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"title": "Could Democratic Momentum Lead to Change in Huntington Beach?",
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"headTitle": "Could Democratic Momentum Lead to Change in Huntington Beach? | KQED",
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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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"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, Democrats sense an opportunity. ",
"Xavier Becerra, the Democratic candidate for governor, made a rare public appearance in Riverside on Friday.",
"Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders made a stop at Bakersfield High School Sunday 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."
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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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"\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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"\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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"innerHTML": "\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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"\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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"text": "Will Democrats’ midterm wave reach California’s Central Valley? Bernie Sanders rallies the vote",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Even in Bakersfield, the heart of conservative California, insurgent populism is having a moment. \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>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",
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"\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"
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"innerHTML": "\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",
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"\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"
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"innerHTML": "\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",
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"\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"
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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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"\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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"innerHTML": "\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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"\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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"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": "\u003cp>\u003c!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ -->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Californians watching Wednesday night’s gubernatorial debate would be forgiven for thinking the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-voter-guide-2026/governor/\">candidates for governor\u003c/a> are President Donald Trump and the Democratic Party.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trump was the central topic in the debate between Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton, with Becerra repeatedly tying Hilton to Trump’s policies on immigration, taxes, housing, the environment and Big Tech. Hilton also tried to tie Becerra to outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom and California Democrats at large, whom Hilton blames for business and housing regulations that contribute to high costs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Becerra mentioned the president, who is widely unpopular in California, more than a dozen times during the hourlong debate on CNN.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’re going to end up with Trump results if you follow Steve Hilton’s plans,” Becerra said when asked about Hilton’s proposal to eliminate income taxes for middle-class Californians. He pointed out that Hilton’s plan to drop income taxes on the first $150,000 in earnings also includes a tax cut for the state’s wealthiest earners, comparing it to federal tax cuts enacted by Trump.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082062\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082062\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/XavierBecerra.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/XavierBecerra.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/XavierBecerra-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/XavierBecerra-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Xavier Becerra, Democratic gubernatorial candidate for California, speaks during a gubernatorial debate at KRON Studios in San Francisco on Wednesday, April 22, 2026. \u003ccite>(Jason Henry/Nexstar/Bloomberg Pool via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Similarly, when Hilton said he would wait to assess whether California needs to more aggressively regulate artificial intelligence companies, Becerra linked his response to Trump’s inaction, saying “if you listen closely, you can hear Donald Trump in that response.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Becerra also said he would impose limits on AI data centers in communities that oppose them. Hilton noted that Becerra’s campaign has received donations from the biggest artificial intelligence companies, Anthropic and OpenAI.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trump endorsed Hilton during the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/06/california-governor-primary-hilton-advances/\">contested primary election\u003c/a>, but the former Fox News host has since tried to distance himself from both the president and the Republican Party, running ads telling voters they can dislike Trump and still support him. Last week, in an acknowledgement that opposition to Trump is dragging down Republicans’ approval rating, Hilton’s campaign released a poll claiming he was “unscathed from (the) Republican collapse.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Hilton’s proposal to expand oil drilling in California, Becerra brought up Trump’s effort to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12094648/californians-vow-to-fight-federal-takeover-of-coastline-for-oil-drilling\">expand drilling\u003c/a> off the state’s coast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12102105 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-07-KQED.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On homelessness, Hilton noted Becerra once graded Newsom an “A for effort” on the issue despite homelessness increasing during his terms, while Becerra countered that Trump \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2026/06/lahsa-hud-funding/\">has blocked federal funding\u003c/a> for local homelessness agencies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a predictable strategy for Becerra, who enjoys a \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/publication/ppic-statewide-survey-californians-and-their-government-september-2026/\">double-digit lead\u003c/a> over Hilton in the heavily Democratic-leaning state where voters also disapprove of Trump by wide margins. The Democratic candidate and former U.S. Health and Human Services secretary has laid low since getting the most votes in the crowded all-party primary election in June, making few public appearances and agreeing only to one debate. Hilton criticized Becerra for repeatedly mentioning national politics, arguing the Democrat isn’t offering Californians any concrete solutions to the nation-topping cost of living.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All you ever say is ‘Trump, Trump, Trump,’” Hilton said. “And that’s nothing but an insult to every Californian who is desperate for something to change in this state.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The candidates traded insults throughout the night. Hilton cited reports that Becerra’s colleagues in President Joe Biden’s cabinet had “described (Becerra) as an idiot.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, in several testy exchanges over immigration, Becerra, the son of Mexican immigrants, tied Hilton to Trump’s aggressive nationwide immigration raids and mass deportation campaign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You seem to welcome immigrants who look like you, but deport immigrants who look like me,” Becerra said. Hilton, a British immigrant and \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/07/california-governor-hilton-profile/\">former adviser\u003c/a> to British Prime Minister David Cameron, bristled at the comment, calling it “disgraceful.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12098221\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12098221\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260902-SteveHiltonPB-07-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260902-SteveHiltonPB-07-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260902-SteveHiltonPB-07-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260902-SteveHiltonPB-07-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Steve Hilton, candidate for California governor, speaks with KQED political reporter Marisa Lagos for Political Breakdown at the KQED studios in San Francisco on Sept. 2, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Hilton \u003ca href=\"https://www.foxnews.com/video/6367836110112\">praised the deportation campaign\u003c/a> last January as “perfect” during an appearance on Fox News. He has previously described himself as “pro-immigration.” On Wednesday night, he dodged questions on whether he would undo the state’s sanctuary law limiting police cooperation with immigration agents and direct California officers to assist in Trump’s campaign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, he said, he would prefer to “turn down the temperature” on that debate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The candidates argued over the best way to increase housing construction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hilton wants to build 10 new cities and allow more new construction on undeveloped land to avoid battles between the state and residents and local governments that are resistant to new development.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have got so much space that we could be building in,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Becerra said to address the housing crisis, he would reduce administrative and bureaucratic hurdles to getting construction permits, boost down payment assistance programs and stop Wall Street investors from competing with would-be homeowners. He pointed to the lawsuit he filed as state attorney general against the city of Huntington Beach to force it to approve new housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No locality should have the right to try to stop all of our people in California from having the housing they need,” Becerra said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They found common ground on how to keep the film industry in California amid competition from other states and countries. Los Angeles County has lost about 50,000 film and TV jobs since 2022. But while both candidates support expanding the state’s film tax credit to lower the cost of producing in California, they still each got in a dig over who to blame.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Who’s been in charge when all those jobs have gone?” Hilton said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Donald Trump,” Becerra said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Democrats,” Hilton said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/09/california-general-election-gubernatorial-debate-cnn/\">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": "In their only debate, Xavier Becerra repeatedly linked Steve Hilton to President Donald Trump — while Hilton accused him of dodging California’s real problems.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ -->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Californians watching Wednesday night’s gubernatorial debate would be forgiven for thinking the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-voter-guide-2026/governor/\">candidates for governor\u003c/a> are President Donald Trump and the Democratic Party.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trump was the central topic in the debate between Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton, with Becerra repeatedly tying Hilton to Trump’s policies on immigration, taxes, housing, the environment and Big Tech. Hilton also tried to tie Becerra to outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom and California Democrats at large, whom Hilton blames for business and housing regulations that contribute to high costs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Becerra mentioned the president, who is widely unpopular in California, more than a dozen times during the hourlong debate on CNN.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’re going to end up with Trump results if you follow Steve Hilton’s plans,” Becerra said when asked about Hilton’s proposal to eliminate income taxes for middle-class Californians. He pointed out that Hilton’s plan to drop income taxes on the first $150,000 in earnings also includes a tax cut for the state’s wealthiest earners, comparing it to federal tax cuts enacted by Trump.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082062\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082062\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/XavierBecerra.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/XavierBecerra.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/XavierBecerra-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/XavierBecerra-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Xavier Becerra, Democratic gubernatorial candidate for California, speaks during a gubernatorial debate at KRON Studios in San Francisco on Wednesday, April 22, 2026. \u003ccite>(Jason Henry/Nexstar/Bloomberg Pool via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Similarly, when Hilton said he would wait to assess whether California needs to more aggressively regulate artificial intelligence companies, Becerra linked his response to Trump’s inaction, saying “if you listen closely, you can hear Donald Trump in that response.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Becerra also said he would impose limits on AI data centers in communities that oppose them. Hilton noted that Becerra’s campaign has received donations from the biggest artificial intelligence companies, Anthropic and OpenAI.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trump endorsed Hilton during the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/06/california-governor-primary-hilton-advances/\">contested primary election\u003c/a>, but the former Fox News host has since tried to distance himself from both the president and the Republican Party, running ads telling voters they can dislike Trump and still support him. Last week, in an acknowledgement that opposition to Trump is dragging down Republicans’ approval rating, Hilton’s campaign released a poll claiming he was “unscathed from (the) Republican collapse.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Hilton’s proposal to expand oil drilling in California, Becerra brought up Trump’s effort to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12094648/californians-vow-to-fight-federal-takeover-of-coastline-for-oil-drilling\">expand drilling\u003c/a> off the state’s coast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On homelessness, Hilton noted Becerra once graded Newsom an “A for effort” on the issue despite homelessness increasing during his terms, while Becerra countered that Trump \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2026/06/lahsa-hud-funding/\">has blocked federal funding\u003c/a> for local homelessness agencies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a predictable strategy for Becerra, who enjoys a \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/publication/ppic-statewide-survey-californians-and-their-government-september-2026/\">double-digit lead\u003c/a> over Hilton in the heavily Democratic-leaning state where voters also disapprove of Trump by wide margins. The Democratic candidate and former U.S. Health and Human Services secretary has laid low since getting the most votes in the crowded all-party primary election in June, making few public appearances and agreeing only to one debate. Hilton criticized Becerra for repeatedly mentioning national politics, arguing the Democrat isn’t offering Californians any concrete solutions to the nation-topping cost of living.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All you ever say is ‘Trump, Trump, Trump,’” Hilton said. “And that’s nothing but an insult to every Californian who is desperate for something to change in this state.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The candidates traded insults throughout the night. Hilton cited reports that Becerra’s colleagues in President Joe Biden’s cabinet had “described (Becerra) as an idiot.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, in several testy exchanges over immigration, Becerra, the son of Mexican immigrants, tied Hilton to Trump’s aggressive nationwide immigration raids and mass deportation campaign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You seem to welcome immigrants who look like you, but deport immigrants who look like me,” Becerra said. Hilton, a British immigrant and \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/07/california-governor-hilton-profile/\">former adviser\u003c/a> to British Prime Minister David Cameron, bristled at the comment, calling it “disgraceful.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12098221\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12098221\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260902-SteveHiltonPB-07-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260902-SteveHiltonPB-07-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260902-SteveHiltonPB-07-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260902-SteveHiltonPB-07-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Steve Hilton, candidate for California governor, speaks with KQED political reporter Marisa Lagos for Political Breakdown at the KQED studios in San Francisco on Sept. 2, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Hilton \u003ca href=\"https://www.foxnews.com/video/6367836110112\">praised the deportation campaign\u003c/a> last January as “perfect” during an appearance on Fox News. He has previously described himself as “pro-immigration.” On Wednesday night, he dodged questions on whether he would undo the state’s sanctuary law limiting police cooperation with immigration agents and direct California officers to assist in Trump’s campaign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, he said, he would prefer to “turn down the temperature” on that debate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The candidates argued over the best way to increase housing construction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hilton wants to build 10 new cities and allow more new construction on undeveloped land to avoid battles between the state and residents and local governments that are resistant to new development.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have got so much space that we could be building in,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Becerra said to address the housing crisis, he would reduce administrative and bureaucratic hurdles to getting construction permits, boost down payment assistance programs and stop Wall Street investors from competing with would-be homeowners. He pointed to the lawsuit he filed as state attorney general against the city of Huntington Beach to force it to approve new housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No locality should have the right to try to stop all of our people in California from having the housing they need,” Becerra said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They found common ground on how to keep the film industry in California amid competition from other states and countries. Los Angeles County has lost about 50,000 film and TV jobs since 2022. But while both candidates support expanding the state’s film tax credit to lower the cost of producing in California, they still each got in a dig over who to blame.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Who’s been in charge when all those jobs have gone?” Hilton said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Donald Trump,” Becerra said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Democrats,” Hilton said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/09/california-general-election-gubernatorial-debate-cnn/\">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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"title": "Xavier Becerra Keeping Low Profile in CA Gubernatorial Race",
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"headTitle": "Xavier Becerra Keeping Low Profile in CA Gubernatorial Race | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Here are the morning’s top stories on Monday, September 28, 2026\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>California voters will soon start getting their ballots in the mail. County election offices have until next Monday, October 5th, to begin sending them out. Voters will have lots to decide on, including who will be the next governor, Democrat Xavier Becerra or Republican Steve Hilton. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12101396/becerra-leads-in-california-governors-race-but-enthusiasm-is-lagging\">recent poll puts Becerra in the lead\u003c/a> by more than 25 points, and that lead is growing. But is the Democrat taking that lead for granted? \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Governor Gavin Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/09/27/governor-newsom-signs-bills-to-strengthen-accountability-for-cold-storage-facilities-following-emergency-in-boyle-heights/\">has signed two new safety laws\u003c/a> after a fire at a cold-storage warehouse in Boyle Heights, a neighborhood just east of downtown Los Angeles. He also signed a handful of bills this weekend meant to increase protections for reproductive care and LGBTQ+ communities, and several related to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/justice/2026/09/new-gun-laws-safety-class/\">gun safety.\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12101396/becerra-leads-in-california-governors-race-but-enthusiasm-is-lagging\">Becerra leads in California governor’s race, but enthusiasm is lagging\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://escholarship.org/uc/item/08s5x10r\">A recent poll\u003c/a> shows that Democrat Xavier Becerra has widened his lead over Republican Steve Hilton in the race for governor. The UC Berkeley IGS poll shows that 58% of likely voters prefer Becerra, while Hilton trails with 33% of likely support. That’s a 25-point lead for Becerra, which increased from 18-points in August.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Becerra’s lead is not without concerns. The poll found that 40% of the state’s likely voters view him unfavorably. Despite that, Becerra has for the most part kept a low profile since the June primary. He’s declined most interview requests. But his opponent, Hilton, has taken advantage by making the media rounds. “He’s also poking Becerra and Becerra’s absence,” said KQED Politics Correspondent Marisa Lagos.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Along with avoiding a lot of interviews, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/08/california-governor-becerra-profile-promises/\">Becerra has been fairly noncommittal \u003c/a>when it comes to issues the state is dealing with. The vagueness of Becerra’s positions is “textbook political science,” said Melissa Michelson, a political science professor at Menlo College. Because he faces Hilton in the general election, Becerra is likely to win based on Democrats’ voter registration advantage in California alone. He doesn’t have to do much to persuade Democrats to pick him, needing only to excite liberal voters enough to turn out in the last few weeks before November, Michelson said. “He doesn’t have an incentive to go out on a limb” on policies, she said. “You don’t want to mess up, you don’t want to do anything crazy.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For his part, Becerra said he will be ramping up events and interviews in October.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Newsom signs a number of bills\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Governor Gavin Newsom signed a number of bills over the weekend. He \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12101538/newsom-signs-new-protections-for-lgbtq-reproductive-rights\">signed over a dozen bills into law\u003c/a> that increase safeguards around LGBTQ+ identity data, change how health insurance companies reimburse for HIV prevention drugs and expand access to medication abortion on certain community college campuses.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The Trump administration has launched an all-out assault on the LGBTQ community, using medical records to target U.S. servicemembers and civilians alike, hurting countless people and betraying hard-won trust,” Newsom said in a statement. “California will not stand for it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The governor also signed a package of bills related to gun safety. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb948\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Senate Bill 948\u003c/a> would apply to current residents with newly purchased guns starting in 2029. They would need to take a safety class that would need to be at least four hours long. Starting in 2028, people moving to California with guns would need to obtain a firearm safety certificate within 180 days of arrival. Berkeley Democratic Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/jesse-arreguin-156369\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jesse Arreguín\u003c/a> wrote the legislation. It was one of 10 gun safety laws Newsom signed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Governor Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/09/27/governor-newsom-signs-bills-to-strengthen-accountability-for-cold-storage-facilities-following-emergency-in-boyle-heights/\">also signed bills\u003c/a> aimed at strengthening accountability for cold storage facilities. It comes after a devastating fire this year at the Lineage cold storage facility in Boyle Heights in Los Angeles County. One of the new laws lets local agencies fine companies up to $50,000 per violation when they threaten public health and safety. The other requires cold-storage operators to carry insurance or have emergency funds available to help residents affected by an incident.\u003c/p>\n",
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"California voters will soon start getting their ballots in the mail. County election offices have until next Monday, October 5th, to begin sending them out. Voters will have lots to decide on, including who will be the next governor, Democrat Xavier Becerra or Republican Steve Hilton. A recent poll puts Becerra in the lead by more than 25 points, and that lead is growing. But is the Democrat taking that lead for granted? ",
"Governor Gavin Newsom has signed two new safety laws after a fire at a cold-storage warehouse in Boyle Heights, a neighborhood just east of downtown Los Angeles. He also signed a handful of bills this weekend meant to increase protections for reproductive care and LGBTQ+ communities, and several related to gun safety."
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>California voters will soon start getting their ballots in the mail. County election offices have until next Monday, October 5th, to begin sending them out. Voters will have lots to decide on, including who will be the next governor, Democrat Xavier Becerra or Republican Steve Hilton. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12101396/becerra-leads-in-california-governors-race-but-enthusiasm-is-lagging\">recent poll puts Becerra in the lead\u003c/a> by more than 25 points, and that lead is growing. But is the Democrat taking that lead for granted? \u003c/li>\n",
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"\n\u003cli>California voters will soon start getting their ballots in the mail. County election offices have until next Monday, October 5th, to begin sending them out. Voters will have lots to decide on, including who will be the next governor, Democrat Xavier Becerra or Republican Steve Hilton. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12101396/becerra-leads-in-california-governors-race-but-enthusiasm-is-lagging\">recent poll puts Becerra in the lead\u003c/a> by more than 25 points, and that lead is growing. But is the Democrat taking that lead for granted? \u003c/li>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>Governor Gavin Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/09/27/governor-newsom-signs-bills-to-strengthen-accountability-for-cold-storage-facilities-following-emergency-in-boyle-heights/\">has signed two new safety laws\u003c/a> after a fire at a cold-storage warehouse in Boyle Heights, a neighborhood just east of downtown Los Angeles. He also signed a handful of bills this weekend meant to increase protections for reproductive care and LGBTQ+ communities, and several related to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/justice/2026/09/new-gun-laws-safety-class/\">gun safety.\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n",
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"\n\u003cli>Governor Gavin Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/09/27/governor-newsom-signs-bills-to-strengthen-accountability-for-cold-storage-facilities-following-emergency-in-boyle-heights/\">has signed two new safety laws\u003c/a> after a fire at a cold-storage warehouse in Boyle Heights, a neighborhood just east of downtown Los Angeles. He also signed a handful of bills this weekend meant to increase protections for reproductive care and LGBTQ+ communities, and several related to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/justice/2026/09/new-gun-laws-safety-class/\">gun safety.\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://escholarship.org/uc/item/08s5x10r\">A recent poll\u003c/a> shows that Democrat Xavier Becerra has widened his lead over Republican Steve Hilton in the race for governor. The UC Berkeley IGS poll shows that 58% of likely voters prefer Becerra, while Hilton trails with 33% of likely support. That’s a 25-point lead for Becerra, which increased from 18-points in August.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://escholarship.org/uc/item/08s5x10r\">A recent poll\u003c/a> shows that Democrat Xavier Becerra has widened his lead over Republican Steve Hilton in the race for governor. The UC Berkeley IGS poll shows that 58% of likely voters prefer Becerra, while Hilton trails with 33% of likely support. That’s a 25-point lead for Becerra, which increased from 18-points in August.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Becerra’s lead is not without concerns. The poll found that 40% of the state’s likely voters view him unfavorably. Despite that, Becerra has for the most part kept a low profile since the June primary. He’s declined most interview requests. But his opponent, Hilton, has taken advantage by making the media rounds. “He’s also poking Becerra and Becerra’s absence,” said KQED Politics Correspondent Marisa Lagos.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Becerra’s lead is not without concerns. The poll found that 40% of the state’s likely voters view him unfavorably. Despite that, Becerra has for the most part kept a low profile since the June primary. He’s declined most interview requests. But his opponent, Hilton, has taken advantage by making the media rounds. “He’s also poking Becerra and Becerra’s absence,” said KQED Politics Correspondent Marisa Lagos.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Along with avoiding a lot of interviews, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/08/california-governor-becerra-profile-promises/\">Becerra has been fairly noncommittal \u003c/a>when it comes to issues the state is dealing with. The vagueness of Becerra’s positions is “textbook political science,” said Melissa Michelson, a political science professor at Menlo College. Because he faces Hilton in the general election, Becerra is likely to win based on Democrats’ voter registration advantage in California alone. He doesn’t have to do much to persuade Democrats to pick him, needing only to excite liberal voters enough to turn out in the last few weeks before November, Michelson said. “He doesn’t have an incentive to go out on a limb” on policies, she said. “You don’t want to mess up, you don’t want to do anything crazy.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Along with avoiding a lot of interviews, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/08/california-governor-becerra-profile-promises/\">Becerra has been fairly noncommittal \u003c/a>when it comes to issues the state is dealing with. The vagueness of Becerra’s positions is “textbook political science,” said Melissa Michelson, a political science professor at Menlo College. Because he faces Hilton in the general election, Becerra is likely to win based on Democrats’ voter registration advantage in California alone. He doesn’t have to do much to persuade Democrats to pick him, needing only to excite liberal voters enough to turn out in the last few weeks before November, Michelson said. “He doesn’t have an incentive to go out on a limb” on policies, she said. “You don’t want to mess up, you don’t want to do anything crazy.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The governor also signed a package of bills related to gun safety. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb948\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Senate Bill 948\u003c/a> would apply to current residents with newly purchased guns starting in 2029. They would need to take a safety class that would need to be at least four hours long. Starting in 2028, people moving to California with guns would need to obtain a firearm safety certificate within 180 days of arrival. Berkeley Democratic Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/jesse-arreguin-156369\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jesse Arreguín\u003c/a> wrote the legislation. It was one of 10 gun safety laws Newsom signed.\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Here are the morning’s top stories on Monday, September 28, 2026\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>California voters will soon start getting their ballots in the mail. County election offices have until next Monday, October 5th, to begin sending them out. Voters will have lots to decide on, including who will be the next governor, Democrat Xavier Becerra or Republican Steve Hilton. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12101396/becerra-leads-in-california-governors-race-but-enthusiasm-is-lagging\">recent poll puts Becerra in the lead\u003c/a> by more than 25 points, and that lead is growing. But is the Democrat taking that lead for granted? \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Governor Gavin Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/09/27/governor-newsom-signs-bills-to-strengthen-accountability-for-cold-storage-facilities-following-emergency-in-boyle-heights/\">has signed two new safety laws\u003c/a> after a fire at a cold-storage warehouse in Boyle Heights, a neighborhood just east of downtown Los Angeles. He also signed a handful of bills this weekend meant to increase protections for reproductive care and LGBTQ+ communities, and several related to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/justice/2026/09/new-gun-laws-safety-class/\">gun safety.\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12101396/becerra-leads-in-california-governors-race-but-enthusiasm-is-lagging\">Becerra leads in California governor’s race, but enthusiasm is lagging\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://escholarship.org/uc/item/08s5x10r\">A recent poll\u003c/a> shows that Democrat Xavier Becerra has widened his lead over Republican Steve Hilton in the race for governor. The UC Berkeley IGS poll shows that 58% of likely voters prefer Becerra, while Hilton trails with 33% of likely support. That’s a 25-point lead for Becerra, which increased from 18-points in August.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Becerra’s lead is not without concerns. The poll found that 40% of the state’s likely voters view him unfavorably. Despite that, Becerra has for the most part kept a low profile since the June primary. He’s declined most interview requests. But his opponent, Hilton, has taken advantage by making the media rounds. “He’s also poking Becerra and Becerra’s absence,” said KQED Politics Correspondent Marisa Lagos.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Along with avoiding a lot of interviews, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/08/california-governor-becerra-profile-promises/\">Becerra has been fairly noncommittal \u003c/a>when it comes to issues the state is dealing with. The vagueness of Becerra’s positions is “textbook political science,” said Melissa Michelson, a political science professor at Menlo College. Because he faces Hilton in the general election, Becerra is likely to win based on Democrats’ voter registration advantage in California alone. He doesn’t have to do much to persuade Democrats to pick him, needing only to excite liberal voters enough to turn out in the last few weeks before November, Michelson said. “He doesn’t have an incentive to go out on a limb” on policies, she said. “You don’t want to mess up, you don’t want to do anything crazy.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For his part, Becerra said he will be ramping up events and interviews in October.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Newsom signs a number of bills\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Governor Gavin Newsom signed a number of bills over the weekend. He \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12101538/newsom-signs-new-protections-for-lgbtq-reproductive-rights\">signed over a dozen bills into law\u003c/a> that increase safeguards around LGBTQ+ identity data, change how health insurance companies reimburse for HIV prevention drugs and expand access to medication abortion on certain community college campuses.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The Trump administration has launched an all-out assault on the LGBTQ community, using medical records to target U.S. servicemembers and civilians alike, hurting countless people and betraying hard-won trust,” Newsom said in a statement. “California will not stand for it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The governor also signed a package of bills related to gun safety. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb948\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Senate Bill 948\u003c/a> would apply to current residents with newly purchased guns starting in 2029. They would need to take a safety class that would need to be at least four hours long. Starting in 2028, people moving to California with guns would need to obtain a firearm safety certificate within 180 days of arrival. Berkeley Democratic Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/jesse-arreguin-156369\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jesse Arreguín\u003c/a> wrote the legislation. It was one of 10 gun safety laws Newsom signed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Governor Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/09/27/governor-newsom-signs-bills-to-strengthen-accountability-for-cold-storage-facilities-following-emergency-in-boyle-heights/\">also signed bills\u003c/a> aimed at strengthening accountability for cold storage facilities. It comes after a devastating fire this year at the Lineage cold storage facility in Boyle Heights in Los Angeles County. One of the new laws lets local agencies fine companies up to $50,000 per violation when they threaten public health and safety. The other requires cold-storage operators to carry insurance or have emergency funds available to help residents affected by an incident.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>Is the California governor’s race finally heating up? New polls show that although Democrat Xavier Becerra is on track to win the November election, voters are lukewarm on him. Marisa, Guy and KQED’s Laura Fitzgerald analyze the polling and look ahead to next week’s debate between Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Then they dig into this week’s California Supreme Court ruling against Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco. Attorney General Rob Bonta won that case, but he’s taking heat from his left flank for settling with Paramount and clearing the way for its $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\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",
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"content": "\u003cp>California Supreme Court justices on Monday appeared skeptical of Riverside County Sheriff \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/chad-bianco\">Chad Bianco\u003c/a>’s unprecedented seizure of more than 650,000 ballots cast in last November’s special election. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bianco, a Republican who unsuccessfully ran for governor in this year’s June primary, has said that his actions were part of an investigation into potential voter fraud in the election on California’s redistricting measure. But his move set off \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12077491/california-vote-by-mail-faces-legal-political-challenges-from-trump-allies\">alarm bells\u003c/a> among Democratic leaders who worried the ballot seizure was a local outcrop of conservative efforts to undermine vote-by-mail. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>During oral arguments in San Francisco, the court’s justices peppered Bianco’s attorney, Bradley Hertz, with questions as to why the sheriff was not bound by state laws that restrict access to ballots during a criminal prosecution. \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/10/2026/08/20260824_CASCBIANCOBALLOTS_GC-23-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12096590\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260824_CASCBIANCOBALLOTS_GC-23-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260824_CASCBIANCOBALLOTS_GC-23-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260824_CASCBIANCOBALLOTS_GC-23-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Xavier Becerra, senior adviser to the UCLA VRP and attorney on file in the case, speaks during a press conference following oral arguments in Cervantes et al. v. Bianco, a case challenging Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco’s seizure of more than 650,000 ballots cast in the November special election, at the steps of the Earl Warren Building at the California Supreme Court on Aug. 24, 2026. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It says in no event shall the packet or its content be taken from the custody of the elections official,” Justice Kelli Evans said. “So I’m just not following your argument.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Justice Joshua Groban questioned whether the case presented by Bianco would open the door for the seizure of ballots during an ongoing election. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Under your broad view of the warrant power, pursuant to a lawful warrant, the sheriff could seize ballots even before Election Day, right?” Groban said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hertz said that state law limits access to ballots only during prosecutions — not investigations.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It cannot be a universal prohibition against all legal processes,” Hertz said. “If it were, you’d basically have a complete category of documents that might be evidence of a crime that are immunized from investigation.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The showdown comes as California’s expansive system of vote-by-mail \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12077846/threats-to-californias-vote-by-mail-mount-before-june-primary\">faces attacks\u003c/a> not only from President Donald Trump, who has labeled mail balloting a form of cheating, but also from local election officials aligned with the president. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bonta and California Secretary of State Shirley Weber have sued Shasta County to block the implementation of a measure passed by voters in June that would curtail vote-by-mail. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And in May, Newsom signed a new law that \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/05/california-ballot-seizure-law/\">makes it illegal\u003c/a> for local election officials to hand over ballots to law enforcement agents. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The state Supreme Court — made up of five justices appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom or his predecessor Jerry Brown, one appointed by Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, and one who joined the court temporarily to fill a vacancy — heard two cases challenging Bianco’s move. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the first, a group of Riverside County citizens accused Bianco of violating state election law by taking their ballots and attempting to count them outside of the prescribed chain-of-custody. \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/10/2026/08/20260824_CASCBIANCOBALLOTS_GC-13-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12096595\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260824_CASCBIANCOBALLOTS_GC-13-KQED-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260824_CASCBIANCOBALLOTS_GC-13-KQED-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260824_CASCBIANCOBALLOTS_GC-13-KQED-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Clarissa Cervantes, Riverside City Council member and plaintiff, speaks during a press conference following oral arguments in Cervantes et al. v. Bianco, a case challenging Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco’s seizure of more than 650,000 ballots cast in the November special election, at the steps of the Earl Warren Building at the California Supreme Court on Aug. 24, 2026. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>California Attorney General Rob Bonta brought a second suit, arguing that Bianco illegally ignored his direction as the state’s top law enforcement official to halt the investigation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Riverside County sheriff’s deputies began seizing boxes of ballots in late February, in response to a complaint from a citizens group.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That group, the Riverside County Election Integrity Team, had conducted an audit of ballot intake forms — sheets filled out by election workers detailing how many ballots had arrived at their vote center. The audit concluded that the ballot intake forms had only detailed 611,426 ballots — 45,896 short of the county’s final count of 657,322 votes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Art Tinoco, the county’s registrar of voters, described the intake forms as an unrefined count that does not provide an apples-to-apples comparison to the final count of ballots. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“These are completed in the field by election officers during long workdays — let’s keep that in mind; folks get tired,” Tinoco told the Riverside County Board of Supervisors. “It’s very possible that the staff may not have recorded the numbers accurately on these daily mail intake forms.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bianco said his deputies would be recounting ballot envelopes, but not reviewing the votes inside, in order to determine the reason for the discrepancy with the intake forms. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It looks like well-meaning officers essentially trying to build a vote-counting airplane while they’re flying it,” said Chad Dunn, an attorney for the Riverside County voters who brought the suit against Bianco’s actions. \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/10/2026/08/20260824_CASCBIANCOBALLOTS_GC-30-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12096592\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260824_CASCBIANCOBALLOTS_GC-30-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260824_CASCBIANCOBALLOTS_GC-30-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260824_CASCBIANCOBALLOTS_GC-30-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Xavier Becerra, senior adviser to the UCLA VRP and attorney on file in the case, center, speaks to Dr. Matt Baretto, faculty director at UCLA VRP, left, and Chad Dunn, legal director at UCLA VRP, right, following a press conference regarding Cervantes et al. v. Bianco, a case challenging Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco’s seizure of more than 650,000 ballots cast in the November special election, at the steps of the Earl Warren Building at the California Supreme Court on Aug. 24, 2026. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In April, the Supreme Court blocked Bianco’s investigation from moving forward while it considered Bonta’s challenge. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Justices questioned California Solicitor General Sam Harbourt, who said the power for Bonta to supervise the actions of county sheriffs “was intended to be expansive.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“That to me says if he wants to drop into a particular county and say, ‘Cease this prosecution for shoplifting,’ it shall be done’ … as long as he deems it in the public interest,” Groban said. “That sounds almost unlimited.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hertz said that Bonta’s powers are much more curtailed — that the attorney general has an “advise and consent” relationship with local sheriffs, and can only voice his displeasure with local law enforcement actions. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Direct supervision does not mean absolute control, and sheriffs are not employees of the attorney general,” Hertz said.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It cannot be a universal prohibition against all legal processes,” Hertz said. “If it were, you’d basically have a complete category of documents that might be evidence of a crime that are immunized from investigation.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The showdown comes as California’s expansive system of vote-by-mail \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12077846/threats-to-californias-vote-by-mail-mount-before-june-primary\">faces attacks\u003c/a> not only from President Donald Trump, who has labeled mail balloting a form of cheating, but also from local election officials aligned with the president. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And in May, Newsom signed a new law that \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/05/california-ballot-seizure-law/\">makes it illegal\u003c/a> for local election officials to hand over ballots to law enforcement agents. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The state Supreme Court — made up of five justices appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom or his predecessor Jerry Brown, one appointed by Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, and one who joined the court temporarily to fill a vacancy — heard two cases challenging Bianco’s move. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In the first, a group of Riverside County citizens accused Bianco of violating state election law by taking their ballots and attempting to count them outside of the prescribed chain-of-custody. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260824_CASCBIANCOBALLOTS_GC-13-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12096595\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260824_CASCBIANCOBALLOTS_GC-13-KQED-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260824_CASCBIANCOBALLOTS_GC-13-KQED-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260824_CASCBIANCOBALLOTS_GC-13-KQED-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Clarissa Cervantes, Riverside City Council member and plaintiff, speaks during a press conference following oral arguments in Cervantes et al. v. Bianco, a case challenging Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco’s seizure of more than 650,000 ballots cast in the November special election, at the steps of the Earl Warren Building at the California Supreme Court on Aug. 24, 2026.\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/10/2026/08/20260824_CASCBIANCOBALLOTS_GC-13-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12096595\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Clarissa Cervantes, Riverside City Council member and plaintiff, speaks during a press conference following oral arguments in Cervantes et al. v. Bianco, a case challenging Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco’s seizure of more than 650,000 ballots cast in the November special election, at the steps of the Earl Warren Building at the California Supreme Court on Aug. 24, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>California Attorney General Rob Bonta brought a second suit, arguing that Bianco illegally ignored his direction as the state’s top law enforcement official to halt the investigation.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Riverside County sheriff’s deputies began seizing boxes of ballots in late February, in response to a complaint from a citizens group.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That group, the Riverside County Election Integrity Team, had conducted an audit of ballot intake forms — sheets filled out by election workers detailing how many ballots had arrived at their vote center. The audit concluded that the ballot intake forms had only detailed 611,426 ballots — 45,896 short of the county’s final count of 657,322 votes.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“These are completed in the field by election officers during long workdays — let’s keep that in mind; folks get tired,” Tinoco told the Riverside County Board of Supervisors. “It’s very possible that the staff may not have recorded the numbers accurately on these daily mail intake forms.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Bianco said his deputies would be recounting ballot envelopes, but not reviewing the votes inside, in order to determine the reason for the discrepancy with the intake forms. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It looks like well-meaning officers essentially trying to build a vote-counting airplane while they’re flying it,” said Chad Dunn, an attorney for the Riverside County voters who brought the suit against Bianco’s actions. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260824_CASCBIANCOBALLOTS_GC-30-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12096592\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260824_CASCBIANCOBALLOTS_GC-30-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260824_CASCBIANCOBALLOTS_GC-30-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260824_CASCBIANCOBALLOTS_GC-30-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Xavier Becerra, senior adviser to the UCLA VRP and attorney on file in the case, center, speaks to Dr. Matt Baretto, faculty director at UCLA VRP, left, and Chad Dunn, legal director at UCLA VRP, right, following a press conference regarding Cervantes et al. v. Bianco, a case challenging Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco’s seizure of more than 650,000 ballots cast in the November special election, at the steps of the Earl Warren Building at the California Supreme Court on Aug. 24, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Justices questioned California Solicitor General Sam Harbourt, who said the power for Bonta to supervise the actions of county sheriffs “was intended to be expansive.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“That to me says if he wants to drop into a particular county and say, ‘Cease this prosecution for shoplifting,’ it shall be done’ … as long as he deems it in the public interest,” Groban said. “That sounds almost unlimited.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Hertz said that Bonta’s powers are much more curtailed — that the attorney general has an “advise and consent” relationship with local sheriffs, and can only voice his displeasure with local law enforcement actions. \u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "During oral arguments in San Francisco, justices questioned the Republican Riverside County sheriff’s seizure of more than 650,000 ballots cast in the November election. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>California Supreme Court justices on Monday appeared skeptical of Riverside County Sheriff \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/chad-bianco\">Chad Bianco\u003c/a>’s unprecedented seizure of more than 650,000 ballots cast in last November’s special election. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bianco, a Republican who unsuccessfully ran for governor in this year’s June primary, has said that his actions were part of an investigation into potential voter fraud in the election on California’s redistricting measure. But his move set off \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12077491/california-vote-by-mail-faces-legal-political-challenges-from-trump-allies\">alarm bells\u003c/a> among Democratic leaders who worried the ballot seizure was a local outcrop of conservative efforts to undermine vote-by-mail. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>During oral arguments in San Francisco, the court’s justices peppered Bianco’s attorney, Bradley Hertz, with questions as to why the sheriff was not bound by state laws that restrict access to ballots during a criminal prosecution. \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/10/2026/08/20260824_CASCBIANCOBALLOTS_GC-23-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12096590\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260824_CASCBIANCOBALLOTS_GC-23-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260824_CASCBIANCOBALLOTS_GC-23-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260824_CASCBIANCOBALLOTS_GC-23-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Xavier Becerra, senior adviser to the UCLA VRP and attorney on file in the case, speaks during a press conference following oral arguments in Cervantes et al. v. Bianco, a case challenging Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco’s seizure of more than 650,000 ballots cast in the November special election, at the steps of the Earl Warren Building at the California Supreme Court on Aug. 24, 2026. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It says in no event shall the packet or its content be taken from the custody of the elections official,” Justice Kelli Evans said. “So I’m just not following your argument.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Justice Joshua Groban questioned whether the case presented by Bianco would open the door for the seizure of ballots during an ongoing election. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Under your broad view of the warrant power, pursuant to a lawful warrant, the sheriff could seize ballots even before Election Day, right?” Groban said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hertz said that state law limits access to ballots only during prosecutions — not investigations.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It cannot be a universal prohibition against all legal processes,” Hertz said. “If it were, you’d basically have a complete category of documents that might be evidence of a crime that are immunized from investigation.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The showdown comes as California’s expansive system of vote-by-mail \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12077846/threats-to-californias-vote-by-mail-mount-before-june-primary\">faces attacks\u003c/a> not only from President Donald Trump, who has labeled mail balloting a form of cheating, but also from local election officials aligned with the president. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bonta and California Secretary of State Shirley Weber have sued Shasta County to block the implementation of a measure passed by voters in June that would curtail vote-by-mail. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And in May, Newsom signed a new law that \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/05/california-ballot-seizure-law/\">makes it illegal\u003c/a> for local election officials to hand over ballots to law enforcement agents. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The state Supreme Court — made up of five justices appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom or his predecessor Jerry Brown, one appointed by Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, and one who joined the court temporarily to fill a vacancy — heard two cases challenging Bianco’s move. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the first, a group of Riverside County citizens accused Bianco of violating state election law by taking their ballots and attempting to count them outside of the prescribed chain-of-custody. \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/10/2026/08/20260824_CASCBIANCOBALLOTS_GC-13-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12096595\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260824_CASCBIANCOBALLOTS_GC-13-KQED-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260824_CASCBIANCOBALLOTS_GC-13-KQED-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260824_CASCBIANCOBALLOTS_GC-13-KQED-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Clarissa Cervantes, Riverside City Council member and plaintiff, speaks during a press conference following oral arguments in Cervantes et al. v. Bianco, a case challenging Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco’s seizure of more than 650,000 ballots cast in the November special election, at the steps of the Earl Warren Building at the California Supreme Court on Aug. 24, 2026. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>California Attorney General Rob Bonta brought a second suit, arguing that Bianco illegally ignored his direction as the state’s top law enforcement official to halt the investigation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Riverside County sheriff’s deputies began seizing boxes of ballots in late February, in response to a complaint from a citizens group.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That group, the Riverside County Election Integrity Team, had conducted an audit of ballot intake forms — sheets filled out by election workers detailing how many ballots had arrived at their vote center. The audit concluded that the ballot intake forms had only detailed 611,426 ballots — 45,896 short of the county’s final count of 657,322 votes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Art Tinoco, the county’s registrar of voters, described the intake forms as an unrefined count that does not provide an apples-to-apples comparison to the final count of ballots. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“These are completed in the field by election officers during long workdays — let’s keep that in mind; folks get tired,” Tinoco told the Riverside County Board of Supervisors. “It’s very possible that the staff may not have recorded the numbers accurately on these daily mail intake forms.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bianco said his deputies would be recounting ballot envelopes, but not reviewing the votes inside, in order to determine the reason for the discrepancy with the intake forms. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It looks like well-meaning officers essentially trying to build a vote-counting airplane while they’re flying it,” said Chad Dunn, an attorney for the Riverside County voters who brought the suit against Bianco’s actions. \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/10/2026/08/20260824_CASCBIANCOBALLOTS_GC-30-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12096592\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260824_CASCBIANCOBALLOTS_GC-30-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260824_CASCBIANCOBALLOTS_GC-30-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260824_CASCBIANCOBALLOTS_GC-30-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Xavier Becerra, senior adviser to the UCLA VRP and attorney on file in the case, center, speaks to Dr. Matt Baretto, faculty director at UCLA VRP, left, and Chad Dunn, legal director at UCLA VRP, right, following a press conference regarding Cervantes et al. v. Bianco, a case challenging Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco’s seizure of more than 650,000 ballots cast in the November special election, at the steps of the Earl Warren Building at the California Supreme Court on Aug. 24, 2026. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In April, the Supreme Court blocked Bianco’s investigation from moving forward while it considered Bonta’s challenge. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Justices questioned California Solicitor General Sam Harbourt, who said the power for Bonta to supervise the actions of county sheriffs “was intended to be expansive.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“That to me says if he wants to drop into a particular county and say, ‘Cease this prosecution for shoplifting,’ it shall be done’ … as long as he deems it in the public interest,” Groban said. “That sounds almost unlimited.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hertz said that Bonta’s powers are much more curtailed — that the attorney general has an “advise and consent” relationship with local sheriffs, and can only voice his displeasure with local law enforcement actions. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Direct supervision does not mean absolute control, and sheriffs are not employees of the attorney general,” Hertz said.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Becerra Easily Leading California Governor’s Race Defined by Partisan Split, Poll Shows",
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"headTitle": "Becerra Easily Leading California Governor’s Race Defined by Partisan Split, Poll Shows | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra is leading Republican businessman Steve Hilton by a double-digit margin in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/2026-governors-race\">race for California governor\u003c/a>, according to a new poll from UC Berkeley. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Institute of Governmental Studies poll found about 55% of likely voters saying they’ll support Becerra, 37% backing Hilton and just 7% undecided. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Becerra’s 18-point lead marks a stark contrast to June’s messy and crowded primary contest, which included numerous serious Democratic candidates and remained \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12086501/california-governor-election-steve-hilton-advances\">unsettled until the very end\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3423_1_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12081063\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3423_1_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3423_1_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3423_1_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Steve Hilton, Republican gubernatorial candidate for California, during a gubernatorial debate at KRON Studios in San Francisco, California, on Wednesday, April 22, 2026. California will hold its primary election on June 2, where the top two finishers advance to the general election in November regardless of party affiliation. (Jason Henry/Nexstar/Bloomberg)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s shaping up to be a pretty traditional Democrat versus Republican general election matchup with strong partisan preferences kind of dominating everything,” poll director Mark DiCamillo said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>California’s electorate is largely Democratic — Republicans are outnumbered by Democrats nearly 2 to 1, and independent voters make up more than one-fifth of the electorate. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Partisan leanings appear to be driving voter opinions in the governor’s race, DiCamillo said: 88% of Democrats are backing Becerra, while 91% of Republicans are behind Hilton. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The poll’s findings overall track with trends in recent statewide races, including the 2024 presidential contest, which former Vice President Kamala Harris won by 20 points over President Donald Trump in California.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When you ask voters, ‘Why are you supporting Becerra?’ they want a Democrat who takes the positions that Democrats traditionally take — that’s what they’re voting for. Plus they want somebody who’s going to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12083992/xavier-becerra-says-he-will-fight-for-california-who-did-he-fight-for-as-ag\">fight Trump\u003c/a>,” DiCamillo said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Those partisan, anti-Trump views appear to outweigh Becerra’s history-making potential: If he wins, he would be the first Latino elected governor of California. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Yet just 1% of poll respondents said his identity as the son of Mexican immigrants is the reason they’re supporting him, the poll shows. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It will be difficult for Hilton to close the gap with Becerra, DiCamillo said, because the survey shows that he’s also struggling among voters not affiliated with one of the two major political parties. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The poll shows Hilton’s favorability rating underwater among independents, with 31% viewing him favorably and 59% unfavorably. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/GettyImages-2272001355-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12081346\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/GettyImages-2272001355-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/GettyImages-2272001355-2000x1334.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/GettyImages-2272001355-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/GettyImages-2272001355-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/GettyImages-2272001355-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Chad Bianco, Republican gubernatorial candidate for California, Xavier Becerra, Democratic gubernatorial candidate for California, and Steve Hilton, Republican gubernatorial candidate for California, arrive for a gubernatorial debate at KRON Studios in San Francisco on April 22, 2026. (Jason Henry/Nexstar/Bloomberg)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“In order for Hilton to win, he really has to go after the Democratic constituencies,” DiCamillo said. “If you look at, for example, no party preference voters, sometimes you try to peel those off if you’re a challenger on the Republican side.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But with a strong majority of independents viewing the Republican businessman negatively, “it’s a tall order,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Hilton represents the Republicans. He’s the standard bearer. And the reason people are voting for him is because that’s what they’re voting for,” DiCamillo said. “Unfortunately for Republicans and for Hilton, there’s not enough of them.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The survey was conducted online in English and Spanish from Aug. 3 to Aug. 9 among 4,207 registered voters; a sample of 2,310 were considered likely voters in the November general election.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Institute of Governmental Studies poll found about 55% of likely voters saying they’ll support Becerra, 37% backing Hilton and just 7% undecided. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Becerra’s 18-point lead marks a stark contrast to June’s messy and crowded primary contest, which included numerous serious Democratic candidates and remained \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12086501/california-governor-election-steve-hilton-advances\">unsettled until the very end\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3423_1_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12081063\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3423_1_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3423_1_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3423_1_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Steve Hilton, Republican gubernatorial candidate for California, during a gubernatorial debate at KRON Studios in San Francisco, California, on Wednesday, April 22, 2026. California will hold its primary election on June 2, where the top two finishers advance to the general election in November regardless of party affiliation.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>California’s electorate is largely Democratic — Republicans are outnumbered by Democrats nearly 2 to 1, and independent voters make up more than one-fifth of the electorate. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Partisan leanings appear to be driving voter opinions in the governor’s race, DiCamillo said: 88% of Democrats are backing Becerra, while 91% of Republicans are behind Hilton. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Partisan leanings appear to be driving voter opinions in the governor’s race, DiCamillo said: 88% of Democrats are backing Becerra, while 91% of Republicans are behind Hilton. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The poll’s findings overall track with trends in recent statewide races, including the 2024 presidential contest, which former Vice President Kamala Harris won by 20 points over President Donald Trump in California.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“When you ask voters, ‘Why are you supporting Becerra?’ they want a Democrat who takes the positions that Democrats traditionally take — that’s what they’re voting for. Plus they want somebody who’s going to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12083992/xavier-becerra-says-he-will-fight-for-california-who-did-he-fight-for-as-ag\">fight Trump\u003c/a>,” DiCamillo said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“When you ask voters, ‘Why are you supporting Becerra?’ they want a Democrat who takes the positions that Democrats traditionally take — that’s what they’re voting for. Plus they want somebody who’s going to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12083992/xavier-becerra-says-he-will-fight-for-california-who-did-he-fight-for-as-ag\">fight Trump\u003c/a>,” DiCamillo said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Those partisan, anti-Trump views appear to outweigh Becerra’s history-making potential: If he wins, he would be the first Latino elected governor of California. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Those partisan, anti-Trump views appear to outweigh Becerra’s history-making potential: If he wins, he would be the first Latino elected governor of California. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Yet just 1% of poll respondents said his identity as the son of Mexican immigrants is the reason they’re supporting him, the poll shows. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It will be difficult for Hilton to close the gap with Becerra, DiCamillo said, because the survey shows that he’s also struggling among voters not affiliated with one of the two major political parties. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>It will be difficult for Hilton to close the gap with Becerra, DiCamillo said, because the survey shows that he’s also struggling among voters not affiliated with one of the two major political parties. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The poll shows Hilton’s favorability rating underwater among independents, with 31% viewing him favorably and 59% unfavorably. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“In order for Hilton to win, he really has to go after the Democratic constituencies,” DiCamillo said. “If you look at, for example, no party preference voters, sometimes you try to peel those off if you’re a challenger on the Republican side.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Hilton represents the Republicans. He’s the standard bearer. And the reason people are voting for him is because that’s what they’re voting for,” DiCamillo said. “Unfortunately for Republicans and for Hilton, there’s not enough of them.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Democrat Xavier Becerra holds an 18-point lead over Republican Steve Hilton among likely voters in the new poll from UC Berkeley, a stark contrast to June’s messy primary contest.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra is leading Republican businessman Steve Hilton by a double-digit margin in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/2026-governors-race\">race for California governor\u003c/a>, according to a new poll from UC Berkeley. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Institute of Governmental Studies poll found about 55% of likely voters saying they’ll support Becerra, 37% backing Hilton and just 7% undecided. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Becerra’s 18-point lead marks a stark contrast to June’s messy and crowded primary contest, which included numerous serious Democratic candidates and remained \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12086501/california-governor-election-steve-hilton-advances\">unsettled until the very end\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3423_1_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12081063\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3423_1_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3423_1_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/FTP_9P3A3423_1_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Steve Hilton, Republican gubernatorial candidate for California, during a gubernatorial debate at KRON Studios in San Francisco, California, on Wednesday, April 22, 2026. California will hold its primary election on June 2, where the top two finishers advance to the general election in November regardless of party affiliation. (Jason Henry/Nexstar/Bloomberg)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s shaping up to be a pretty traditional Democrat versus Republican general election matchup with strong partisan preferences kind of dominating everything,” poll director Mark DiCamillo said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>California’s electorate is largely Democratic — Republicans are outnumbered by Democrats nearly 2 to 1, and independent voters make up more than one-fifth of the electorate. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Partisan leanings appear to be driving voter opinions in the governor’s race, DiCamillo said: 88% of Democrats are backing Becerra, while 91% of Republicans are behind Hilton. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The poll’s findings overall track with trends in recent statewide races, including the 2024 presidential contest, which former Vice President Kamala Harris won by 20 points over President Donald Trump in California.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When you ask voters, ‘Why are you supporting Becerra?’ they want a Democrat who takes the positions that Democrats traditionally take — that’s what they’re voting for. Plus they want somebody who’s going to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12083992/xavier-becerra-says-he-will-fight-for-california-who-did-he-fight-for-as-ag\">fight Trump\u003c/a>,” DiCamillo said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Those partisan, anti-Trump views appear to outweigh Becerra’s history-making potential: If he wins, he would be the first Latino elected governor of California. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Yet just 1% of poll respondents said his identity as the son of Mexican immigrants is the reason they’re supporting him, the poll shows. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It will be difficult for Hilton to close the gap with Becerra, DiCamillo said, because the survey shows that he’s also struggling among voters not affiliated with one of the two major political parties. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The poll shows Hilton’s favorability rating underwater among independents, with 31% viewing him favorably and 59% unfavorably. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/GettyImages-2272001355-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12081346\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/GettyImages-2272001355-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/GettyImages-2272001355-2000x1334.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/GettyImages-2272001355-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/GettyImages-2272001355-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/GettyImages-2272001355-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Chad Bianco, Republican gubernatorial candidate for California, Xavier Becerra, Democratic gubernatorial candidate for California, and Steve Hilton, Republican gubernatorial candidate for California, arrive for a gubernatorial debate at KRON Studios in San Francisco on April 22, 2026. (Jason Henry/Nexstar/Bloomberg)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“In order for Hilton to win, he really has to go after the Democratic constituencies,” DiCamillo said. “If you look at, for example, no party preference voters, sometimes you try to peel those off if you’re a challenger on the Republican side.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But with a strong majority of independents viewing the Republican businessman negatively, “it’s a tall order,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Hilton represents the Republicans. He’s the standard bearer. And the reason people are voting for him is because that’s what they’re voting for,” DiCamillo said. “Unfortunately for Republicans and for Hilton, there’s not enough of them.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The survey was conducted online in English and Spanish from Aug. 3 to Aug. 9 among 4,207 registered voters; a sample of 2,310 were considered likely voters in the November general election.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Democrat \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/xavier-becerra\">Xavier Becerra\u003c/a> will advance to the November ballot for California’s next governor after surging ahead of Republican Steve Hilton in the millions of votes counted after Election Day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Who will claim the second spot in the November runoff remains in limbo: Hilton was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12085541/california-governor-race-becerra-hilton-lead-early-with-millions-of-votes-to-be-counted\">leading the pack at the end of election night\u003c/a> and for several days afterward, but as more ballots were counted, billionaire Democratic activist Tom Steyer began closing the gap.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The people of the great state of California, in the greatest nation on earth, have spoken — loudly and proudly,” Becerra said in a written statement. “We will not be bought. We will not be bullied. And we are never backing down. November, here we come.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An estimated 3 million ballots remain to be counted, and the later ballots were expected to skew more Democratic, according to voter data analysts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under California’s open primary system, the top two vote-getters move on to the runoff, regardless of party affiliation. The state also counts mail-in ballots that arrive up to seven days after Election Day, as long as they are postmarked by Election Day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Becerra’s No. 1 finish, called Friday afternoon by the \u003cem>Associated Press\u003c/em>, marks a remarkable political comeback for the former U.S. Health and Human Services secretary, who spent much of the primary campaign languishing in the single digits in polls. He was among the lower-tier group of candidates facing pressure from party leaders to drop out of the race earlier this year amid fears that the crowded field of Democrats could split the vote and allow two Republicans to advance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12086026\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12086026\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GETTYIMAGES-2278829413-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1332\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GETTYIMAGES-2278829413-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GETTYIMAGES-2278829413-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GETTYIMAGES-2278829413-KQED-1536x1023.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Supporters of Democrat California Gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra are seen silhouetted on early election results during an election night event in downtown Los Angeles, on June 2, 2026. \u003ccite>(Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In mid-February, with Becerra \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/publication/ppic-statewide-survey-californians-and-their-government-february-2026/\">mired\u003c/a> at around 5% in public polling, his campaign manager Emma Harris published a memo outlining the former attorney general’s path to victory. It harked back to the 1998 primary election, when Lt. Gov. Gray Davis leaned into his resume to pull his campaign out of last place in the polls and claim the nomination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And it previewed a comeback theory that rested on a novel statistic: Becerra’s ratio of voters who saw him favorably versus those who were not familiar with him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Becerra’s high net favorability rating (+40 points, 9:1 favorable) as a ratio of the unfamiliarity with him (49% unfamiliar) is the strongest in the upper tier of candidates,” Harris wrote. “The data points towards substantial growth.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It turned out to be prescient.[aside postID=news_12086288 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GettyImages-2277856381.jpg']After Rep. Eric Swalwell \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079583/eric-swalwell-ends-california-governor-campaign-after-sexual-assault-allegations\">dropped out of the race\u003c/a> amid shocking sexual misconduct allegations, Becerra leapfrogged ahead of his competitors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amanda Renteria, who worked for Becerra when he was California attorney general, said despite Becerra’s slow start in the race, he and his campaign always recognized a narrow path to victory. She said he remained steadfast as the pressure mounted on low-polling candidates to drop out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was kind of like that story of, hey, we’re not at [the] playoffs yet. Our team is looking pretty good. And when the tournament starts, we’re going to be ready for it,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said that while people tend to underestimate Becerra, his mellow demeanor makes him approachable to voters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He isn’t going to evoke a deep hate,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That shield of likability may have helped Becerra weather an onslaught of attacks once he assumed the mantle of Democratic frontrunner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His rivals tore into his record as Health secretary and needled him over the scandal that engulfed his former top adviser, Sean McCluskie, who pleaded guilty to stealing campaign funds from Becerra’s account. Those attacks were amplified by Steyer, who emerged as the other main Democratic contender as he spent over $200 million on his campaign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Becerra’s support never waned, and he appeared to grow steadier in later candidate debates. In the closing weeks of the campaign, the cavalry arrived: more than $15 million in pro-Becerra spending from groups including the California Association of Realtors and companies such as Meta, joining a steady drumbeat of anti-Steyer spending \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12083747/pge-spends-millions-against-tom-steyer-whats-behind-clash\">funded in large measure by PG&E\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082334\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12082334 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260423_-XAVIERBECERRA_EG_004-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260423_-XAVIERBECERRA_EG_004-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260423_-XAVIERBECERRA_EG_004-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260423_-XAVIERBECERRA_EG_004-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mark Murphy, center left, and friend Kimberley J. Rodler, hold handmade signs in support of Xavier Becerra’s gubernatorial bid during a campaign event at Mount Diablo High School in Concord on April 23, 2026. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As Election Day neared, the historic nature of Becerra’s candidacy came into focus: If elected, he would be California’s first Latino governor in modern history. At a campaign stop in San José last weekend, he was greeted by home care workers who chanted “Vivo Latino!” and “Becerra para presidente!” as he entered the room.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Through it all, Becerra returned to his resume. The path from the attorney general’s office to the governorship has been well trod: by Earl Warren, Pat Brown, George Deukmejian and Jerry Brown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m a pretty open book; I’ve been around quite a while, whether you knew me when I was in Congress or when I was attorney general fighting Donald Trump,” he told KQED after the San José campaign stop. “You sort of know who I am.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, the question for Becerra is who he will face this fall. A Hilton win would set him on a glidepath to victory: Winning statewide would be an uphill battle for any Republican, in a state where there are nearly twice as many Democrats as Republicans, and no GOP candidate has won statewide in 20 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Steyer would present a rockier road for Becerra. If the billionaire former hedge fund manager makes the runoff, it will set up an expensive intraparty fight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Democrat \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/xavier-becerra\">Xavier Becerra\u003c/a> will advance to the November ballot for California’s next governor after surging ahead of Republican Steve Hilton in the millions of votes counted after Election Day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Who will claim the second spot in the November runoff remains in limbo: Hilton was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12085541/california-governor-race-becerra-hilton-lead-early-with-millions-of-votes-to-be-counted\">leading the pack at the end of election night\u003c/a> and for several days afterward, but as more ballots were counted, billionaire Democratic activist Tom Steyer began closing the gap.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The people of the great state of California, in the greatest nation on earth, have spoken — loudly and proudly,” Becerra said in a written statement. “We will not be bought. We will not be bullied. And we are never backing down. November, here we come.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An estimated 3 million ballots remain to be counted, and the later ballots were expected to skew more Democratic, according to voter data analysts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under California’s open primary system, the top two vote-getters move on to the runoff, regardless of party affiliation. The state also counts mail-in ballots that arrive up to seven days after Election Day, as long as they are postmarked by Election Day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Becerra’s No. 1 finish, called Friday afternoon by the \u003cem>Associated Press\u003c/em>, marks a remarkable political comeback for the former U.S. Health and Human Services secretary, who spent much of the primary campaign languishing in the single digits in polls. He was among the lower-tier group of candidates facing pressure from party leaders to drop out of the race earlier this year amid fears that the crowded field of Democrats could split the vote and allow two Republicans to advance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12086026\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12086026\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GETTYIMAGES-2278829413-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1332\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GETTYIMAGES-2278829413-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GETTYIMAGES-2278829413-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GETTYIMAGES-2278829413-KQED-1536x1023.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Supporters of Democrat California Gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra are seen silhouetted on early election results during an election night event in downtown Los Angeles, on June 2, 2026. \u003ccite>(Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In mid-February, with Becerra \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/publication/ppic-statewide-survey-californians-and-their-government-february-2026/\">mired\u003c/a> at around 5% in public polling, his campaign manager Emma Harris published a memo outlining the former attorney general’s path to victory. It harked back to the 1998 primary election, when Lt. Gov. Gray Davis leaned into his resume to pull his campaign out of last place in the polls and claim the nomination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And it previewed a comeback theory that rested on a novel statistic: Becerra’s ratio of voters who saw him favorably versus those who were not familiar with him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Becerra’s high net favorability rating (+40 points, 9:1 favorable) as a ratio of the unfamiliarity with him (49% unfamiliar) is the strongest in the upper tier of candidates,” Harris wrote. “The data points towards substantial growth.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It turned out to be prescient.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>After Rep. Eric Swalwell \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079583/eric-swalwell-ends-california-governor-campaign-after-sexual-assault-allegations\">dropped out of the race\u003c/a> amid shocking sexual misconduct allegations, Becerra leapfrogged ahead of his competitors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amanda Renteria, who worked for Becerra when he was California attorney general, said despite Becerra’s slow start in the race, he and his campaign always recognized a narrow path to victory. She said he remained steadfast as the pressure mounted on low-polling candidates to drop out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was kind of like that story of, hey, we’re not at [the] playoffs yet. Our team is looking pretty good. And when the tournament starts, we’re going to be ready for it,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said that while people tend to underestimate Becerra, his mellow demeanor makes him approachable to voters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He isn’t going to evoke a deep hate,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That shield of likability may have helped Becerra weather an onslaught of attacks once he assumed the mantle of Democratic frontrunner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His rivals tore into his record as Health secretary and needled him over the scandal that engulfed his former top adviser, Sean McCluskie, who pleaded guilty to stealing campaign funds from Becerra’s account. Those attacks were amplified by Steyer, who emerged as the other main Democratic contender as he spent over $200 million on his campaign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Becerra’s support never waned, and he appeared to grow steadier in later candidate debates. In the closing weeks of the campaign, the cavalry arrived: more than $15 million in pro-Becerra spending from groups including the California Association of Realtors and companies such as Meta, joining a steady drumbeat of anti-Steyer spending \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12083747/pge-spends-millions-against-tom-steyer-whats-behind-clash\">funded in large measure by PG&E\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082334\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12082334 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260423_-XAVIERBECERRA_EG_004-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260423_-XAVIERBECERRA_EG_004-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260423_-XAVIERBECERRA_EG_004-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/20260423_-XAVIERBECERRA_EG_004-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mark Murphy, center left, and friend Kimberley J. Rodler, hold handmade signs in support of Xavier Becerra’s gubernatorial bid during a campaign event at Mount Diablo High School in Concord on April 23, 2026. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As Election Day neared, the historic nature of Becerra’s candidacy came into focus: If elected, he would be California’s first Latino governor in modern history. At a campaign stop in San José last weekend, he was greeted by home care workers who chanted “Vivo Latino!” and “Becerra para presidente!” as he entered the room.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Through it all, Becerra returned to his resume. The path from the attorney general’s office to the governorship has been well trod: by Earl Warren, Pat Brown, George Deukmejian and Jerry Brown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m a pretty open book; I’ve been around quite a while, whether you knew me when I was in Congress or when I was attorney general fighting Donald Trump,” he told KQED after the San José campaign stop. “You sort of know who I am.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, the question for Becerra is who he will face this fall. A Hilton win would set him on a glidepath to victory: Winning statewide would be an uphill battle for any Republican, in a state where there are nearly twice as many Democrats as Republicans, and no GOP candidate has won statewide in 20 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Steyer would present a rockier road for Becerra. If the billionaire former hedge fund manager makes the runoff, it will set up an expensive intraparty fight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>[This column was reported for Political Breakdown, a bi-monthly newsletter offering analysis and context on Bay Area and California political news. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/newsletters/political-breakdown\">Click here to subscribe\u003c/a>.]\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He was counted out and underestimated by pollsters and pundits, despite having a sterling resume. Vastly outspent by a wealthy opponent, he languished in the polls before sprinting to the finish line near the front of the pack as the votes were counted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No, I’m not talking about this week, but about 1998, when businessman Al Checchi, or “Al Checkbook” as he was called, spent $40 million — an eye-popping amount at the time — to win the Democratic nomination for an open governor’s seat. Lt. Gov. Gray Davis, a decidedly unflashy but steady technocrat, surprisingly won with the slogan, “Experience Money Can’t Buy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There were echoes of that earlier campaign in this year’s topsy-turvy, chaotic and unpredictable race for governor, where former Health and Human Services Secretary and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra ignored calls for him to drop out lest Democrats split the vote and let Republicans take the top two spots in November. Timing, luck and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079746/rep-eric-swalwell-says-he-is-resigning-from-congress-amid-sexual-assault-allegations\">sudden implosion of frontrunner Eric Swalwell’s campaign\u003c/a> gave Becerra the oxygen he needed to stay alive and ultimately battle for first place in the preliminary returns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At his victory celebration in Los Angeles on Tuesday night, Becerra, the son of working-class parents from Mexico, reveled in his underdog story, which he called worthy of a Hollywood movie.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Almost immediately, he’s counted out. An afterthought. Overlooked by many. Outspent by a ton. Even called along the way to drop out and save us all the trouble,” Becerra said. “Well, guess what? The underdog stayed in the fight.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It will be days before we know for sure that Becerra will make the runoff — there’s still a chance Steyer could sneak into the top two \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12085541/california-governor-race-becerra-hilton-lead-early-with-millions-of-votes-to-be-counted\">when all the ballots are counted\u003c/a>. But for those who said Becerra represents the status quo, play-it-safe, corporate-controlled leadership, remember this: It’s been 150 years since California had a Latino governor — a Republican named \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romualdo_Pacheco\">Romualdo Pacheco\u003c/a> — as voters have chosen one white man after another to lead the state.[aside label=\"Live 2026 Election Results\" link1='https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/california/governor,Learn about the results of the California Governor Election' hero=https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/80/2026/04/Aside-California-Governor-2026-Primary-Election-1200x1200@2x.png]Of course Becerra isn’t governor yet, but he’ll be the odds-on favorite if he faces Republican Hilton in November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He’s building a really broad-based, multi-ethnic middle-class coalition,” said Mike Madrid, a Latino Republican political analyst who helped found the anti-Trump Lincoln Project. He noted that while Becerra attracted solid support from Latino voters, it was less than Antonio Villaraigosa did in 2018 when he ran a losing campaign for governor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Madrid sees Becerra’s success as drawing from elements of the historic coalition that has been slipping away from Democrats recently — working-class, noncollege-educated whites, among others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So there’s something very different happening in the redefinition of Democratic politics in California,” Madrid said. “It’s kind of a reemergence of this sort of FDR wing of the party. And it’s not just an ethnic identity thing; it’s really more of a middle-class identity thing. If there’s an identity, it’s no racial or ethnic anymore, it’s class, which is fascinating.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If Becerra wins, he’ll become a national figure — a Latino governor of a state often targeted by a president who has made demonizing, demoralizing and deporting immigrants a fundamental priority.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California is bigger than Trump. Our values are undeniable and undeportable,” Becerra said to supporters on Tuesday night. “To the people and voters of California, this is your state: Este es tu estado. We will not be bought, we will not be bullied, and we are never backing down.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, in a San Francisco congressional race with national implications, another candidate with an immigrant background had a successful night. Supervisor Connie Chan, with a major boost from Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s late endorsement and solid union support, vaulted into second place in the 11th Congressional District with 29% of the vote. She’ll face state Sen. Scott Wiener, who finished first with 41%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12086008\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12086008\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260602-DISTRICT11CONNIECHAN-03-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260602-DISTRICT11CONNIECHAN-03-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260602-DISTRICT11CONNIECHAN-03-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260602-DISTRICT11CONNIECHAN-03-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Supervisor Connie Chan speaks to supporters during an election night party at El Rio in San Francisco on June 2, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Ironically, in her first election 39 years ago, Pelosi narrowly defeated openly gay Supervisor Harry Britt in a special election to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Rep. Sala Burton. Now, Wiener is hoping to be the city’s first openly gay member of Congress. Pelosi’s endorsement came with praise for Chan’s immigrant background, being a mother and understanding budgets (Wiener also chaired the state Senate’s budget committee) as reasons for her support. But some saw her determination to derail the candidacy of Saikat Chakrabarti, another Democrat she clashed with when he briefly worked for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in Washington.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now that she’s accomplished that with Chakrabarti’s distant third-place finish, it remains to be seen how much political capital she’ll spend on what could be an uphill battle to defeat Wiener in November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’ll wait for millions of remaining ballots to be counted before we know who will advance to November from the governor’s race to local congressional elections. The state’s top election official knows that can be frustrating, but she’s undaunted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I often hear, not only from the governor but from everyone else who (says) ‘we want you to count faster, Shirley,’” Secretary of State Shirley Weber told KQED this week. “Now what do you want? You want me to go fast, or do you want to be accurate? I choose accurate — (but) we’ll be accurate and fast at the same time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results\">\u003cstrong>Follow our election coverage as additional results come in\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>[This column was reported for Political Breakdown, a bi-monthly newsletter offering analysis and context on Bay Area and California political news. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/newsletters/political-breakdown\">Click here to subscribe\u003c/a>.]\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He was counted out and underestimated by pollsters and pundits, despite having a sterling resume. Vastly outspent by a wealthy opponent, he languished in the polls before sprinting to the finish line near the front of the pack as the votes were counted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No, I’m not talking about this week, but about 1998, when businessman Al Checchi, or “Al Checkbook” as he was called, spent $40 million — an eye-popping amount at the time — to win the Democratic nomination for an open governor’s seat. Lt. Gov. Gray Davis, a decidedly unflashy but steady technocrat, surprisingly won with the slogan, “Experience Money Can’t Buy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There were echoes of that earlier campaign in this year’s topsy-turvy, chaotic and unpredictable race for governor, where former Health and Human Services Secretary and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra ignored calls for him to drop out lest Democrats split the vote and let Republicans take the top two spots in November. Timing, luck and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079746/rep-eric-swalwell-says-he-is-resigning-from-congress-amid-sexual-assault-allegations\">sudden implosion of frontrunner Eric Swalwell’s campaign\u003c/a> gave Becerra the oxygen he needed to stay alive and ultimately battle for first place in the preliminary returns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At his victory celebration in Los Angeles on Tuesday night, Becerra, the son of working-class parents from Mexico, reveled in his underdog story, which he called worthy of a Hollywood movie.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Almost immediately, he’s counted out. An afterthought. Overlooked by many. Outspent by a ton. Even called along the way to drop out and save us all the trouble,” Becerra said. “Well, guess what? The underdog stayed in the fight.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It will be days before we know for sure that Becerra will make the runoff — there’s still a chance Steyer could sneak into the top two \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12085541/california-governor-race-becerra-hilton-lead-early-with-millions-of-votes-to-be-counted\">when all the ballots are counted\u003c/a>. But for those who said Becerra represents the status quo, play-it-safe, corporate-controlled leadership, remember this: It’s been 150 years since California had a Latino governor — a Republican named \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romualdo_Pacheco\">Romualdo Pacheco\u003c/a> — as voters have chosen one white man after another to lead the state.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Of course Becerra isn’t governor yet, but he’ll be the odds-on favorite if he faces Republican Hilton in November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He’s building a really broad-based, multi-ethnic middle-class coalition,” said Mike Madrid, a Latino Republican political analyst who helped found the anti-Trump Lincoln Project. He noted that while Becerra attracted solid support from Latino voters, it was less than Antonio Villaraigosa did in 2018 when he ran a losing campaign for governor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Madrid sees Becerra’s success as drawing from elements of the historic coalition that has been slipping away from Democrats recently — working-class, noncollege-educated whites, among others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So there’s something very different happening in the redefinition of Democratic politics in California,” Madrid said. “It’s kind of a reemergence of this sort of FDR wing of the party. And it’s not just an ethnic identity thing; it’s really more of a middle-class identity thing. If there’s an identity, it’s no racial or ethnic anymore, it’s class, which is fascinating.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If Becerra wins, he’ll become a national figure — a Latino governor of a state often targeted by a president who has made demonizing, demoralizing and deporting immigrants a fundamental priority.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California is bigger than Trump. Our values are undeniable and undeportable,” Becerra said to supporters on Tuesday night. “To the people and voters of California, this is your state: Este es tu estado. We will not be bought, we will not be bullied, and we are never backing down.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, in a San Francisco congressional race with national implications, another candidate with an immigrant background had a successful night. Supervisor Connie Chan, with a major boost from Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s late endorsement and solid union support, vaulted into second place in the 11th Congressional District with 29% of the vote. She’ll face state Sen. Scott Wiener, who finished first with 41%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12086008\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12086008\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260602-DISTRICT11CONNIECHAN-03-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260602-DISTRICT11CONNIECHAN-03-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260602-DISTRICT11CONNIECHAN-03-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260602-DISTRICT11CONNIECHAN-03-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Supervisor Connie Chan speaks to supporters during an election night party at El Rio in San Francisco on June 2, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Ironically, in her first election 39 years ago, Pelosi narrowly defeated openly gay Supervisor Harry Britt in a special election to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Rep. Sala Burton. Now, Wiener is hoping to be the city’s first openly gay member of Congress. Pelosi’s endorsement came with praise for Chan’s immigrant background, being a mother and understanding budgets (Wiener also chaired the state Senate’s budget committee) as reasons for her support. But some saw her determination to derail the candidacy of Saikat Chakrabarti, another Democrat she clashed with when he briefly worked for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in Washington.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now that she’s accomplished that with Chakrabarti’s distant third-place finish, it remains to be seen how much political capital she’ll spend on what could be an uphill battle to defeat Wiener in November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’ll wait for millions of remaining ballots to be counted before we know who will advance to November from the governor’s race to local congressional elections. The state’s top election official knows that can be frustrating, but she’s undaunted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I often hear, not only from the governor but from everyone else who (says) ‘we want you to count faster, Shirley,’” Secretary of State Shirley Weber told KQED this week. “Now what do you want? You want me to go fast, or do you want to be accurate? I choose accurate — (but) we’ll be accurate and fast at the same time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results\">\u003cstrong>Follow our election coverage as additional results come in\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cb>Here are the morning’s top stories on Wednesday, June 3, 2026\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12085541/california-governor-race-becerra-hilton-lead-early-with-millions-of-votes-to-be-counted\">California’s governor’s race remains too close to call.\u003c/a> Republican Steve Hilton currently leads the pack, but is closely followed by Democrat Xavier Becerra. Fellow Democrat Tom Steyer is sitting in third but still has a chance to overtake one of the two other candidates, with millions of ballots left to be counted. \u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We already know the two candidates advancing to several \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/06/primary-election-california-congress/\">congressional races\u003c/a> here in California. But others are still very much up for grabs.\u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2 class=\"routes-Site-routes-Post-Title-__Title__title\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12085541/california-governor-race-becerra-hilton-lead-early-with-millions-of-votes-to-be-counted\">\u003cstrong>Hilton, Becerra tout early leads in California governor race, as Steyer urges patience\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/california/governor\">primary election for California governor\u003c/a> is too close to call in early returns, with Republican businessman Steve Hilton and Democrat Xavier Becerra neck-and-neck atop the field and Democrat Tom Steyer in third place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shortly after midnight, Hilton, a former Fox News commentator and businessman, led with 27% of the vote, followed closely by Becerra, former U.S. Health and Human Services secretary, at 25%. Both were enjoying a comfortable early advantage over billionaire Democratic activist Steyer, who sat at about 20%, with just over half of the expected votes counted, according to an Associated Press estimate. The race will decide which two candidates move on to a November runoff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his remarks at his watch party in Los Angeles, Becerra noted his underdog status: Polls showed him stuck in single digits until the final six weeks of the campaign, when he surprised nearly everyone by surging into the top spot among a crowded field of Democrats. “Here in Hollywood’s hometown, we love a good underdog success story,” he said, drawing parallels between his campaign and the life his immigrant parents built in California. “Guess what? The underdog stayed in the fight. Like my parents, I never gave up. Never stopped putting one foot in front of the other. Never stopped believing in the beacon-like goodness of California. And, thankfully, neither did you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At his watch party in Huntington Beach, the British-born Hilton — who became a U.S. citizen just five years ago — said it was the “honor of his lifetime” to receive over 1 million votes so far. “Change is coming to California and it’s long overdue,” Hilton said. “We’re not there yet, but it’s looking good. It looks very much as if Californians really will have the chance to vote for change in November and take our state in a new direction.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But nothing is guaranteed for Becerra or Hilton yet. The early results could shift in part because of unusual voting patterns in this primary election: Ballot tracking data heading into Tuesday evening showed that Republicans were more likely to vote early by mail, while Democratic voters in this deep blue state \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12084978/california-democrats-anxious-about-wasted-votes-are-clinging-to-their-ballots\">hung onto their mail-in ballots\u003c/a> or chose to vote in person. That’s the reverse of recent elections, which saw more Democrats voting by mail and Republicans tending to vote in person on Election Day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Steyer urged his supporters to be patient Tuesday evening. Speaking at his watch party at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco, he railed against the big companies, including PG&E and Chevron, that opposed his candidacy. “Together, we’ve scared the hell out of the corporate interests used to getting their way,” Steyer said. “It might take some time to figure out where this is going. We’re going to wait until every ballot is counted. We’re going to give democracy time to work. And we know we finished really strong.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"entry-title \">\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/06/primary-election-california-congress/\">\u003cstrong>California House races could decide the majority in Congress. Who survived the primary?\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All eyes are on California’s \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/tag/congress/\">competitive House races\u003c/a> as voters choose which candidates will face off later this fall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">T\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/elections/2026/06/california-primary-election-results-june-2026/\">he outcome of the state’s open primary\u003c/a>, which narrows each race to the top two vote-getters regardless of party, sets the stage for a fierce contest in November as Democrats across the country push to retake control of Congress. Victories in California are even more important after a series of court rulings gave Republicans the edge in the national redistricting arms race.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Still, Democrats have been bullish about their chances in California after voters last year approved new congressional maps that significantly decreased the number of competitive races in the state. With the House majority, Democrats could block President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda, grill his cabinet officials and launch investigations into his administration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state’s \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-voter-guide-2026/us-house/#district-22\">marquee race\u003c/a> is in the Bakersfield-based 22nd District. Two Democrats are \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/02/bains-villegas-democrats-central-valley/\">fighting for the chance\u003c/a> to take on Rep. David Valadao, the vulnerable Republican incumbent whose only election loss came in 2018 during Trump’s first term. The Associated Press said Tuesday that Valadao will advance to November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/jasmeet-bains-165424\">Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains\u003c/a>, a physician who has spent most of her career in hospitals and clinics that rely on Medi-Cal, has positioned herself as a moderate Democrat willing to buck her party. She has faced stiff competition from Randy Villegas, a college professor and school board trustee running as a progressive Democrat with support from the Working Families Party, the Congressional Progressive Caucus and Sen. Bernie Sanders. With about half the vote tallied Tuesday night, Villegas was leading Bains by about 1,300 votes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In San Diego County, Republican Jim Desmond, a County supervisor backed by the retiring incumbent, Rep. Darrell Issa, will face current San Diego City Councilmember Marni von Wilpert, a Democrat in November. The Associated Press called the race late Tuesday with about 55% of the vote tallied.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Von Wilpert decisively quelled a \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/04/california-congress-cd48-democrats/\">fierce intraparty challenge\u003c/a> from fellow Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar, a former labor department aide to President Barack Obama who had lost to Issa twice before. She called him anti-LGBTQ for questioning whether she could win votes outside gay-friendly Palm Springs; Campa-Najjar accused von Wilpert of racism for questioning his name changes and residence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These will be just two of the races that will be closely watched come November.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cb>Here are the morning’s top stories on Wednesday, June 3, 2026\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12085541/california-governor-race-becerra-hilton-lead-early-with-millions-of-votes-to-be-counted\">California’s governor’s race remains too close to call.\u003c/a> Republican Steve Hilton currently leads the pack, but is closely followed by Democrat Xavier Becerra. Fellow Democrat Tom Steyer is sitting in third but still has a chance to overtake one of the two other candidates, with millions of ballots left to be counted. \u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We already know the two candidates advancing to several \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/06/primary-election-california-congress/\">congressional races\u003c/a> here in California. But others are still very much up for grabs.\u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2 class=\"routes-Site-routes-Post-Title-__Title__title\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12085541/california-governor-race-becerra-hilton-lead-early-with-millions-of-votes-to-be-counted\">\u003cstrong>Hilton, Becerra tout early leads in California governor race, as Steyer urges patience\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/california/governor\">primary election for California governor\u003c/a> is too close to call in early returns, with Republican businessman Steve Hilton and Democrat Xavier Becerra neck-and-neck atop the field and Democrat Tom Steyer in third place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shortly after midnight, Hilton, a former Fox News commentator and businessman, led with 27% of the vote, followed closely by Becerra, former U.S. Health and Human Services secretary, at 25%. Both were enjoying a comfortable early advantage over billionaire Democratic activist Steyer, who sat at about 20%, with just over half of the expected votes counted, according to an Associated Press estimate. The race will decide which two candidates move on to a November runoff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his remarks at his watch party in Los Angeles, Becerra noted his underdog status: Polls showed him stuck in single digits until the final six weeks of the campaign, when he surprised nearly everyone by surging into the top spot among a crowded field of Democrats. “Here in Hollywood’s hometown, we love a good underdog success story,” he said, drawing parallels between his campaign and the life his immigrant parents built in California. “Guess what? The underdog stayed in the fight. Like my parents, I never gave up. Never stopped putting one foot in front of the other. Never stopped believing in the beacon-like goodness of California. And, thankfully, neither did you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At his watch party in Huntington Beach, the British-born Hilton — who became a U.S. citizen just five years ago — said it was the “honor of his lifetime” to receive over 1 million votes so far. “Change is coming to California and it’s long overdue,” Hilton said. “We’re not there yet, but it’s looking good. It looks very much as if Californians really will have the chance to vote for change in November and take our state in a new direction.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But nothing is guaranteed for Becerra or Hilton yet. The early results could shift in part because of unusual voting patterns in this primary election: Ballot tracking data heading into Tuesday evening showed that Republicans were more likely to vote early by mail, while Democratic voters in this deep blue state \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12084978/california-democrats-anxious-about-wasted-votes-are-clinging-to-their-ballots\">hung onto their mail-in ballots\u003c/a> or chose to vote in person. That’s the reverse of recent elections, which saw more Democrats voting by mail and Republicans tending to vote in person on Election Day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Steyer urged his supporters to be patient Tuesday evening. Speaking at his watch party at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco, he railed against the big companies, including PG&E and Chevron, that opposed his candidacy. “Together, we’ve scared the hell out of the corporate interests used to getting their way,” Steyer said. “It might take some time to figure out where this is going. We’re going to wait until every ballot is counted. We’re going to give democracy time to work. And we know we finished really strong.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"entry-title \">\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/06/primary-election-california-congress/\">\u003cstrong>California House races could decide the majority in Congress. Who survived the primary?\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All eyes are on California’s \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/tag/congress/\">competitive House races\u003c/a> as voters choose which candidates will face off later this fall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">T\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/elections/2026/06/california-primary-election-results-june-2026/\">he outcome of the state’s open primary\u003c/a>, which narrows each race to the top two vote-getters regardless of party, sets the stage for a fierce contest in November as Democrats across the country push to retake control of Congress. Victories in California are even more important after a series of court rulings gave Republicans the edge in the national redistricting arms race.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Still, Democrats have been bullish about their chances in California after voters last year approved new congressional maps that significantly decreased the number of competitive races in the state. With the House majority, Democrats could block President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda, grill his cabinet officials and launch investigations into his administration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state’s \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-voter-guide-2026/us-house/#district-22\">marquee race\u003c/a> is in the Bakersfield-based 22nd District. Two Democrats are \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/02/bains-villegas-democrats-central-valley/\">fighting for the chance\u003c/a> to take on Rep. David Valadao, the vulnerable Republican incumbent whose only election loss came in 2018 during Trump’s first term. The Associated Press said Tuesday that Valadao will advance to November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/jasmeet-bains-165424\">Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains\u003c/a>, a physician who has spent most of her career in hospitals and clinics that rely on Medi-Cal, has positioned herself as a moderate Democrat willing to buck her party. She has faced stiff competition from Randy Villegas, a college professor and school board trustee running as a progressive Democrat with support from the Working Families Party, the Congressional Progressive Caucus and Sen. Bernie Sanders. With about half the vote tallied Tuesday night, Villegas was leading Bains by about 1,300 votes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In San Diego County, Republican Jim Desmond, a County supervisor backed by the retiring incumbent, Rep. Darrell Issa, will face current San Diego City Councilmember Marni von Wilpert, a Democrat in November. The Associated Press called the race late Tuesday with about 55% of the vote tallied.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Von Wilpert decisively quelled a \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/04/california-congress-cd48-democrats/\">fierce intraparty challenge\u003c/a> from fellow Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar, a former labor department aide to President Barack Obama who had lost to Issa twice before. She called him anti-LGBTQ for questioning whether she could win votes outside gay-friendly Palm Springs; Campa-Najjar accused von Wilpert of racism for questioning his name changes and residence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These will be just two of the races that will be closely watched come November.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Hilton, Becerra Tout Early Leads in California Governor Race, as Steyer Urges Patience",
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"content": "\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/california/governor\">primary election for California governor\u003c/a> is too close to call in early returns, with Republican businessman Steve Hilton and Democrat Xavier Becerra neck-and-neck atop the field and Democrat Tom Steyer in third place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shortly after midnight, Hilton, a former Fox News commentator and businessman, led with 27% of the vote, followed closely by Becerra, former U.S. Health and Human Services secretary, at 25%. Both were enjoying a comfortable early advantage over billionaire Democratic activist Steyer, who sat at 20%, with just over half of the expected votes counted, according to an Associated Press estimate. The race will decide which two candidates move on to a November runoff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his remarks at his watch party in Los Angeles, Becerra noted his underdog status: Polls showed him stuck in single digits until the final six weeks of the campaign, when he surprised nearly everyone by surging into the top spot among a crowded field of Democrats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Here in Hollywood’s hometown, we love a good underdog success story,” he said, drawing parallels between his campaign and the life his immigrant parents built in California. “Guess what? The underdog stayed in the fight. Like my parents, I never gave up. Never stopped putting one foot in front of the other. Never stopped believing in the beacon-like goodness of California. And, thankfully, neither did you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Republican Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco was trailing the three frontrunners late Tuesday, with 11% of the vote. And the other better known Democratic candidates — former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter, San José Mayor Matt Mahan and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa — were all hovering in single digits. Villaraigosa and Mahan conceded the race within the hour after polls closed, followed by Porter shortly after 10 p.m.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At his watch party in Huntington Beach, the British-born Hilton — who became a U.S. citizen just five years ago — said it was the “honor of his lifetime” to receive over 1 million votes so far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12085994\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12085994\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260602-TOMSTEYERELECTION00443_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260602-TOMSTEYERELECTION00443_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260602-TOMSTEYERELECTION00443_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260602-TOMSTEYERELECTION00443_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">People watch Tom Steyer speak at his election watch party on election day during the California gubernatorial primary at The Regency Ballroom in San Francisco on June 2, 2026. Candidates for California governor are Xavier Becerra, Steve Hilton, Tom Steyer, Chad Bianco, Katie Porter, Matt Mahan, Tony Thurmond, Antonio Villaraigosa. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Change is coming to California and it’s long overdue,” Hilton said. “We’re not there yet, but it’s looking good. It looks very much as if Californians really will have the chance to vote for change in November and take our state in a new direction.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But nothing is guaranteed for Becerra or Hilton yet. The early results could shift in part because of unusual voting patterns in this primary election: Ballot tracking data heading into Tuesday evening showed that Republicans were more likely to vote early by mail, while Democratic voters in this deep blue state \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12084978/california-democrats-anxious-about-wasted-votes-are-clinging-to-their-ballots\">hung onto their mail-in ballots\u003c/a> or chose to vote in person.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s the reverse of recent elections, which saw more Democrats voting by mail and Republicans tending to vote in person on Election Day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Steyer urged his supporters to be patient Tuesday evening. Speaking at his watch party at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco, he railed against the big companies, including PG&E and Chevron, that opposed his candidacy. “Together, we’ve scared the hell out of the corporate interests used to getting their way,” Steyer said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"Live 2026 Election Results\" link1='https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/california/governor,Learn about the results of the California Governor Election' hero=https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/80/2026/04/Aside-California-Governor-2026-Primary-Election-1200x1200@2x.png]“It might take some time to figure out where this is going. We’re going to wait until every ballot is counted. We’re going to give democracy time to work. And we know we finished really strong.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The race remained crowded and unsettled to the end, and it was defined to some extent by who wasn’t running.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the state’s most high-profile Democrats — former Vice President Kamala Harris, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla and California Attorney General Rob Bonta — all passed on a potential bid. Then, in April, the campaign of East Bay Rep. Eric Swalwell imploded following \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079502/rep-eric-swalwell-candidate-for-california-governor-is-accused-of-sexual-assault\">allegations of sexual assault and harassment\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Swalwell had been gaining in polls and racking up high-profile endorsements, and his exit seemed to primarily benefit Becerra, who had been \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/publication/ppic-statewide-survey-californians-and-education-april-2026/\">stuck in single digits\u003c/a> in many polls. And it quieted fears among Democrats who worried that the messy Democratic field could result in Bianco and Hilton winning the top spots in the June primary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That would have resulted in a nightmare scenario for Democrats — a guaranteed Republican governor — in a state where they outnumber GOP voters 2-to-1. But it was possible because of California’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12083839/what-is-californias-jungle-primary-and-why-does-it-matter-so-much-for-the-governors-race\">“jungle primary” system\u003c/a>, which allows the top two vote-getters to advance, regardless of party affiliation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, though, Becerra surged, and Hilton pulled ahead of Bianco after earning the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12078793/trump-endorses-steve-hilton-for-california-governor-giving-gop-a-front-runner\">endorsement\u003c/a> of President Donald Trump.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12086026\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12086026\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GETTYIMAGES-2278829413-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1332\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GETTYIMAGES-2278829413-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GETTYIMAGES-2278829413-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GETTYIMAGES-2278829413-KQED-1536x1023.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Supporters of Democrat California Gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra are seen silhouetted on early election results during an election night event in downtown Los Angeles, on June 2, 2026. \u003ccite>(Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Steyer spent more than $213 million of his own money to push a progressive, populist message, but also seemed to hit a ceiling, remaining in the mid-teens in most public polls up until the election, despite his aggressive ad campaign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Anthony York, an adviser to Steyer, said he believes that Steyer will do well among those people who voted late.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The longer this goes on beyond tonight as ballots get counted, we expect Tom to gain vote share,” he said Tuesday night at Steyer’s watch party.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>KQED’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/abandlamudi\">Adhiti Bandlamudi\u003c/a> contributed to this report.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The election, which will determine which two candidates face off in November, remains up in the air early with Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton neck-and-neck atop the field. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/california/governor\">primary election for California governor\u003c/a> is too close to call in early returns, with Republican businessman Steve Hilton and Democrat Xavier Becerra neck-and-neck atop the field and Democrat Tom Steyer in third place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shortly after midnight, Hilton, a former Fox News commentator and businessman, led with 27% of the vote, followed closely by Becerra, former U.S. Health and Human Services secretary, at 25%. Both were enjoying a comfortable early advantage over billionaire Democratic activist Steyer, who sat at 20%, with just over half of the expected votes counted, according to an Associated Press estimate. The race will decide which two candidates move on to a November runoff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his remarks at his watch party in Los Angeles, Becerra noted his underdog status: Polls showed him stuck in single digits until the final six weeks of the campaign, when he surprised nearly everyone by surging into the top spot among a crowded field of Democrats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Here in Hollywood’s hometown, we love a good underdog success story,” he said, drawing parallels between his campaign and the life his immigrant parents built in California. “Guess what? The underdog stayed in the fight. Like my parents, I never gave up. Never stopped putting one foot in front of the other. Never stopped believing in the beacon-like goodness of California. And, thankfully, neither did you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Republican Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco was trailing the three frontrunners late Tuesday, with 11% of the vote. And the other better known Democratic candidates — former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter, San José Mayor Matt Mahan and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa — were all hovering in single digits. Villaraigosa and Mahan conceded the race within the hour after polls closed, followed by Porter shortly after 10 p.m.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At his watch party in Huntington Beach, the British-born Hilton — who became a U.S. citizen just five years ago — said it was the “honor of his lifetime” to receive over 1 million votes so far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12085994\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12085994\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260602-TOMSTEYERELECTION00443_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260602-TOMSTEYERELECTION00443_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260602-TOMSTEYERELECTION00443_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260602-TOMSTEYERELECTION00443_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">People watch Tom Steyer speak at his election watch party on election day during the California gubernatorial primary at The Regency Ballroom in San Francisco on June 2, 2026. Candidates for California governor are Xavier Becerra, Steve Hilton, Tom Steyer, Chad Bianco, Katie Porter, Matt Mahan, Tony Thurmond, Antonio Villaraigosa. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Change is coming to California and it’s long overdue,” Hilton said. “We’re not there yet, but it’s looking good. It looks very much as if Californians really will have the chance to vote for change in November and take our state in a new direction.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But nothing is guaranteed for Becerra or Hilton yet. The early results could shift in part because of unusual voting patterns in this primary election: Ballot tracking data heading into Tuesday evening showed that Republicans were more likely to vote early by mail, while Democratic voters in this deep blue state \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12084978/california-democrats-anxious-about-wasted-votes-are-clinging-to-their-ballots\">hung onto their mail-in ballots\u003c/a> or chose to vote in person.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s the reverse of recent elections, which saw more Democrats voting by mail and Republicans tending to vote in person on Election Day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Steyer urged his supporters to be patient Tuesday evening. Speaking at his watch party at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco, he railed against the big companies, including PG&E and Chevron, that opposed his candidacy. “Together, we’ve scared the hell out of the corporate interests used to getting their way,” Steyer said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“It might take some time to figure out where this is going. We’re going to wait until every ballot is counted. We’re going to give democracy time to work. And we know we finished really strong.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The race remained crowded and unsettled to the end, and it was defined to some extent by who wasn’t running.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the state’s most high-profile Democrats — former Vice President Kamala Harris, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla and California Attorney General Rob Bonta — all passed on a potential bid. Then, in April, the campaign of East Bay Rep. Eric Swalwell imploded following \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079502/rep-eric-swalwell-candidate-for-california-governor-is-accused-of-sexual-assault\">allegations of sexual assault and harassment\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Swalwell had been gaining in polls and racking up high-profile endorsements, and his exit seemed to primarily benefit Becerra, who had been \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/publication/ppic-statewide-survey-californians-and-education-april-2026/\">stuck in single digits\u003c/a> in many polls. And it quieted fears among Democrats who worried that the messy Democratic field could result in Bianco and Hilton winning the top spots in the June primary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That would have resulted in a nightmare scenario for Democrats — a guaranteed Republican governor — in a state where they outnumber GOP voters 2-to-1. But it was possible because of California’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12083839/what-is-californias-jungle-primary-and-why-does-it-matter-so-much-for-the-governors-race\">“jungle primary” system\u003c/a>, which allows the top two vote-getters to advance, regardless of party affiliation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, though, Becerra surged, and Hilton pulled ahead of Bianco after earning the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12078793/trump-endorses-steve-hilton-for-california-governor-giving-gop-a-front-runner\">endorsement\u003c/a> of President Donald Trump.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12086026\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12086026\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GETTYIMAGES-2278829413-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1332\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GETTYIMAGES-2278829413-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GETTYIMAGES-2278829413-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GETTYIMAGES-2278829413-KQED-1536x1023.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Supporters of Democrat California Gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra are seen silhouetted on early election results during an election night event in downtown Los Angeles, on June 2, 2026. \u003ccite>(Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Steyer spent more than $213 million of his own money to push a progressive, populist message, but also seemed to hit a ceiling, remaining in the mid-teens in most public polls up until the election, despite his aggressive ad campaign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Anthony York, an adviser to Steyer, said he believes that Steyer will do well among those people who voted late.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The longer this goes on beyond tonight as ballots get counted, we expect Tom to gain vote share,” he said Tuesday night at Steyer’s watch party.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>KQED’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/abandlamudi\">Adhiti Bandlamudi\u003c/a> contributed to this report.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "election-day-is-here-from-governor-to-la-mayor-these-are-the-races-to-watch",
"title": "Polls Are Closed in California. From Governor to LA Mayor, These Are the Races to Watch",
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"headTitle": "Polls Are Closed in California. From Governor to LA Mayor, These Are the Races to Watch | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Polls are now closed in California’s primary election, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results\">the first tallies\u003c/a> are starting to trickle in from some counties. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/voterguide/california/governor\">race to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom\u003c/a> has loomed large in media coverage and political advertisements, but there’s a lot more on the ballot. Here’s what we will be watching closely on election night and in the days to come as votes continue to be counted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>First, one reminder: California has a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12083839/what-is-californias-jungle-primary-and-why-does-it-matter-so-much-for-the-governors-race\">top-two primary system\u003c/a>, meaning the top two vote-getters in statewide races and congressional races move on to the November runoff — regardless of party affiliation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A messy, confusing race for California governor\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>California’s first truly open governor’s race in more than two decades has remained unsettled to the end.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Polls now show three candidates likely competing for the two spots in the November general election: Democratic former Health and Human Services Secretary \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/xavier-becerra\">Xavier Becerra\u003c/a>, Republican businessman and former Fox News host \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/steve-hilton\">Steve Hilton\u003c/a> and billionaire Democratic activist \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/tom-steyer\">Tom Steyer\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If Becerra secures one of the top spots, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12085276/becerra-hilton-lead-in-california-governors-race-poll-ahead-of-june-primary\">as the latest polling suggests\u003c/a>, it would cap one of the most surprising and dramatic comebacks in recent state political history. As recently as April, polls were showing Becerra — also a former member of Congress and California attorney general — languishing in single digits in a crowded field.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082916\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082916\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GettyImages-2274719112-scaled-e1778887506369.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1316\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">California gubernatorial candidates former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter, businessman Tom Steyer, businessman Steve Hilton, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, San José Mayor Matt Mahan look on during a CNN California Governor Primary Debate at East Los Angeles College on May 5, 2026, in Monterey Park, California. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But Becerra’s campaign was boosted after former Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell dropped out of the race and resigned from Congress following multiple accusations of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079502/rep-eric-swalwell-candidate-for-california-governor-is-accused-of-sexual-assault\">sexual assault and harassment\u003c/a>. Shortly after Swalwell’s exit, Becerra began rising in the polls, outpacing most of his Democratic rivals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>President Donald Trump also \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12078793/trump-endorses-steve-hilton-for-california-governor-giving-gop-a-front-runner\">endorsed Hilton\u003c/a> in April, propelling him to the top of the field alongside Becerra. But neither has cracked more than 25% support in most public polls — and Steyer, who’s spent more than $213 million of his own fortune in the race, remains within striking distance of the top two in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12085443/new-california-governor-poll-shows-a-slim-but-growing-chance-of-2-democrats-advancing\">recent surveys\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That state of play helped quell fears among Democrats that a crowded field without a superstar candidate could result in two Republicans moving on to the general election, locking out Democrats entirely.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>An open congressional seat in San Francisco\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>With the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12062796/nancy-pelosi-leaves-congress-after-38-years-defining-generations-of-democratic-power\">retirement\u003c/a> of Democratic powerhouse Nancy Pelosi, most San Francisco voters are facing an open congressional seat for the first time since 1987.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pelosi’s exit has spurred a tight and spirited contest among three leading Democrats to replace her: state Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/scott-wiener\">Scott Wiener\u003c/a>, San Francisco Supervisor \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/connie-chan\">Connie Chan\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/saikat-chakrabarti\">Saikat Chakrabarti\u003c/a>, a former tech engineer who previously worked as chief of staff for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12078159\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12078159 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260107-SFCongressionalCandidateForum-19-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260107-SFCongressionalCandidateForum-19-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260107-SFCongressionalCandidateForum-19-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260107-SFCongressionalCandidateForum-19-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Candidates running for California’s 11th Congressional District (from left) Saikat Chakrabarti, state Sen. Scott Wiener and San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan take part in a forum at UC Law San Francisco on Jan. 7, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Polls show the race boiling down to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12084959/after-pelosi-young-sf-voters-want-change-two-progressives-are-competing-to-offer-it\">a fight for the No. 2 spot\u003c/a>, with Wiener leading and expected to make the November runoff. He’s made a name for himself as a staunch champion of increasing housing development and funding public transit, and defending gay rights. Wiener is seen as the more business-friendly moderate in the race — though on the national stage, he’d be considered incredibly liberal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chan has racked up the endorsements of labor groups and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12084132/nancy-pelosi-endorses-san-francisco-supervisor-connie-chan-for-congress\">Pelosi\u003c/a>, as well as some other big-name Democrats, including U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff and former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown. She’s running as a tried-and-true San Francisco progressive and has leaned on her personal story as an immigrant and mother.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chakrabarti, who’s used his own personal wealth to help fund his upstart campaign, is \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12084959/after-pelosi-young-sf-voters-want-change-two-progressives-are-competing-to-offer-it\">running as an outsider\u003c/a> who will shake things up. He’s had to introduce himself to an electorate unfamiliar with him and is banking on frustration with the Democratic Party establishment to help fuel his run.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Other congressional races\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The real action in California’s congressional swing seats won’t start until the fall, when Democrats are hoping to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12085418/two-democrats-are-fighting-for-the-chance-to-flip-californias-only-toss-up-house-race\">flip multiple Republican-held districts\u003c/a> in their push to retake the House of Representatives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But a pair of primaries Tuesday will set the stage for those battles. In the Bakersfield-area 22nd District, Democrats Jasmeet Bains, a moderate state Assembly member and Randy Villegas, a progressive school board member, are competing to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12085466/two-democrats-battling-to-unseat-longtime-central-valley-congressman\">challenge incumbent Republican Rep. David Valadao\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12071887\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12071887\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/092222-DAVID-VALADAO-REUTERS-GS-CM.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/092222-DAVID-VALADAO-REUTERS-GS-CM.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/092222-DAVID-VALADAO-REUTERS-GS-CM-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/092222-DAVID-VALADAO-REUTERS-GS-CM-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rep. David Valadao of California speaks at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 17, 2021. \u003ccite>(Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA via Reuters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And in the newly drawn 48th District, San Diego City Councilmember Marni von Wilpert and Navy Reserve officer Ammar Campa-Najjar are among the Democrats vying to make the general election, where they will likely face Republican Jim Desmond, a San Diego County supervisor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In safe Democratic seats, a handful of primaries are dividing along generational lines. Longtime incumbents Mike Thompson, Doris Matsui and Brad Sherman are all facing youthful challengers arguing for a changing of the guard.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>An important race for insurance commissioner\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/voterguide/california/insurance-commissioner\">\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Compare insurance commissioner candidates in the KQED Voter Guide \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Outside of governor, the primary for California’s insurance commissioner is the statewide election with the highest stakes. The next commissioner will assume \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000611/california-insurance-commissioner-candidates-debate-solutions-to-wildfire-driven-crisis\">oversight of an insurance market in crisis\u003c/a> — with insurers issuing nonrenewals and limiting new policies in the face of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000990/california-must-move-faster-on-wildfire-risk-experts-warn\">massive wildfire threats and liabilities\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The field of Democrats running includes state Sen. Ben Allen and former state Sen. Steven Bradford, along with former San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim and financial analyst Patrick Wolff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Five Republicans are also on the ballot, though unlikely to win statewide election. Insurance agent Stacy Korsgaden has won the party’s official endorsement.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Local taxes as cities face budget crunches\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Voters in the Bay Area’s three largest cities will decide whether to approve new taxes to help bolster struggling local budgets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In San Francisco and Oakland, the tax votes could provide a key measure of the political clout of Mayors Daniel Lurie and Barbara Lee a year into their terms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12078516\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12078516\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260402-OAKTEACHERHOUSING-12-BL_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260402-OAKTEACHERHOUSING-12-BL_QED-KQED.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260402-OAKTEACHERHOUSING-12-BL_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260402-OAKTEACHERHOUSING-12-BL_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mayor Barbara Lee speaks during a press conference announcing new affordable housing for Oakland Unified School District teachers and school employees at a recently purchased residential building in Oakland on April 2, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Lee is \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12084482/oakland-mayor-barbara-lee-signals-shell-run-for-full-term-in-november\">pushing for the passage of Measure E\u003c/a>, a parcel tax of $192 a year for single-family properties that is expected to raise $34 million annually. Across the bay, Lurie is asking voters to reject \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/voterguide/sanfrancisco/proposition-d\">Proposition D\u003c/a>, a union-backed measure that would increase business taxes on corporations whose CEOs make 100 times more than their median San Francisco employee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In San José, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/voterguide/santaclara/measure-a\">Measure A\u003c/a> has been met with less debate: The city’s entire political establishment is behind the idea of increasing the hotel tax from 10% to 12% to bring in $10 million a year for the general fund.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Los Angeles mayor’s race takes statewide spotlight\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The L.A. mayor’s race has emerged after the governor’s race as one of the most surprising contests in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mayor Karen Bass, a longtime fixture in L.A. Democratic politics, is facing challenges from both the left and the right: City Councilmember Nithya Raman, a former Bass ally, is running as a more progressive alternative; and former reality TV star and Republican Spencer Pratt is running on an anti-establishment platform.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Much of the race has been fueled by lingering anger over Bass’ response to the 2025 L.A. wildfires; Pratt lost his Pacific Palisades home in one of the blazes. Polls show a \u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/news/2026/05/28/la-mayor-poll-bass-vulnerable-close-race-raman-pratt-00941128\">close race among all three candidates\u003c/a>, a remarkable turn for Bass, who has represented L.A. in Congress and the state Legislature for decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How much will we know on election night?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As always, Californians’ reliance on vote-by-mail will mean a longer wait for definitive results. That’s especially true if many voters wait until Tuesday to return their ballot.[aside label=\"2026 California Voter Guide\" link1='https://www.kqed.org/voterguide,Learn everything you need to cast an informed ballot for the 2026 primary election' hero=https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/80/2026/04/Aside-California-Voter-Guide-2026-Primary-Election-1200x1200@2x.png]If the leading candidates in the race for governor remain separated by just a handful of percentage points, the top two finishers may not become clear for days or even weeks as ballots are counted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the results could shift — data suggests the early vote has been more heavily Republican than in previous primaries, meaning the ballots that remain to be counted could be more heavily Democratic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2022, the second- and third-place finishers in the statewide race for insurance commissioner were separated by less than a percentage point. The race was not decided \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2022-07-06/marc-levine-concedes-in-primary-race-for-state-insurance-commissioner\">until a month\u003c/a> after Election Day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For state and federal races, KQED relies on the Associated Press to “call” the winner, which is determined through an analysis of surveys, results and remaining ballots to declare when a trailing candidate or measure cannot catch the leader.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "California’s primary election includes a number of races worth following on election night and in the days to come as ballots continue to be counted.",
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"title": "Polls Are Closed in California. From Governor to LA Mayor, These Are the Races to Watch | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Polls are now closed in California’s primary election, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results\">the first tallies\u003c/a> are starting to trickle in from some counties. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/voterguide/california/governor\">race to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom\u003c/a> has loomed large in media coverage and political advertisements, but there’s a lot more on the ballot. Here’s what we will be watching closely on election night and in the days to come as votes continue to be counted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>First, one reminder: California has a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12083839/what-is-californias-jungle-primary-and-why-does-it-matter-so-much-for-the-governors-race\">top-two primary system\u003c/a>, meaning the top two vote-getters in statewide races and congressional races move on to the November runoff — regardless of party affiliation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A messy, confusing race for California governor\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>California’s first truly open governor’s race in more than two decades has remained unsettled to the end.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Polls now show three candidates likely competing for the two spots in the November general election: Democratic former Health and Human Services Secretary \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/xavier-becerra\">Xavier Becerra\u003c/a>, Republican businessman and former Fox News host \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/steve-hilton\">Steve Hilton\u003c/a> and billionaire Democratic activist \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/tom-steyer\">Tom Steyer\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If Becerra secures one of the top spots, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12085276/becerra-hilton-lead-in-california-governors-race-poll-ahead-of-june-primary\">as the latest polling suggests\u003c/a>, it would cap one of the most surprising and dramatic comebacks in recent state political history. As recently as April, polls were showing Becerra — also a former member of Congress and California attorney general — languishing in single digits in a crowded field.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082916\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082916\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GettyImages-2274719112-scaled-e1778887506369.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1316\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">California gubernatorial candidates former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter, businessman Tom Steyer, businessman Steve Hilton, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, San José Mayor Matt Mahan look on during a CNN California Governor Primary Debate at East Los Angeles College on May 5, 2026, in Monterey Park, California. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But Becerra’s campaign was boosted after former Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell dropped out of the race and resigned from Congress following multiple accusations of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079502/rep-eric-swalwell-candidate-for-california-governor-is-accused-of-sexual-assault\">sexual assault and harassment\u003c/a>. Shortly after Swalwell’s exit, Becerra began rising in the polls, outpacing most of his Democratic rivals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>President Donald Trump also \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12078793/trump-endorses-steve-hilton-for-california-governor-giving-gop-a-front-runner\">endorsed Hilton\u003c/a> in April, propelling him to the top of the field alongside Becerra. But neither has cracked more than 25% support in most public polls — and Steyer, who’s spent more than $213 million of his own fortune in the race, remains within striking distance of the top two in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12085443/new-california-governor-poll-shows-a-slim-but-growing-chance-of-2-democrats-advancing\">recent surveys\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That state of play helped quell fears among Democrats that a crowded field without a superstar candidate could result in two Republicans moving on to the general election, locking out Democrats entirely.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>An open congressional seat in San Francisco\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>With the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12062796/nancy-pelosi-leaves-congress-after-38-years-defining-generations-of-democratic-power\">retirement\u003c/a> of Democratic powerhouse Nancy Pelosi, most San Francisco voters are facing an open congressional seat for the first time since 1987.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pelosi’s exit has spurred a tight and spirited contest among three leading Democrats to replace her: state Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/scott-wiener\">Scott Wiener\u003c/a>, San Francisco Supervisor \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/connie-chan\">Connie Chan\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/saikat-chakrabarti\">Saikat Chakrabarti\u003c/a>, a former tech engineer who previously worked as chief of staff for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12078159\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12078159 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260107-SFCongressionalCandidateForum-19-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260107-SFCongressionalCandidateForum-19-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260107-SFCongressionalCandidateForum-19-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260107-SFCongressionalCandidateForum-19-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Candidates running for California’s 11th Congressional District (from left) Saikat Chakrabarti, state Sen. Scott Wiener and San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan take part in a forum at UC Law San Francisco on Jan. 7, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Polls show the race boiling down to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12084959/after-pelosi-young-sf-voters-want-change-two-progressives-are-competing-to-offer-it\">a fight for the No. 2 spot\u003c/a>, with Wiener leading and expected to make the November runoff. He’s made a name for himself as a staunch champion of increasing housing development and funding public transit, and defending gay rights. Wiener is seen as the more business-friendly moderate in the race — though on the national stage, he’d be considered incredibly liberal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chan has racked up the endorsements of labor groups and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12084132/nancy-pelosi-endorses-san-francisco-supervisor-connie-chan-for-congress\">Pelosi\u003c/a>, as well as some other big-name Democrats, including U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff and former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown. She’s running as a tried-and-true San Francisco progressive and has leaned on her personal story as an immigrant and mother.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chakrabarti, who’s used his own personal wealth to help fund his upstart campaign, is \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12084959/after-pelosi-young-sf-voters-want-change-two-progressives-are-competing-to-offer-it\">running as an outsider\u003c/a> who will shake things up. He’s had to introduce himself to an electorate unfamiliar with him and is banking on frustration with the Democratic Party establishment to help fuel his run.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Other congressional races\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The real action in California’s congressional swing seats won’t start until the fall, when Democrats are hoping to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12085418/two-democrats-are-fighting-for-the-chance-to-flip-californias-only-toss-up-house-race\">flip multiple Republican-held districts\u003c/a> in their push to retake the House of Representatives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But a pair of primaries Tuesday will set the stage for those battles. In the Bakersfield-area 22nd District, Democrats Jasmeet Bains, a moderate state Assembly member and Randy Villegas, a progressive school board member, are competing to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12085466/two-democrats-battling-to-unseat-longtime-central-valley-congressman\">challenge incumbent Republican Rep. David Valadao\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12071887\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12071887\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/092222-DAVID-VALADAO-REUTERS-GS-CM.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/092222-DAVID-VALADAO-REUTERS-GS-CM.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/092222-DAVID-VALADAO-REUTERS-GS-CM-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/092222-DAVID-VALADAO-REUTERS-GS-CM-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rep. David Valadao of California speaks at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 17, 2021. \u003ccite>(Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA via Reuters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And in the newly drawn 48th District, San Diego City Councilmember Marni von Wilpert and Navy Reserve officer Ammar Campa-Najjar are among the Democrats vying to make the general election, where they will likely face Republican Jim Desmond, a San Diego County supervisor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In safe Democratic seats, a handful of primaries are dividing along generational lines. Longtime incumbents Mike Thompson, Doris Matsui and Brad Sherman are all facing youthful challengers arguing for a changing of the guard.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>An important race for insurance commissioner\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/voterguide/california/insurance-commissioner\">\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Compare insurance commissioner candidates in the KQED Voter Guide \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Outside of governor, the primary for California’s insurance commissioner is the statewide election with the highest stakes. The next commissioner will assume \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000611/california-insurance-commissioner-candidates-debate-solutions-to-wildfire-driven-crisis\">oversight of an insurance market in crisis\u003c/a> — with insurers issuing nonrenewals and limiting new policies in the face of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000990/california-must-move-faster-on-wildfire-risk-experts-warn\">massive wildfire threats and liabilities\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The field of Democrats running includes state Sen. Ben Allen and former state Sen. Steven Bradford, along with former San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim and financial analyst Patrick Wolff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Five Republicans are also on the ballot, though unlikely to win statewide election. Insurance agent Stacy Korsgaden has won the party’s official endorsement.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Local taxes as cities face budget crunches\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Voters in the Bay Area’s three largest cities will decide whether to approve new taxes to help bolster struggling local budgets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In San Francisco and Oakland, the tax votes could provide a key measure of the political clout of Mayors Daniel Lurie and Barbara Lee a year into their terms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12078516\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12078516\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260402-OAKTEACHERHOUSING-12-BL_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260402-OAKTEACHERHOUSING-12-BL_QED-KQED.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260402-OAKTEACHERHOUSING-12-BL_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260402-OAKTEACHERHOUSING-12-BL_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mayor Barbara Lee speaks during a press conference announcing new affordable housing for Oakland Unified School District teachers and school employees at a recently purchased residential building in Oakland on April 2, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Lee is \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12084482/oakland-mayor-barbara-lee-signals-shell-run-for-full-term-in-november\">pushing for the passage of Measure E\u003c/a>, a parcel tax of $192 a year for single-family properties that is expected to raise $34 million annually. Across the bay, Lurie is asking voters to reject \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/voterguide/sanfrancisco/proposition-d\">Proposition D\u003c/a>, a union-backed measure that would increase business taxes on corporations whose CEOs make 100 times more than their median San Francisco employee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In San José, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/voterguide/santaclara/measure-a\">Measure A\u003c/a> has been met with less debate: The city’s entire political establishment is behind the idea of increasing the hotel tax from 10% to 12% to bring in $10 million a year for the general fund.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Los Angeles mayor’s race takes statewide spotlight\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The L.A. mayor’s race has emerged after the governor’s race as one of the most surprising contests in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mayor Karen Bass, a longtime fixture in L.A. Democratic politics, is facing challenges from both the left and the right: City Councilmember Nithya Raman, a former Bass ally, is running as a more progressive alternative; and former reality TV star and Republican Spencer Pratt is running on an anti-establishment platform.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Much of the race has been fueled by lingering anger over Bass’ response to the 2025 L.A. wildfires; Pratt lost his Pacific Palisades home in one of the blazes. Polls show a \u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/news/2026/05/28/la-mayor-poll-bass-vulnerable-close-race-raman-pratt-00941128\">close race among all three candidates\u003c/a>, a remarkable turn for Bass, who has represented L.A. in Congress and the state Legislature for decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How much will we know on election night?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As always, Californians’ reliance on vote-by-mail will mean a longer wait for definitive results. That’s especially true if many voters wait until Tuesday to return their ballot.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>If the leading candidates in the race for governor remain separated by just a handful of percentage points, the top two finishers may not become clear for days or even weeks as ballots are counted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the results could shift — data suggests the early vote has been more heavily Republican than in previous primaries, meaning the ballots that remain to be counted could be more heavily Democratic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2022, the second- and third-place finishers in the statewide race for insurance commissioner were separated by less than a percentage point. The race was not decided \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2022-07-06/marc-levine-concedes-in-primary-race-for-state-insurance-commissioner\">until a month\u003c/a> after Election Day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For state and federal races, KQED relies on the Associated Press to “call” the winner, which is determined through an analysis of surveys, results and remaining ballots to declare when a trailing candidate or measure cannot catch the leader.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"info": "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. ",
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"marketplace": {
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"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
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"mindshift": {
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"order": 12
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
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"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.",
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"onourwatch": {
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"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?",
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"perspectives": {
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"planet-money": {
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"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.",
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"title": "Political Breakdown",
"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
"airtime": "THU 6:30pm-7pm",
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"possible": {
"id": "possible",
"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Possible-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.possible.fm/",
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"source": "Possible"
},
"link": "/radio/program/possible",
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},
"pri-the-world": {
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"title": "PRI's The World: Latest Edition",
"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 2pm-3pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
"radiolab": {
"id": "radiolab",
"title": "Radiolab",
"info": "A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.",
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},
"reveal": {
"id": "reveal",
"title": "Reveal",
"info": "Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, Reveal is public radios first one-hour weekly radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting. Credible, fact based and without a partisan agenda, Reveal combines the power and artistry of driveway moment storytelling with data-rich reporting on critically important issues. The result is stories that inform and inspire, arming our listeners with information to right injustices, hold the powerful accountable and improve lives.Reveal is hosted by Al Letson and showcases the award-winning work of CIR and newsrooms large and small across the nation. In a radio and podcast market crowded with choices, Reveal focuses on important and often surprising stories that illuminate the world for our listeners.",
"airtime": "SAT 4pm-5pm",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/",
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},
"link": "/radio/program/reveal",
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"rss": "http://feeds.revealradio.org/revealpodcast"
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