Senator Kamala Harris looms large on Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden’s list of potential VP picks – he has said that he will pick a woman as running mate, and Harris is leading the ‘pundit polls’ as the most likely choice. If Harris is selected, and the Biden/Harris ticket goes on to win the November election, who would Governor Gavin Newsom appoint as her successor?
Illustration of casting a ballot in California. (Image: Niyazz, via Shutterstock)Democrat Gavin Newsom has surged ahead of Antonio Villaraigosa in the state’s gubernatorial race, and Republican John Cox has made headway among the state’s likely voters. Senator Dianne Feinstein maintains her double-digit lead over fellow Democrat Kevin de León. These are among the key findings of a statewide survey released today by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC).
Balancing the political power between L.A. and the San Francisco Bay Area. (Illustration: Tim Foster, Capitol Weekly)ANALYSIS: With five months to the 2018 gubernatorial primary election, there is a natural tendency to try and find the single major factor that will determine the outcome. Will it be Donald Trump, absentee voters, young people, the gas tax, racially polarized voting, the open primary, North versus South, the growing number of independent voters, the new registrants since President Trump was elected, or 25% of the electorate who registered to vote in 2016? The fact is, it will be all of these things.
L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at the 2009 opening of Madame Tussauds Hollywood. (Photo: Jaguar PS, via Shutterstock)Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, long viewed in the Capitol as a potential Democratic candidate for governor in 2018, said Tuesday that he will announce his political plans “within a few days” of the Nov. 8 election. He stopped short of making a formal announcement, but left little doubt about his plans. “I think everybody knows where it’s headed,” he said.