marisa and Scott are joined by two congressional candidates running on change who have made it through the primaries to take on longtime incumbents. Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang is challenging Democratic Rep. Doris Matsui in Sacramento and progressive college professor Randy Villegas is taking on Republican Rep. David Valadao in the Central Valley.\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/z5kEmOiBY8s'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/z5kEmOiBY8s'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Track the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results\">latest election results here\u003c/a>.\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>\u003cb>Here are the morning’s top stories on Friday, May 29, 2026\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of the most competitive primary races for Congress right now is \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/local-news/2026-05-27/a-tug-of-war-for-the-identity-of-the-party-why-a-valley-congressional-race-is-key-for-democrats\">a swing district in the Central Valley.\u003c/a> Democrats there are hoping to flip a seat long held by Republican David Valadao. But first they need a nominee. With just days until the primary , the party’s two candidates in the 22nd Congressional District are competing for who can appeal to the most voters – as the national Democratic Party contemplates its own identity. \u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">California is rolling out first-of-its-kind regulations pushing manufactures to cut plastic pollution. One of the deadlines for producers is Monday.\u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2 class=\"ArtP-headline\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/local-news/2026-05-27/a-tug-of-war-for-the-identity-of-the-party-why-a-valley-congressional-race-is-key-for-democrats\">\u003cstrong>‘A tug of war for the identity of the party’ – why a Valley congressional race is key for Democrats\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>One of the country’s most competitive primary races for Congress this year is a swing district in Central California, where Democrats are hoping to flip a seat long held by Republican David Valadao.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>District 22, which stretches across parts of four counties in California’s rural and agricultural Central Valley, is politically purple. Even though Democratic voters have held a slight majority in this district for many years, Valadao has won six of the last seven congressional elections here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But statewide redistricting last year, which rewrote California’s congressional district maps, is expected to have made this district even more favorable for Democrats. And with less than a week until the primary on June 2, the party’s two candidates are competing for who can appeal to the most voters – as the national Democratic party contemplates its own identity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of those candidates is Randy Villegas, a political science professor at a local community college – College of the Sequoias – and an elected trustee of the Visalia Unified School District. On a recent night canvassing in the Kings County town of Hanford, Villegas’s messages advocating for universal healthcare and suspending federal gas taxes seemed to resonate with voters. When he asked them if he could count on their votes, many said yes – and some even said they had already voted for him before submitting their ballots early.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the trail, Villegas says he refuses to accept campaign contributions from political action committees (PACs) funded by corporations. “I’m proud to be the only candidate in this race that has never touched a corporate PAC check, and I never will, because I want to be committed to our communities and not corporate interests,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California state Assemblymember Dr. Jasmeet Bains is also running for the Democratic nomination in District 22. She represents part of this district in the state legislature and is also a family doctor. “It’s time we elect the physician to Congress,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Sacramento, Bains has voted for Democratic priorities like access to abortion rights and public school funding. But she also bucked her party on some prominent issues, including by voting against Democratic redistricting and a legislative effort to restrict oil industry profits. She says she listens to her constituents, many of whom voted for President Trump. “The people that represent the Valley understand the importance of standing up for the Valley, not their party,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One thing she and Villegas have in common is that they both scold Valadao for his 2025 vote to slash Medicaid funding through the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill, even though his district has one of the highest Medicaid enrollments in the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Deadline for single-use packaging approaches\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Since the midcentury, the production of plastics has increased hundreds of times. It’s found in remote arctic wildlife and babies’ poop. Production is expected to triple in the next 25 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California is trying to halt the trend. A state bill passed in 2022 makes manufacturers responsible for reducing and cleaning up the plastic they use, including ensuring all of their packaging is recyclable or compostable by 2032. June 1st is a deadline for producers to submit baseline data about their use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I feel like every day something new comes out about the potential dangers associated with microplastics. This is an opportunity for us to reduce that material that’s being sold into the state in a very meaningful way,” said Zoe Heller, director of CalRecycle. That’s the department that is overseeing implementation of the law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The industry has asked for more time to comply and said food prices may rise. A state analysis indicated consumers would save money overall, bearing less clean up costs and avoiding illness.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cb>Here are the morning’s top stories on Friday, May 29, 2026\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of the most competitive primary races for Congress right now is \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/local-news/2026-05-27/a-tug-of-war-for-the-identity-of-the-party-why-a-valley-congressional-race-is-key-for-democrats\">a swing district in the Central Valley.\u003c/a> Democrats there are hoping to flip a seat long held by Republican David Valadao. But first they need a nominee. With just days until the primary , the party’s two candidates in the 22nd Congressional District are competing for who can appeal to the most voters – as the national Democratic Party contemplates its own identity. \u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">California is rolling out first-of-its-kind regulations pushing manufactures to cut plastic pollution. One of the deadlines for producers is Monday.\u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2 class=\"ArtP-headline\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/local-news/2026-05-27/a-tug-of-war-for-the-identity-of-the-party-why-a-valley-congressional-race-is-key-for-democrats\">\u003cstrong>‘A tug of war for the identity of the party’ – why a Valley congressional race is key for Democrats\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>One of the country’s most competitive primary races for Congress this year is a swing district in Central California, where Democrats are hoping to flip a seat long held by Republican David Valadao.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>District 22, which stretches across parts of four counties in California’s rural and agricultural Central Valley, is politically purple. Even though Democratic voters have held a slight majority in this district for many years, Valadao has won six of the last seven congressional elections here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But statewide redistricting last year, which rewrote California’s congressional district maps, is expected to have made this district even more favorable for Democrats. And with less than a week until the primary on June 2, the party’s two candidates are competing for who can appeal to the most voters – as the national Democratic party contemplates its own identity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of those candidates is Randy Villegas, a political science professor at a local community college – College of the Sequoias – and an elected trustee of the Visalia Unified School District. On a recent night canvassing in the Kings County town of Hanford, Villegas’s messages advocating for universal healthcare and suspending federal gas taxes seemed to resonate with voters. When he asked them if he could count on their votes, many said yes – and some even said they had already voted for him before submitting their ballots early.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the trail, Villegas says he refuses to accept campaign contributions from political action committees (PACs) funded by corporations. “I’m proud to be the only candidate in this race that has never touched a corporate PAC check, and I never will, because I want to be committed to our communities and not corporate interests,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California state Assemblymember Dr. Jasmeet Bains is also running for the Democratic nomination in District 22. She represents part of this district in the state legislature and is also a family doctor. “It’s time we elect the physician to Congress,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Sacramento, Bains has voted for Democratic priorities like access to abortion rights and public school funding. But she also bucked her party on some prominent issues, including by voting against Democratic redistricting and a legislative effort to restrict oil industry profits. She says she listens to her constituents, many of whom voted for President Trump. “The people that represent the Valley understand the importance of standing up for the Valley, not their party,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One thing she and Villegas have in common is that they both scold Valadao for his 2025 vote to slash Medicaid funding through the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill, even though his district has one of the highest Medicaid enrollments in the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Deadline for single-use packaging approaches\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Since the midcentury, the production of plastics has increased hundreds of times. It’s found in remote arctic wildlife and babies’ poop. Production is expected to triple in the next 25 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California is trying to halt the trend. A state bill passed in 2022 makes manufacturers responsible for reducing and cleaning up the plastic they use, including ensuring all of their packaging is recyclable or compostable by 2032. June 1st is a deadline for producers to submit baseline data about their use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I feel like every day something new comes out about the potential dangers associated with microplastics. This is an opportunity for us to reduce that material that’s being sold into the state in a very meaningful way,” said Zoe Heller, director of CalRecycle. That’s the department that is overseeing implementation of the law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The industry has asked for more time to comply and said food prices may rise. A state analysis indicated consumers would save money overall, bearing less clean up costs and avoiding illness.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Democrats have long had their sights on Congressional District 22 in the Central Valley, where Republican Rep. David Valadao has managed to hold onto the Democratic-leaning district for most of the past 13 years. Cook Political Report lists it as the only toss-up House race in the state after last year’s redistricting measure flipped five Republican-held seats blue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, two Democrats are competing for the chance to face Valadao in the November general election: moderate state Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains and progressive college professor Randy Villegas. CalMatters politics reporter Maya C. Miller joins Scott, Marisa and Guy to break down the key differences between the candidates, their campaign attacks and the issues that matter most to voters in the district.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11929778\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11929778\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/10/101922_Bakersfield_Election_LV_CM_21-copy-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"a white man sites to the right of an Indian woman with another woman sitting to the left as they sit behind a table and listen to a man speak.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/10/101922_Bakersfield_Election_LV_CM_21-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/10/101922_Bakersfield_Election_LV_CM_21-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/10/101922_Bakersfield_Election_LV_CM_21-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/10/101922_Bakersfield_Election_LV_CM_21-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/10/101922_Bakersfield_Election_LV_CM_21-copy.jpg 1568w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">State Assembly candidate Jasmeet Bains hosts a roundtable with local leaders in the town of McFarland after an uptick in gang-related violence in the community on Oct. 14, 2022. \u003ccite>(Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters-CatchLight Local)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\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>For election information including our voter guide, go to \u003ca href=\"http://kqed.org/voterguide\">kqed.org/voterguide\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NEIPgvofRA\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Democrats have long had their sights on Congressional District 22 in the Central Valley, where Republican Rep. David Valadao has managed to hold onto the Democratic-leaning district for most of the past 13 years. Cook Political Report lists it as the only toss-up House race in the state after last year’s redistricting measure flipped five Republican-held seats blue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, two Democrats are competing for the chance to face Valadao in the November general election: moderate state Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains and progressive college professor Randy Villegas. CalMatters politics reporter Maya C. Miller joins Scott, Marisa and Guy to break down the key differences between the candidates, their campaign attacks and the issues that matter most to voters in the district.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11929778\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11929778\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/10/101922_Bakersfield_Election_LV_CM_21-copy-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"a white man sites to the right of an Indian woman with another woman sitting to the left as they sit behind a table and listen to a man speak.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/10/101922_Bakersfield_Election_LV_CM_21-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/10/101922_Bakersfield_Election_LV_CM_21-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/10/101922_Bakersfield_Election_LV_CM_21-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/10/101922_Bakersfield_Election_LV_CM_21-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/10/101922_Bakersfield_Election_LV_CM_21-copy.jpg 1568w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">State Assembly candidate Jasmeet Bains hosts a roundtable with local leaders in the town of McFarland after an uptick in gang-related violence in the community on Oct. 14, 2022. \u003ccite>(Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters-CatchLight Local)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\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>For election information including our voter guide, go to \u003ca href=\"http://kqed.org/voterguide\">kqed.org/voterguide\u003c/a>.\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/5NEIPgvofRA'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/5NEIPgvofRA'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cb>Here are the morning’s top stories on Tuesday, October 28, 2025…\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The ripple effects of President Trump’s national gerrymandering battle are being felt in California’s rich agricultural belt. Next week, voters in the state will decide whether to support \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/proposition-50\">Proposition 50.\u003c/a> That’s Governor Newsom’s plan to counter surprise redistricting in Texas and other red states. If Prop 50 passes, Congressman David Valadao of the Central Valley would be one of five Republicans on the chopping block. And that worries farmers in his district. \u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">State Attorney General Rob Bonta says the monitors that the U.S. Department of Justice is sending to five California counties \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/brief/news/politics/bonta-bashes-trump-administration-plan-to-send-election-monitors-to-california\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">will not be allowed to interfere in the voting process.\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>The Los Angeles Dodgers \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2025/10/28/g-s1-95311/dodgers-over-blue-jays-world-series\">won a marathon Game 3 of the World Series\u003c/a>, as Freddie Freeman hit a walk-off home run in the 18th inning.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12061715/california-divided-heres-whats-at-stake-for-californians-whose-districts-could-get-rewritten-by-prop-50\">\u003cstrong>Central Valley Farmers Say Redistricting Could Have Huge Impact On Industry\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>If Californians pass \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/proposition-50\">Proposition 50\u003c/a> next week, several areas of the state could see far different representation in the coming years. That includes the Central Valley, where agriculture is king.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Charles Meyer grows a cornucopia of crops on his 1500 acres in Stratford, in Kings County. “We’re growing wheat, we’re growing alfalfa, we’re growing almonds, we’re growing pistachios,” he said. Kings County is one of three agricultural counties that make up District 22, represented by Republican Congressman David Valadao. Farms bring in billions of dollars to the region and Meyer said he feels the elected leader in District 22 should represent the interests of the agriculture industry, like Valadao, a former dairy farmer. “You become attached to the ground. It’s like our boys in the military, they give their life for the country. We feel about our ground about like that,” Meyer said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valadao is in danger of losing his seat if maps are redrawn and Prop 50 passes. Meyer said the new maps are an overreach, blaming Democrats for rising farming costs and slumping profits. And while it’s a common thought among the farming community, Democrats in the region welcome a possible change, blaming Valadao for issues like healthcare costs.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/brief/news/politics/bonta-bashes-trump-administration-plan-to-send-election-monitors-to-california\">Attorney General Says Federal Election Monitors Are Unnecessary\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday denounced plans by the Justice Department to send election monitors to California, where \u003ca href=\"https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/promoting-early-voting-and-protecting-voting-rights-together-attorney-general\">voting is underway\u003c/a> in the closely watched contest over Proposition 50.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Trump administration announced Friday that it would send monitors to five counties, including Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Kern and Fresno for the Nov. 4 special election. The Justice Department said in a news release that it would send monitors to polling places and to offices of registrars of voters “to ensure transparency, ballot security, and compliance with federal law.” The move comes in response to a request for monitors by the California Republican Party, which claimed voting irregularities in past elections including that voters received incorrect ballots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not uncommon for the federal government to monitor elections, but Bonta questioned the motives behind the decision. “These are not normal times so it is with a great deal of concern that I see these so-called election monitors coming to California,” he said. “We have to look at the broader context here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>President Donald Trump has claimed there’s widespread voter fraud in California, where 81% of ballots are mailed in. He reiterated his position as recently as Sunday on his \u003ca class=\"Link\" href=\"https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115441871289276790\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-cms-ai=\"0\">Truth Social account. \u003c/a>Bonta said Monday that voter fraud is extremely rare in California, and Secretary of State Shirley Weber says \u003ca class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/election-cybersecurity/trusted-information\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-cms-ai=\"0\">\u003cu>on her website\u003c/u>\u003c/a> that mail-in ballots provide more election security, not less. Bonta said the election monitors are designed to bolster the president’s claim of election fraud and to sow fear among citizen immigrant voters. The attorney general promised to monitor the monitors. “Of course there will be observers of the election monitors — so-called election monitors — that the DOJ is sending. They will not be allowed to do things that they are not allowed to do,” he said. “They can watch and observe like everybody else.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2025/10/28/g-s1-95311/dodgers-over-blue-jays-world-series\">\u003cstrong>After 18 Innings, Dodgers Prevail Over Blue Jays In World Series Classic\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Freddie Freeman homered leading off the bottom of the 18th inning, Shohei Ohtani went deep twice in another record-setting performance and the Los Angeles Dodgers outlasted the Toronto Blue Jays 6-5 in Game 3 on Monday night to win a World Series classic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The defending champion Dodgers took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven matchup and still have a chance to win the title at home — something they haven’t done since 1963.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Freeman connected off left-hander Brendon Little, sending a 406-foot drive to straightaway center field to finally end a game that lasted 6 hours, 39 minutes, and matched the longest by innings in postseason history. The only other Series contest to go 18 innings was Game 3 at Dodger Stadium seven years ago. Freeman’s current teammate, Max Muncy, won that one for Los Angeles with an 18th-inning homer against the Boston Red Sox in a game that took 7 hours, 20 minutes.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cb>Here are the morning’s top stories on Tuesday, October 28, 2025…\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The ripple effects of President Trump’s national gerrymandering battle are being felt in California’s rich agricultural belt. Next week, voters in the state will decide whether to support \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/proposition-50\">Proposition 50.\u003c/a> That’s Governor Newsom’s plan to counter surprise redistricting in Texas and other red states. If Prop 50 passes, Congressman David Valadao of the Central Valley would be one of five Republicans on the chopping block. And that worries farmers in his district. \u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">State Attorney General Rob Bonta says the monitors that the U.S. Department of Justice is sending to five California counties \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/brief/news/politics/bonta-bashes-trump-administration-plan-to-send-election-monitors-to-california\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">will not be allowed to interfere in the voting process.\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>The Los Angeles Dodgers \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2025/10/28/g-s1-95311/dodgers-over-blue-jays-world-series\">won a marathon Game 3 of the World Series\u003c/a>, as Freddie Freeman hit a walk-off home run in the 18th inning.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12061715/california-divided-heres-whats-at-stake-for-californians-whose-districts-could-get-rewritten-by-prop-50\">\u003cstrong>Central Valley Farmers Say Redistricting Could Have Huge Impact On Industry\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>If Californians pass \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/proposition-50\">Proposition 50\u003c/a> next week, several areas of the state could see far different representation in the coming years. That includes the Central Valley, where agriculture is king.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Charles Meyer grows a cornucopia of crops on his 1500 acres in Stratford, in Kings County. “We’re growing wheat, we’re growing alfalfa, we’re growing almonds, we’re growing pistachios,” he said. Kings County is one of three agricultural counties that make up District 22, represented by Republican Congressman David Valadao. Farms bring in billions of dollars to the region and Meyer said he feels the elected leader in District 22 should represent the interests of the agriculture industry, like Valadao, a former dairy farmer. “You become attached to the ground. It’s like our boys in the military, they give their life for the country. We feel about our ground about like that,” Meyer said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valadao is in danger of losing his seat if maps are redrawn and Prop 50 passes. Meyer said the new maps are an overreach, blaming Democrats for rising farming costs and slumping profits. And while it’s a common thought among the farming community, Democrats in the region welcome a possible change, blaming Valadao for issues like healthcare costs.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/brief/news/politics/bonta-bashes-trump-administration-plan-to-send-election-monitors-to-california\">Attorney General Says Federal Election Monitors Are Unnecessary\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday denounced plans by the Justice Department to send election monitors to California, where \u003ca href=\"https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/promoting-early-voting-and-protecting-voting-rights-together-attorney-general\">voting is underway\u003c/a> in the closely watched contest over Proposition 50.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Trump administration announced Friday that it would send monitors to five counties, including Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Kern and Fresno for the Nov. 4 special election. The Justice Department said in a news release that it would send monitors to polling places and to offices of registrars of voters “to ensure transparency, ballot security, and compliance with federal law.” The move comes in response to a request for monitors by the California Republican Party, which claimed voting irregularities in past elections including that voters received incorrect ballots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not uncommon for the federal government to monitor elections, but Bonta questioned the motives behind the decision. “These are not normal times so it is with a great deal of concern that I see these so-called election monitors coming to California,” he said. “We have to look at the broader context here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>President Donald Trump has claimed there’s widespread voter fraud in California, where 81% of ballots are mailed in. He reiterated his position as recently as Sunday on his \u003ca class=\"Link\" href=\"https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115441871289276790\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-cms-ai=\"0\">Truth Social account. \u003c/a>Bonta said Monday that voter fraud is extremely rare in California, and Secretary of State Shirley Weber says \u003ca class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/election-cybersecurity/trusted-information\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-cms-ai=\"0\">\u003cu>on her website\u003c/u>\u003c/a> that mail-in ballots provide more election security, not less. Bonta said the election monitors are designed to bolster the president’s claim of election fraud and to sow fear among citizen immigrant voters. The attorney general promised to monitor the monitors. “Of course there will be observers of the election monitors — so-called election monitors — that the DOJ is sending. They will not be allowed to do things that they are not allowed to do,” he said. “They can watch and observe like everybody else.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2025/10/28/g-s1-95311/dodgers-over-blue-jays-world-series\">\u003cstrong>After 18 Innings, Dodgers Prevail Over Blue Jays In World Series Classic\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Freddie Freeman homered leading off the bottom of the 18th inning, Shohei Ohtani went deep twice in another record-setting performance and the Los Angeles Dodgers outlasted the Toronto Blue Jays 6-5 in Game 3 on Monday night to win a World Series classic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The defending champion Dodgers took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven matchup and still have a chance to win the title at home — something they haven’t done since 1963.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Freeman connected off left-hander Brendon Little, sending a 406-foot drive to straightaway center field to finally end a game that lasted 6 hours, 39 minutes, and matched the longest by innings in postseason history. The only other Series contest to go 18 innings was Game 3 at Dodger Stadium seven years ago. Freeman’s current teammate, Max Muncy, won that one for Los Angeles with an 18th-inning homer against the Boston Red Sox in a game that took 7 hours, 20 minutes.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "how-cuts-medicaid-republican-gains-california",
"title": "Here’s How Cuts to Medicaid Could Blunt Republican Gains in California",
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"content": "\u003cp>BAKERSFIELD — In 2021, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/bakersfield\">Bakersfield\u003c/a> resident Elizabeth Ramirez’s mother broke three bones in a fall, leaving Ramirez with a new set of responsibilities: cooking and cleaning for her mom, bathing her and driving her to appointments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So I was caregiving for her on top of my kids,” Ramirez said. “It was just a lot.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After a few years of juggling, Ramirez became a registered care provider for her mother through the state’s In-Home Supportive Services, a program provided \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12032878/gop-cuts-to-medicaid-snap-would-shrink-californias-economy-by-17-billion-and-kill-nearly-140000-jobs-new-study-finds\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">through Medi-Cal\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So the work I put into making sure she’s safe and healthy, I get paid for it now,” Ramirez said. “It’s such a good support system that keeps people from drowning.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No congressional seat in California relies more on Medi-Cal than the 22nd District, which follows Interstate 5 and Highway 99 as they stretch southeast from Avenal and Delano, through almond and pistachio orchards, to Bakersfield.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two-thirds of residents are enrolled in Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program, which provides health care to low-income residents, people with disabilities and those living in nursing homes or need of a personal caregiver.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11933948\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11933948 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/GettyImages-1245162773.jpg\" alt=\"oil pumps in a field\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/GettyImages-1245162773.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/GettyImages-1245162773-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/GettyImages-1245162773-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/GettyImages-1245162773-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oil wells are seen at an oil facility by Interstate 5 near Bakersfield. \u003ccite>(Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The 22nd District is also experiencing an intense political shift.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back in 2020, voters here supported Joe Biden over Donald Trump in the presidential election by a 55%-42% margin. In November, Trump won the 22nd District, 52%-46% over Kamala Harris. The 19-point shift between 2020 and 2024 was the largest in California, securing incumbent Rep. David Valadao a comfortable victory that helped the GOP maintain control of the House of Representatives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Connie Conway, the chair of the Republican Party of Tulare County, said Trump drew support from new voters — enough to start a young Republicans chapter in the county — and disaffected Democrats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I say this to people all the time, and I know because I’m a lifelong Central Valley girl, ‘We’re pretty conservative no matter what your party registration is,” Conway said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Across California, Trump made his largest gains in districts like the 22nd — inland, working class, majority-Latino and, according to a KQED analysis, heavily reliant on Medi-Cal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re not known for our excess wealth, at least in our part of the Central Valley. We’re just hard-working people that share a lot of the same values: family, faith,” Conway said. “I think in this past election, that really resonated with a lot of folks.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"GOP Gains and Medi-Cal Enrollment\" aria-label=\"Scatter Plot\" id=\"datawrapper-chart-svLzI\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/svLzI/6/\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" height=\"576\" data-external=\"1\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, Republicans in Congress are moving ahead with plans to slash the health care program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>House Republicans passed a budget resolution in February that set a goal of $2 trillion in spending cuts. It was the first step toward passing a budget that party leaders hope will include over $4.5 trillion in new spending and tax cuts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Top Republicans ruled out reductions to Social Security, Medicare and defense, leaving Medicaid as the most expensive program on the chopping block.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The path to achieving the centerpiece of Trump’s legislative agenda could go straight through the pocketbooks of the voters who powered GOP progress in 2024. Cuts to Medicaid, which has enjoyed bipartisan support, could imperil representatives like Valadao and give \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12032994/democrats-focus-their-message-on-gop-cuts-to-medicaid\">new life to Democrats\u003c/a> looking for ways to reverse their decline in California’s working class communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12033446 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/DonaldTrump100DaysGetty-1020x680.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t want to say that there is an opportunity, since nothing good will come out of this budget, but the opportunity to clarify and define what we as a party are doing in this term of Trump is going to be critical,” said Orrin Evans, a Democratic strategist who has worked on multiple House campaigns in the state. “We have to be united in standing against this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KQED cross-referenced district-by-district Medicaid enrollment numbers from the UC Berkeley Labor Center with presidential vote totals from the 2020 and 2024 elections in each of the state’s 52 congressional districts, compiled by the California Target Book.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of the 13 seats with the largest shift toward Trump in 2024 — the top quartile of districts — eight were among the top quartile in Medi-Cal reliance. Twelve of the 13 had Medi-Cal populations above the state average.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Valadao voted for the budget resolution, he has expressed concerns for his constituents who benefit from Medi-Cal and said he would not vote for a final budget bill “that risks leaving them behind.” It’s unclear how the party would offset the costs of tax cuts without targeting Medicaid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Doing so could bring political risk for California Republicans beyond just vulnerable incumbents like Valadao. The GOP made \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12025617/confronting-trump-gotten-harder-california-legislature\">significant inroads\u003c/a> in communities still represented by Democrats in Congress — in the Central Valley, Inland Empire and along the state’s southern border — which fueled Republican gains further down the ballot in 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The shifts reflect the acceleration of a yearslong \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12011642/how-the-diploma-divide-is-reshaping-politics-in-a-key-california-house-race\">political realignment\u003c/a> along \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101908312/how-the-diploma-divide-polarizes-the-u-s-electorate\">educational lines\u003c/a>. During the Trump era, Democrats have gained ground in highly-educated suburban areas, such as coastal Orange and San Diego counties, and lost support in more working-class counties further inland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12010091\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12010091 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/GettyImages-1255046550-1-scaled-e1743452454384.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Republican Rep. David Valadao of California’s 22nd Congressional District, pictured in 2022. \u003ccite>(Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In November, Republicans scored \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12016328/special-session-to-trump-proof-california-opens-in-sacramento\">two shocking victories\u003c/a> in state Assembly districts long held by Democrats in Imperial and Riverside counties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valadao’s Bakersfield seat fits the profile of these areas in political transition. According to estimates from the U.S. Census’ American Community Survey, nearly 60% of the citizen voting-age population is Latino, the most of any district in California. Meanwhile, fewer than one in 10 residents over age 24 hold a college degree, the lowest share of any district in the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That particular district, President Trump did far better than other Republican candidates had done at the top of the ticket,” said Tal Eslick, Valadao’s former chief of staff, on KQED’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12030830/could-gop-spending-cuts-cost-republicans-the-house\">\u003cem>Political Breakdown\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. “So I think this is an example of a district that’s changing, especially among, I would say, Hispanic males.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eslick and Conway attributed the GOP’s 2024 turnaround in the area to a mix of economic concerns, such as the cost of living, and social issues, including the debate over transgender rights.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you can imagine a 70-year-old Hispanic female from Corcoran, I don’t think the trans issues or other issues like that resonated with her,” Eslick said. “I think [Democrats] lost many of those folks, and those folks went towards President Trump.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it’s exactly in these areas of the state that the health care coverage provided by Medi-Cal is a lifeline for residents, said Scott Graves, budget director at the California Budget & Policy Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In the more rural areas of the state, in farming communities, they’re doing some pretty backbreaking jobs,” Graves said. “They’re not getting very well compensated for it, and they’re very unlikely to be offered a health coverage plan.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The federal government covers roughly half of most Medicaid costs in California, splitting the expense with the state government. Under the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid expanded to cover Californians making up to 138% of the federal poverty level ($21,597 for a single adult in 2025), with the federal government covering 90% of the new costs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12032710\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12032710 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250323-DEM-TOWN-HALLS-MD-16-KQED-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250323-DEM-TOWN-HALLS-MD-16-KQED-3.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250323-DEM-TOWN-HALLS-MD-16-KQED-3-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250323-DEM-TOWN-HALLS-MD-16-KQED-3-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250323-DEM-TOWN-HALLS-MD-16-KQED-3-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250323-DEM-TOWN-HALLS-MD-16-KQED-3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250323-DEM-TOWN-HALLS-MD-16-KQED-3-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Elizabeth Ramirez outside the MLK Community Center in Bakersfield, where Rep. Ro Khanna held a town hall meeting on March 23, 2025, the first of three town hall events Khanna was set to hold in Republican-held congressional districts across the state. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Medi-Cal dollars are inextricably woven into the local economy in this part of the state. Kaweah Health Medical Center in Visalia is the largest hospital in Tulare County. It’s also the county’s largest employer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hospital receives more than 30% of its revenue through Medi-Cal, according to Gary Herbst, Kaweah’s CEO, compared to less than 20% from private insurance. When Herbst first arrived at Kaweah in 1992, that ratio was reversed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Herbst has begun planning for various scenarios of cuts to Medicaid. If the federal government were to lower its cost-sharing to 45% for both traditional and expansion Medi-Cal enrollees, the loss for Kaweah would be around $60 million a year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we were to lose 50, 60 million dollars a year in Medi-Cal funding, then where would I cut? How many hundreds of people would I have to lay off? How many services would I have to close?” he said. “We’ve never faced losses of this magnitude.”[aside postID=news_12022068 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/GettyImages-536950177-1020x680.jpg']Doctors and nurses at Kaweah would still be required to provide emergency services to anyone who shows up at the hospital, regardless of their ability to pay. So the cuts could potentially come to services such as colonoscopy screenings, surgeries for hip and knee replacements or primary care visits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not possible to cover a $50- to $60-million reduction in funding and say, ‘Oh, we’re just going to stop providing services to Medi-Cal patients,’” Herbst said. “We would literally be forced to close an entire service, probably multiple services, so it would affect all patients that are receiving those services.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The consequences appeared to be on Valadao’s mind when he spoke on the House floor before voting to advance the GOP budget framework.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve heard from countless constituents who tell me the only way they can afford health care is through programs like Medicaid, and I will not support a final reconciliation bill that risks leaving them behind,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valadao said Congress is faced with “a historic opportunity to advance the key priorities of this administration.” By cutting spending, Congress would be able to extend crucial provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, such as the doubling of the standard deduction and the child tax credit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After Valadao spoke, Rep. Steve Scalise, the House Majority Leader, said California’s 22nd District “is going to have a very loud voice as this process moves forward.” He said Medicaid could be strengthened by weeding out “waste, fraud and abuse,” without providing details on where that exists in the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11930872\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11930872 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/11/GettyImages-1231769719.jpg\" alt=\"A white man in a blue suit.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/11/GettyImages-1231769719.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/11/GettyImages-1231769719-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/11/GettyImages-1231769719-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/11/GettyImages-1231769719-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.) speaks during a news conference with other House Republican members on immigration in Washington in 2021. \u003ccite>(Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Valadao declined an interview for this story. Longtime allies such as Eslick and Conway were skeptical that Republicans in Congress would actually carry out large cuts to Medicaid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t see a scenario in which Republicans, or for that matter any politician, go after an entitlement program that is pretty popular and obviously a key issue for a large swath of people,” Eslick said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It seems impossible for Republicans to achieve their ambitious goals for cutting spending without touching Medicaid. The budget plan passed by the House called for $880 billion in cuts over the next 10 years from programs overseen by the Committee on Energy and Commerce. Just $581 billion of spending \u003ca href=\"https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2025-03/61235-Boyle-Pallone.pdf\">under the committee’s\u003c/a> jurisdiction is for programs other than Medicaid, according to the Congressional Budget Office.[aside postID=news_12032718 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250323-DEM-TOWN-HALLS-MD-21-KQED-5-1020x680.jpg']Valadao is a political survivor, one of just two Republicans left in the House who voted to impeach Trump in 2021, but he’s not immune to the high-stakes politics of health care. In 2017, he voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act. A year later, he lost his campaign for re-election.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“David Valadao has a very clear choice: he can vote on behalf of his district or he can take another step towards a successful lobbying career which he will assume as soon as he is defeated,” said Evans, the Democratic strategist. “Voting for this draconian budget, there is no argument in how it would advance or help constituents in his district.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another clue about Medicaid’s political potency lies in a little-noticed ballot measure passed in November by California voters. Proposition 35 extended a state tax on providers of health care plans and restricted the revenue to fund Medi-Cal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The initiative passed overwhelmingly with 68% of the vote — outpacing other ballot measures with similar levels of bipartisan support — and it tallied 70% approval in those 13 seats that saw the largest shift toward Trump.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dustin Corcoran, CEO of the California Medical Association, which represents physicians in the state, said Medicaid is often a blind spot for policymakers and elected officials, who typically receive health coverage on the private market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Corcoran saw a different reality as he traveled the state as co-chair of the Proposition 35 campaign. One stop took him to the campus of the UC Merced, in the heart of the 13th Congressional District, which has the third-highest Medi-Cal population and fourth-largest shift toward Trump.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He asked this icebreaker: Who knows what Medicaid is?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every hand went up,” Corcoran said. “Every single hand in the room.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "A KQED analysis found the Congressional Districts that shifted most toward President Donald Trump also rely disproportionately on Medi-Cal.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>BAKERSFIELD — In 2021, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/bakersfield\">Bakersfield\u003c/a> resident Elizabeth Ramirez’s mother broke three bones in a fall, leaving Ramirez with a new set of responsibilities: cooking and cleaning for her mom, bathing her and driving her to appointments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So I was caregiving for her on top of my kids,” Ramirez said. “It was just a lot.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After a few years of juggling, Ramirez became a registered care provider for her mother through the state’s In-Home Supportive Services, a program provided \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12032878/gop-cuts-to-medicaid-snap-would-shrink-californias-economy-by-17-billion-and-kill-nearly-140000-jobs-new-study-finds\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">through Medi-Cal\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So the work I put into making sure she’s safe and healthy, I get paid for it now,” Ramirez said. “It’s such a good support system that keeps people from drowning.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No congressional seat in California relies more on Medi-Cal than the 22nd District, which follows Interstate 5 and Highway 99 as they stretch southeast from Avenal and Delano, through almond and pistachio orchards, to Bakersfield.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two-thirds of residents are enrolled in Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program, which provides health care to low-income residents, people with disabilities and those living in nursing homes or need of a personal caregiver.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11933948\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11933948 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/GettyImages-1245162773.jpg\" alt=\"oil pumps in a field\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/GettyImages-1245162773.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/GettyImages-1245162773-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/GettyImages-1245162773-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/GettyImages-1245162773-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oil wells are seen at an oil facility by Interstate 5 near Bakersfield. \u003ccite>(Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The 22nd District is also experiencing an intense political shift.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back in 2020, voters here supported Joe Biden over Donald Trump in the presidential election by a 55%-42% margin. In November, Trump won the 22nd District, 52%-46% over Kamala Harris. The 19-point shift between 2020 and 2024 was the largest in California, securing incumbent Rep. David Valadao a comfortable victory that helped the GOP maintain control of the House of Representatives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Connie Conway, the chair of the Republican Party of Tulare County, said Trump drew support from new voters — enough to start a young Republicans chapter in the county — and disaffected Democrats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I say this to people all the time, and I know because I’m a lifelong Central Valley girl, ‘We’re pretty conservative no matter what your party registration is,” Conway said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Across California, Trump made his largest gains in districts like the 22nd — inland, working class, majority-Latino and, according to a KQED analysis, heavily reliant on Medi-Cal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re not known for our excess wealth, at least in our part of the Central Valley. We’re just hard-working people that share a lot of the same values: family, faith,” Conway said. “I think in this past election, that really resonated with a lot of folks.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"GOP Gains and Medi-Cal Enrollment\" aria-label=\"Scatter Plot\" id=\"datawrapper-chart-svLzI\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/svLzI/6/\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" height=\"576\" data-external=\"1\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, Republicans in Congress are moving ahead with plans to slash the health care program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>House Republicans passed a budget resolution in February that set a goal of $2 trillion in spending cuts. It was the first step toward passing a budget that party leaders hope will include over $4.5 trillion in new spending and tax cuts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Top Republicans ruled out reductions to Social Security, Medicare and defense, leaving Medicaid as the most expensive program on the chopping block.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The path to achieving the centerpiece of Trump’s legislative agenda could go straight through the pocketbooks of the voters who powered GOP progress in 2024. Cuts to Medicaid, which has enjoyed bipartisan support, could imperil representatives like Valadao and give \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12032994/democrats-focus-their-message-on-gop-cuts-to-medicaid\">new life to Democrats\u003c/a> looking for ways to reverse their decline in California’s working class communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t want to say that there is an opportunity, since nothing good will come out of this budget, but the opportunity to clarify and define what we as a party are doing in this term of Trump is going to be critical,” said Orrin Evans, a Democratic strategist who has worked on multiple House campaigns in the state. “We have to be united in standing against this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KQED cross-referenced district-by-district Medicaid enrollment numbers from the UC Berkeley Labor Center with presidential vote totals from the 2020 and 2024 elections in each of the state’s 52 congressional districts, compiled by the California Target Book.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of the 13 seats with the largest shift toward Trump in 2024 — the top quartile of districts — eight were among the top quartile in Medi-Cal reliance. Twelve of the 13 had Medi-Cal populations above the state average.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Valadao voted for the budget resolution, he has expressed concerns for his constituents who benefit from Medi-Cal and said he would not vote for a final budget bill “that risks leaving them behind.” It’s unclear how the party would offset the costs of tax cuts without targeting Medicaid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Doing so could bring political risk for California Republicans beyond just vulnerable incumbents like Valadao. The GOP made \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12025617/confronting-trump-gotten-harder-california-legislature\">significant inroads\u003c/a> in communities still represented by Democrats in Congress — in the Central Valley, Inland Empire and along the state’s southern border — which fueled Republican gains further down the ballot in 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The shifts reflect the acceleration of a yearslong \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12011642/how-the-diploma-divide-is-reshaping-politics-in-a-key-california-house-race\">political realignment\u003c/a> along \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101908312/how-the-diploma-divide-polarizes-the-u-s-electorate\">educational lines\u003c/a>. During the Trump era, Democrats have gained ground in highly-educated suburban areas, such as coastal Orange and San Diego counties, and lost support in more working-class counties further inland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12010091\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12010091 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/GettyImages-1255046550-1-scaled-e1743452454384.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Republican Rep. David Valadao of California’s 22nd Congressional District, pictured in 2022. \u003ccite>(Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In November, Republicans scored \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12016328/special-session-to-trump-proof-california-opens-in-sacramento\">two shocking victories\u003c/a> in state Assembly districts long held by Democrats in Imperial and Riverside counties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valadao’s Bakersfield seat fits the profile of these areas in political transition. According to estimates from the U.S. Census’ American Community Survey, nearly 60% of the citizen voting-age population is Latino, the most of any district in California. Meanwhile, fewer than one in 10 residents over age 24 hold a college degree, the lowest share of any district in the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That particular district, President Trump did far better than other Republican candidates had done at the top of the ticket,” said Tal Eslick, Valadao’s former chief of staff, on KQED’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12030830/could-gop-spending-cuts-cost-republicans-the-house\">\u003cem>Political Breakdown\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. “So I think this is an example of a district that’s changing, especially among, I would say, Hispanic males.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eslick and Conway attributed the GOP’s 2024 turnaround in the area to a mix of economic concerns, such as the cost of living, and social issues, including the debate over transgender rights.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you can imagine a 70-year-old Hispanic female from Corcoran, I don’t think the trans issues or other issues like that resonated with her,” Eslick said. “I think [Democrats] lost many of those folks, and those folks went towards President Trump.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it’s exactly in these areas of the state that the health care coverage provided by Medi-Cal is a lifeline for residents, said Scott Graves, budget director at the California Budget & Policy Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In the more rural areas of the state, in farming communities, they’re doing some pretty backbreaking jobs,” Graves said. “They’re not getting very well compensated for it, and they’re very unlikely to be offered a health coverage plan.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The federal government covers roughly half of most Medicaid costs in California, splitting the expense with the state government. Under the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid expanded to cover Californians making up to 138% of the federal poverty level ($21,597 for a single adult in 2025), with the federal government covering 90% of the new costs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12032710\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12032710 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250323-DEM-TOWN-HALLS-MD-16-KQED-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250323-DEM-TOWN-HALLS-MD-16-KQED-3.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250323-DEM-TOWN-HALLS-MD-16-KQED-3-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250323-DEM-TOWN-HALLS-MD-16-KQED-3-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250323-DEM-TOWN-HALLS-MD-16-KQED-3-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250323-DEM-TOWN-HALLS-MD-16-KQED-3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250323-DEM-TOWN-HALLS-MD-16-KQED-3-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Elizabeth Ramirez outside the MLK Community Center in Bakersfield, where Rep. Ro Khanna held a town hall meeting on March 23, 2025, the first of three town hall events Khanna was set to hold in Republican-held congressional districts across the state. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Medi-Cal dollars are inextricably woven into the local economy in this part of the state. Kaweah Health Medical Center in Visalia is the largest hospital in Tulare County. It’s also the county’s largest employer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hospital receives more than 30% of its revenue through Medi-Cal, according to Gary Herbst, Kaweah’s CEO, compared to less than 20% from private insurance. When Herbst first arrived at Kaweah in 1992, that ratio was reversed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Herbst has begun planning for various scenarios of cuts to Medicaid. If the federal government were to lower its cost-sharing to 45% for both traditional and expansion Medi-Cal enrollees, the loss for Kaweah would be around $60 million a year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we were to lose 50, 60 million dollars a year in Medi-Cal funding, then where would I cut? How many hundreds of people would I have to lay off? How many services would I have to close?” he said. “We’ve never faced losses of this magnitude.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Doctors and nurses at Kaweah would still be required to provide emergency services to anyone who shows up at the hospital, regardless of their ability to pay. So the cuts could potentially come to services such as colonoscopy screenings, surgeries for hip and knee replacements or primary care visits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not possible to cover a $50- to $60-million reduction in funding and say, ‘Oh, we’re just going to stop providing services to Medi-Cal patients,’” Herbst said. “We would literally be forced to close an entire service, probably multiple services, so it would affect all patients that are receiving those services.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The consequences appeared to be on Valadao’s mind when he spoke on the House floor before voting to advance the GOP budget framework.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve heard from countless constituents who tell me the only way they can afford health care is through programs like Medicaid, and I will not support a final reconciliation bill that risks leaving them behind,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valadao said Congress is faced with “a historic opportunity to advance the key priorities of this administration.” By cutting spending, Congress would be able to extend crucial provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, such as the doubling of the standard deduction and the child tax credit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After Valadao spoke, Rep. Steve Scalise, the House Majority Leader, said California’s 22nd District “is going to have a very loud voice as this process moves forward.” He said Medicaid could be strengthened by weeding out “waste, fraud and abuse,” without providing details on where that exists in the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11930872\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11930872 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/11/GettyImages-1231769719.jpg\" alt=\"A white man in a blue suit.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/11/GettyImages-1231769719.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/11/GettyImages-1231769719-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/11/GettyImages-1231769719-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/11/GettyImages-1231769719-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.) speaks during a news conference with other House Republican members on immigration in Washington in 2021. \u003ccite>(Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Valadao declined an interview for this story. Longtime allies such as Eslick and Conway were skeptical that Republicans in Congress would actually carry out large cuts to Medicaid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t see a scenario in which Republicans, or for that matter any politician, go after an entitlement program that is pretty popular and obviously a key issue for a large swath of people,” Eslick said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It seems impossible for Republicans to achieve their ambitious goals for cutting spending without touching Medicaid. The budget plan passed by the House called for $880 billion in cuts over the next 10 years from programs overseen by the Committee on Energy and Commerce. Just $581 billion of spending \u003ca href=\"https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2025-03/61235-Boyle-Pallone.pdf\">under the committee’s\u003c/a> jurisdiction is for programs other than Medicaid, according to the Congressional Budget Office.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Valadao is a political survivor, one of just two Republicans left in the House who voted to impeach Trump in 2021, but he’s not immune to the high-stakes politics of health care. In 2017, he voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act. A year later, he lost his campaign for re-election.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“David Valadao has a very clear choice: he can vote on behalf of his district or he can take another step towards a successful lobbying career which he will assume as soon as he is defeated,” said Evans, the Democratic strategist. “Voting for this draconian budget, there is no argument in how it would advance or help constituents in his district.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another clue about Medicaid’s political potency lies in a little-noticed ballot measure passed in November by California voters. Proposition 35 extended a state tax on providers of health care plans and restricted the revenue to fund Medi-Cal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The initiative passed overwhelmingly with 68% of the vote — outpacing other ballot measures with similar levels of bipartisan support — and it tallied 70% approval in those 13 seats that saw the largest shift toward Trump.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dustin Corcoran, CEO of the California Medical Association, which represents physicians in the state, said Medicaid is often a blind spot for policymakers and elected officials, who typically receive health coverage on the private market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Corcoran saw a different reality as he traveled the state as co-chair of the Proposition 35 campaign. One stop took him to the campus of the UC Merced, in the heart of the 13th Congressional District, which has the third-highest Medi-Cal population and fourth-largest shift toward Trump.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He asked this icebreaker: Who knows what Medicaid is?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every hand went up,” Corcoran said. “Every single hand in the room.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"id": "closealltabs",
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"order": 1
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"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"meta": {
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"meta": {
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"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
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"id": "freakonomics-radio",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
"subscribe": {
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
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},
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"id": "fresh-air",
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"link": "/radio/program/fresh-air",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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"hidden-brain": {
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"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
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"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
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"how-i-built-this": {
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"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
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"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
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"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/3zxy",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
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"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"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. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"order": 15
},
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},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
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"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
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"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"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.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
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"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
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"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
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"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"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>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
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}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
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"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
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"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"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?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "On Our Watch from NPR and KQED",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 11
},
"link": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1567098962",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM2MC9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbD9zYz1nb29nbGVwb2RjYXN0cw",
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"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/show/on-our-watch",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510360/podcast.xml"
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},
"on-the-media": {
"id": "on-the-media",
"title": "On The Media",
"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm-3pm, MON 12am-1am",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/onTheMedia.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/otm",
"meta": {
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"source": "wnyc"
},
"link": "/radio/program/on-the-media",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/on-the-media/id73330715?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-the-Media-p69/",
"rss": "http://feeds.wnyc.org/onthemedia"
}
},
"pbs-newshour": {
"id": "pbs-newshour",
"title": "PBS NewsHour",
"info": "Analysis, background reports and updates from the PBS NewsHour putting today's news in context.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PBS-News-Hour-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/",
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"source": "pbs"
},
"link": "/radio/program/pbs-newshour",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pbs-newshour-full-show/id394432287?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/PBS-NewsHour---Full-Show-p425698/",
"rss": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/feeds/rss/podcasts/show"
}
},
"perspectives": {
"id": "perspectives",
"title": "Perspectives",
"tagline": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991",
"info": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Perspectives_Tile_Final.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Perspectives",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/perspectives/",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 14
},
"link": "/perspectives",
"subscribe": {
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"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432309616/perspectives",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/perspectives/category/perspectives/feed/",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93dzIua3FlZC5vcmcvcGVyc3BlY3RpdmVzL2NhdGVnb3J5L3BlcnNwZWN0aXZlcy9mZWVkLw"
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},
"planet-money": {
"id": "planet-money",
"title": "Planet Money",
"info": "The economy explained. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, Meet me at the bar and tell me what's going on with the economy. Now imagine that's actually a fun evening.",
"airtime": "SUN 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/planetmoney.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/sections/money/",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/planet-money",
"subscribe": {
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/planet-money/id290783428?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Business--Economics-Podcasts/Planet-Money-p164680/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510289/podcast.xml"
}
},
"politicalbreakdown": {
"id": "politicalbreakdown",
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