Posts Tagged: campaigns

News

Washington state resident gives $1 million to fight recall

Ballots that will be mailed to voters across California for the Sept. 14 recall election. (Photo: Sheila Fitzgerald, via Shutterstock)

A million-dollar donation to fight the recall effort against Gov. Gavin Newsom came from Washington state, not California, and from a name familiar in the world of finance and high tech. Connie Ballmer, who is married to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, contributed $1 million to Newsom’s campaign, the second-largest donation thus far to the anti-recall effort.

News

in California’s elections, progressives try to elbow in

Emanuel Gonzales, a progressive candidate, campaigns in the 32nd Congressional District. (Photo: Gonzales campaign)

There are a growing number of candidates who describe themselves as progressives. They have varied backgrounds but have one thing in common — their chances of actually winning are very, very small. Across California, more and more people are opting to run for higher office, seizing onto the theories of change spearheaded by progressives like Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.

News

Dems’ new party leader Rusty Hicks faces challenges

Rusty Hicks, new chair of the California Democratic Party, at the party's June convention in San Francisco. (Photo: Jeff Chiu, Associated Press)

California’s Democratic Party is enjoying unprecedented prosperity, with command of the Legislature, all statewide offices, most of the state’s congressional delegation and a heavy registration advantage. And the party’s new leader wants to spread the wealth. “California will play an ever more important role nationally because of our early primary,” said newly elected Chairman Rusty Hicks.

News

Obituary: Wayne Horiuchi

Wayne Horiuchi at the Republican National Convention in 2016, (Photo: RNC}

Wayne Kimio Horiuchi of Sacramento, who was instrumental in the appointment of a presidential commission to look into the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, died Jan. 23. He was 71.

Analysis

CA120: Politics, data and Cambridge Analytica — a followup

An image of voters on a digital information background. (Illustration: Maksim Kabakou, via Shutterstock)

With all the headlines about Cambridge Analytica and the potential that millions of Facebook users had their data leaked to third parties, there is one obvious question on the minds of candidates and consultants: What will this mean for continued use of digital ads in my campaign? The answer: Probably nothing.

News

Politically, millennials are a pain

A group of millennial friends looking out at an urban landscape. (Photo: Eugenio Marongiu)

Millennials are better educated than previous generations; they are technologically savvy. For political types, they are a headache. They are the largest living generation. Even though there are 9.4 million California millennials, making them a potentially rich source of votes, they don’t vote in very high percentages unless they’re thrilled. They get more excited about general elections than midterms. That’s true of the electorate as a whole, usually, but it’s especially evident among millennials.

Podcast

CA120: Politics in the digital age

An illustration using hard-drawn images on green data paper. (Maksim Kabakou, via Shutterstock)

This past election cycle rewrote the rules for digital campaigning. Most media coverage, especially after the election, has focused on how a brand of digital terrorism – viral campaigns based on fake news stories, fueled by fake social media accounts and hacked computers – put before voters a mix of negative messages and falsehoods that had a huge impact on the U.S. presidential campaign.

News

California pedestrian deaths decline — finally

Pedestrians crossing Hollywood Boulevard. (Photo: Sean Pavone)

Pedestrian deaths are on the rise throughout the nation, but California is bucking the trend. Preliminary data by the Governors Highway Safety Organization shows an increase in pedestrian fatalities throughout the United States, rising 12 percent to 5,997 in 2016. Yet California, home to the highest number of pedestrian deaths for years, is finally seeing a drop.

News

Capitol Weekly profile: Gale Kaufman

Political consultant Gale Kaufman at her Sacramento office. (Photo: Scott Duncan, Capitol Weekly)

Gale Kaufman was campaigning in California before Arnold Schwarzenegger was Conan the Barbarian. Kaufman, a bare-knuckled Democratic strategist, is as little known to the public as she is famous among political pros. When talk in the political world turns to “Gale,” everyone knows it’s a reference to Kaufman.

Analysis

Trump a template for future CA campaigns?

Presidential contender Donald Trump speaks at a Costa Mesa rally on May 25. (Photo: Mike LeDray)

The fact is, he won. He tweeted and bragged and insulted his way into the White House while Democrats talked about 23-point plans and fumed. Politicians, despite the beliefs of many Americans, are not stupid They saw what happened. So now the question that may soon to be bandied about in offices in and around the Capitol is this: in the light of Donald Trump’s victory, will California campaigns now begin to look Trumpesque?

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